Special Feature


With summer almost here it may be tempting to swap your offi ce job for a life working outdoors. There is a wide range of franchises that offer this opportunity – from lawn care to chimney sweeping. Alexis Thompson explores the benefi ts of working in the open air


ost of us assume that running a business means being tied to a desk in a stuffy offi ce; however, there are plenty of franchises


weight loss some of them experience with their new, more active lifestyle!” Three franchisees tell us how they have


that will take you outdoors into the natural environment. These include franchises in anything from gardening and sport to outdoor construction and fence installation. There are considerable benefi ts to working


Breath of M


benefi ted from taking on an outdoors-based franchise.


Greensleeves


in the great outdoors, says Stephanie Boyd, company director of lawn treatment franchise, LawnHopper.


“Not only does the outdoor lifestyle appeal to many that have previously worked in an offi ce-based or indoor environment, there’s also the health benefi ts to consider,” she says. “What could be better than a day of breathing in the fresh air, absorbing some vitamin D and hearing the birds sing their merry songs?” Running a franchise that involves working outdoors often allows people to turn a hobby into a profi t-making venture and gives them the freedom and variety to work in different locations, rather than in the same offi ce day in and day out.


Louise Harris, franchise director of Wilkins Chimney Sweep, adds: “Some of our sweeps had offi ce-based jobs and say they really enjoy the ‘back-to-nature’ element of the business, not to mention the healthy glow and


26 | Businessfranchise.com | June 2012


As a result I developed a health issue, which was a bit of a wake-up call that I needed to change my lifestyle. My wife told me that if I did not do something different then I wouldn’t be around in fi ve years’ time. Working for another fi nancial institution would not have been any different in the long run, so I decided that the only way forward was to work for myself and set up a business. I didn’t want to set up a business from scratch – having spent my life in paid employment, I wanted some degree of comfort that my business would be somewhat successful. A franchise seemed to be the obvious route – a tried-and-tested business model with full marketing and technical support.


Simon Coleman, 47, left the rat race of the City behind by quitting his job in corporate banking and opening up a Greensleeves lawn treatment franchise. His territory covers a large area across Surrey and west Kent including Croydon, Bromley, Orpington, Sevenoaks, Chipstead and Warlingham.


Why did you consider going into franchising? Working in the City involved long hours, a stressful job, travelling away from home a lot and generally an unhealthy lifestyle overall.


Why an outdoors-based franchise? It was a combination of three things – to create a lifestyle that meant I chose the hours I worked, with the freedom of being a mobile business; to have some level of exercise and fresh air to keep healthy; and most importantly I thought the business model for the lawn care business was really good. When a customer comes on board the business is repeatable four times a year with additional services, so every sale is an annuity and the customer base has a real tangible value to it. Having spent 28 years working in an offi ce environment, the thought of working outdoors was very appealing,


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