Franchise Focus
your feet,” he advises. “To be successful you must be able to spot an opportunity and to be brave enough to put it to the test!” For Ian, after a rollercoaster experience of
working in financial services, ChipsAway has offered security and financial rewards. “Having been made redundant twice, I was ready for a change,” he reflects. “What I liked about ChipsAway was that there were no unrealistic promises or guarantees; simply if you work the system it will work for you. If you are prepared to work at it, ChipsAway offers a business model for success.” Within his first two days of launching, Ian
Ruth and Ian Whitlock
Winner and Chips
Ian Whitlock is driving forward with ChipsAway INVESTMENT LEVEL: £29,995
been motoring ahead. After 12 months he expanded from his initial ‘man-and-van’ mobile operation into a ChipsAway CarCare Centre (a fixed-base workshop) and more recently has taken on two part-time employees to help him with the growing demand for his business. “My ChipsAway CarCare Centre is a
F
blinding success,” he says. “I’ve secured additional work and I can process even more vehicles in my unit. Business has been booming and I don’t want to have to turn anyone away so I have recently taken on two part-time employees to help me meet my customers’ demands.” Following his ‘Newcomer of the Year 2010’
award, Ian was recently voted ChipsAway ‘Marketeer of the Year’. Ian described the accolade as an honour and is particularly looking forward to sharing his expertise with others as a marketing mentor and in his role
ormer financial services executive, Ian Whitlock, has a lot to smile about. Not only is his ChipsAway business a huge success, but he’s just swiped his second ChipsAway award.
Since starting his franchise in 2009, Ian has
on the marketing liaison group – a franchise panel who regularly meet to discuss marketing initiatives for the benefit of the network. He attributes his success to “first-class
repairs backed up by a first-class service”. Since moving into his CarCare Centre, he has introduced a courtesy service whereby he
“The rewards are brilliant, I simply love what I do”
collects customers’ cars and delivers them back when repairs are complete – an added extra, greatly appreciated by many of the people in Ian’s territory of Eastbourne. Although much business comes via word-
of-mouth recommendation, Ian believes it’s important to keep building momentum through local marketing. He has also developed a fixed-pricing initiative and a service covering damage to custom alloy wheels, both of which have gone down a storm. “It’s important to keep moving and not let the grass grow under
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Businessfranchise.com | July/August 2012
had written 114 estimates worth £18,595 and booked £4,335 of repairs into his diary, with a further £5,160 of bookings flowing in over the following weeks. Ian confirms that levels of interest meant that he could have worked every single day since his launch – had he wanted to, of course! “I wasn’t expecting to be this busy or for
business to be this good!” he concludes. “I’ve had as much support from my franchisor as I need and I have no doubt I’ll continue to receive first-class support as my business expands even further. I’m much happier in my new life – I enjoy the hands-on role and most of all I’m glad to be free of the stress of the corporate world. My health has improved dramatically since I became a ChipsAway franchisee and my wife says I’m a different person! The rewards are brilliant and I simply love what I do – I wouldn’t change my life now for the world!” ChipsAway is the UK’s leading specialist
in minor automotive paintwork repairs, with around 350 specialists around the UK and a network of master franchisors worldwide. Franchisees operate from liveried vehicles customised into fully equipped mobile workshops and the fixed-base units known as CarCare Centres. They provide convenient, high-quality paintwork repairs within a matter of hours and at a fraction of the cost of traditional body shop methods. With over half of the 34 million vehicles on
the road requiring minor repairs every year, ChipsAway estimates it currently serves only 3 per cent of its potential demand. The quality, value and convenience of ChipsAway ‘on-the- spot’ repairs ensure that company remains the dominant brand in this lucrative and rapidly growing market. Franchisees also have the opportunity to expand rapidly into a major management franchise with multiple vehicles, territories and CarCare Centres. n
CHIPSAWAY
WEBSITE:
www.chipsaway.co.uk EMAIL:
uk@chipsaway.co.uk PHONE: 0800 980 5423 CLASSIFICATION: Automotive
Investment: £20k-£50k
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