Franchise Focus A winning team
Working hard on their Driver Hire business is paying off for Vance and Sue Parsons
INVESTMENT LEVEL: £35,000
other franchisee support teams to focus on specific areas where extra help is required. This might cover marketing, national accounts, compliance, finance or IT. Vance adds: “The franchisee support
programme really helped us on our way once we opened for business. Ian, our ADM, was very encouraging and talked us through a few initiatives that we could use to attract more customers and candidates, ideas that were working well for neighbouring Driver Hire offices. It’s really why you buy into a franchise – it’s the whole set-up and ability to access the knowledge and expertise of those who’ve been in your position and already learnt the best way to manage the business.”
From left: Luke Lang, co-founder of Crowdcube, Vance and Sue Parsons and presenter David McQueen
H
usband-and-wife team Vance and Sue Parsons were no strangers to the franchise formula when they bought their latest business venture
in September 2013. Vance had previously worked in franchising for a debt management company and was later employed by one franchisor to help sell their territories. Commenting on his franchise experience
Vance says: “I knew how the franchise model worked and its benefits. “The franchisor and network support available is an invaluable asset when setting up your own business. So, when I decided to go back to working for myself, researching credible franchise options that were right for me and my family was the only way forward.”
Proven business model Their research led them to Driver Hire, a business-to-business management franchise with over 30 years’ trading history. Franchisees running a Driver Hire office are allocated their own postcode- defined territory and help local businesses that have a fleet of vehicles – such as the local authorities, haulage firms, courier companies and builders’ merchants – to find temporary and permanent drivers and other logistics staff. “For us it was an easy decision when Driver Hire’s Hereford and Worcester territory went on the market,” comments Vance. “Driver Hire has a proven business model and speaking to existing
“Driver Hire has a proven business model and speaking to existing franchisees validated the success stories we’d read and heard about”
franchisees validated the success stories we’d read and heard about.” On buying the territory, Vance and Sue
were faced with the need to rebuild a customer base of clients and recruit skilled drivers looking for work. Whilst they had no previous experience of recruitment or of the transport and logistics sector, the couple were passionate about building their own business and providing a high level of customer service. “It was a steep learning curve and we may have even questioned our own sanity at times, but you get that with any new business venture in the early days,” said Sue. “We had quite a lot to learn but soon got to grips with it all.”
Training and support Driver Hire franchisees first attend an initial two-week foundation training programme and then join a new franchisee support programme, which usually lasts six months and provides new franchisees like Vance and Sue with enhanced support from their area development manager (ADM) and
Win-win situation Whilst Vance and Sue have found running their Driver Hire franchise all-consuming at times, as you’d expect with any new business, they’ve certainly had a fantastic first year. Working to their business plan, they have taken on board an apprentice. As he learns the ropes, Rhys also provides extra support in the office. This enables Vance to spend more time devising and implementing ways to help grow the business further, which has proved prolific as they’ve surpassed initial turnover predictions for their first full financial year and are well on their way to exceeding the £650,000 mark, almost double the UK franchise industry turnover average of £356,000. To top this business achievement their
hard work was recognised outside of the company as, in November 2014, Vance and Sue won the ‘Franchisee of the Year’ award for their endeavours at the annual national Startups Awards. No surprise, then, that Driver Hire has also recognised the dynamic duo as the 2014 Driver Hire ‘New Start of the Year’. “It’s a cliché but the more you put into this business the more you get out,” comments Vance. “We’re in this for at least the next 10 years and we’re throwing everything into it to maximise our investment. Beating expectations in our first full year and gaining recognition for our achievements has certainly made all the hard work worthwhile and proved we made the right decision in choosing Driver Hire.” n
DRIVER HIRE
WEBSITE:
www.driverhirefranchise.co.uk EMAIL:
franchise@driverhire.co.uk PHONE: 01274 361 073 CLASSIFICATION: Recruitment
March 2015 |
Businessfranchise.com | 79
Investment: £20k-£50k
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