FRANCHISE & BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
FL
ABLEWORLD FRANCHISEES GET OFF TO A FL
How important is it to get off to a good start? According to Ableworld’s Franchise Director, Paul Boniface, it’s very important. “It’s tempting when recruiting to think that once someone has been awarded a franchise your job is as good as finished. However it is really only just the beginning. Unless the person you have awarded the franchise to is properly trained and prepared for the role neither party will get the most out of the franchise opportunity, certainly not in the early days. That is why we put such a big emphasis on getting people off to a flying start”.
Training Package
Ableworld believes it has the most comprehensive training package in its sector. The mobility retail sector is an exciting place to be because of the rapid growth of business due to the demographic changes happening in the UK. As more and more people enjoy longer lives the need for Ableworld’s products such as mobility scooters, specialised furniture and stairlifts becomes greater. And because some of these products have not been around for very long the need for franchisees to understand them and how they can help customers is paramount to the success of the business.
The full Ableworld training programme lasts eight weeks and is a combi- nation of Retail, Engineering, Financial and Systems training. Retailing is a highly practical skill and the team at Ableworld is firmly of the opinion that “What we have to do, we learn best by doing”. This means that most of the training is done using real examples and real products in a real environment with much of the training being done in a franchisee’s new store by experienced Ableworld Managers who are also on hand for up to three weeks after the store is opened.
An Ableworld Franchise consists of two complimentary income streams; the retail outlet being one and the stairlift operation being the other. Ableworld offers a full stairlift service in-house. This means quoting, installing and servicing the lifts. Some franchisees choose to do this themselves whilst others hire a stairlift engineer. Either way full training is given on this side of the business including several industry courses to get official accreditation.
Launching the Franchise
Having a dedicated store-opening project team means that several recent openings have been ‘record-breakers’ giving franchisees a flying start for their new businesses. Approximately a third of the Initial Fran- chise Fee is allocated to marketing activity around the time of the store opening with substantial coverage in local press and on-line. Ableworld has two Franchise Support Managers who visit stores on a regular basis to help with on-going training and marketing support. This, together with the sort of Head Office support you would expect from a national retail chain (eg Finance, Buying, Engineering, Product, HR, Operations etc) means that help is never very far away.
Ableworld’s Franchise Development Manager, Peter Carlile, told us that Ableworld’s support package is the best he had seen in thirty years of being in franchising. And Conway Davies of Ableworld Gloucester says “I just wanted to thank you and your team for getting us this far. I’m very much aware this is early days but we couldn’t really have asked for a better start.”
Ableworld has grown significantly since its inception in 2001 and the management is committed to growing the franchise network. New stores are already planned for the remainder of 2015 and another 6-8 franchisees are sought for 2016, all of which will need Ableworld’s undoubted expertise in getting them off to a ‘flying start’.
If you would like to find out more about Ableworld’s franchise package please visit:
www.ableworldfranchise.co.uk or phone Paul Boniface on: 01270 627185.
88 • THE GUIDE •
YING START EXPERT YING START THANKS TO THE COMPANY’S EXTENSIVE TRAINING AND SUPPORT PACKAGE
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