Couples in fra nchising
Esquires Coff ee
Dale and Clare Smith are Esquires Coff ee regional developers for Nort h East England, opera ting the local head off ice from their fra nchise in Durham. Dale spent over 30 years working in the oil and gas industry and later in project management and consultancy roles and Clare previously worked as a coronary care nurse and occupational health pra ctice nurse.
Why did you choose to go into franchising and why with Esquires? We looked into lots of different business opportunities and franchising seemed like the best fi t for us. We felt like it would be quite isolating starting a business on our own. But with franchising you have that support team and years of experience to help you get going. We did not want to work for a corporate company with no heart or soul – we wanted to work with real people. A premium product that operated a fair trade, organic and ethical business supply chain was also a priority. We wanted to work together, as we had
spent long periods apart in our working lives. We met with Esquires, and the rest is history; it ticked all our boxes – fair trade, ethical, premium. We all work like a large family, always
there to support each other, and one of the main plus points of Esquires is its people and we can operate as an independent.
And how is business going? It's been one of the best learning experiences in our life. There was a lot to learn but we have built a valuable business. Esquires is now our family. We regularly meet. The business is an
ongoing development. We have worked very hard, but it has been fun, and with the help from Esquires we have run our business independently. We have managed to keep all of our boxes ticked: ethical, fair trade, organic. We have a great culture and have built up a great team who work with us as a family. Most of all it’s been fun. We have built a community. We all have worked together.
How did you secure funding? We self-funded but Esquires can recommend many forms of available funding or loans to suit your budget.
58
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116
