Simon and Friederike Slee, FASTSIGNS
Why did you decide to go into franchising and why with FASTSIGNS In 2010, I was working as an Investment Banker in the Middle East. Having met my wife, Friederike, a qualifi ed landscape architect and we decided that it was time to create a permanent base and consider how our future would look. After relocating to London, I took redundancy and we decided that starting a business together was a great opportunity. The FASTSIGNS concept drew our attention – a B2B franchise
providing practical visual communications solutions, which at the time, had over 25 years (now almost 40) experience in the signage industry; offering a tried-and-tested business model that combined creativity with sales and technology. When we were introduced to FASTSIGNS management,
we realised the combination of our skills and the FASTSIGNS business model was the ideal partnership. My sales experience and confi dence in operating in international business coupled with Friederike’s experience in consultation, and graphic design made FASTSIGNS the perfect fi t. In 2023, business looks good! We’ve
added two new sales professionals to our team taking our dedicated sales team to three members, four if you include me and we’re on track for a record year!
And working as a couple ? We knew our skill sets were complementary and that as a team we could combine our skills to work towards a common goal for the betterment of our lives, rather than working independently. We also had to think strategically about childcare and how we could best achieve a great balance for our young family. With my wider family in Australia and Friederike’s in Germany, we had to fi nd something that would generate an income and allow us to be attentive parents. Going into business together, gave us immeasurable fl exibility that we just would not have had if we worked in corporate employment.
How do you divide the work? To help us strike a balance, I work in the business full time and because our customer base is B2B, the majority of my work is Monday to Friday, nine to fi ve. This means I’m still at home when my kids are. Friderike currently works part time, is able to drop the kids at school and be there to pick them up, so her core week is from about 10am to 3.30pm. I’ll oversee the sales function, working with our team to
manage targets and win new business, whereas Friederike is better at detail work, building customer quotes and managing the design function. We have a production manager who is a specialist in his fi eld and helps us deliver a great fi nal result. Over our 13 years in business, our team has grown so we work together to manage them.
Simon and Friederike Slee
“
Going into business together, gave us immeasurable fl exibility
What are the benefi ts of working together? For us, it’s the whole package. Flexibility over our daily life is under our control and that's invaluable. Working with a family means you don’t have to make decisions on your own. There's always a conversation to be had before we commit to a strategy or a focus; we might have differing opinions but it's a good thing – we see things from both sides and we invariably come to the best decision.
”
How has your life changed since you joined? It’s changed beyond recognition. When we fi rst bought the business, we didn’t have our children and this investment has meant we’ve been able to give them a great childhood, where one of us is always available. We’ve built our life through our FASTSIGNS business and now we’ve built a fantastic business that facilitates our lifestyle!
Your advice for anyone considering a franchise? Go for it! Yes, there is a big learning curve that you have to go on when joining the industry but you have all the training you need and the support to help you be successful. The model is there for a reason and if you follow it, the world is your oyster!
What are your plans for the future? More of the same! We’ve just invested in two additional sales professionals in our business so with that resource we’ll continue to focus on growing sales and in 2023, we’re aiming to hit the £ 1 million mark for sales!
fsfastsigns.co.uk
BUSINESSFRANCHISE.COM
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