Low cost investment advice
Low-cost investments can yield high-impact results, from enhanced work-life balance to career satisfaction to income growth
If you’re labouring under the misapprehension that to run your own business you will need to have, or raise, a lot of capital, there is good news – plenty of franchise brands have an entry level of £20,000 or less. These tend to allow a certain amount of flexibility, ie businesses with working hours that suit family life or can be run from home or other sites that do not involve costly premises.
Amongst the industries covered are kid’s coaching and play franchises, cleaning businesses and van-based services – all these and more can be operated with the back-up of an established brand, ongoing support and tried-and-tested model, all within a supportive network of franchisees. Here, people within the industry offer insights into how a modest investment is really something to shout about.
A-Star Sports
Kyle Taylor is a new franchisee for children’s sports-coachingbrand A-Star Sports and runs her classes in the territory of Northwich, Knutsford & Runcorn in the county of Cheshire.
How long have you been running your franchise?
I’ve been running my franchise for a few months now. I was mainly concentrating on the Northwich area to begin with.
What did you do prior to owning your business and how did you come to franchising?
I’ve worked in this industry as a children’s sports coach for five years and delivered coaching under the A-Star Sports brand since its launch in 2011. It was because of this experience and getting to know the franchisor and other franchisees that I had the inspiration and confidence to start my own franchise. Prior to this, I worked in retail but had a passion for sport that led me to pursue it as a full-time career.
Why did you choose A-Star Sports in particular? Was the low cost an important factor?
I chose A-Star Sports as I really like their approach to coaching children, making sure that fun comes first and offering a wide variety of sports. The low start-up cost is a positive factor but what has influenced me more is that I’ve seen first-hand how successful A-Star Sports franchises can be. I’ve experienced building up classes as a coach myself and the positive progression towards being a business owner is an exciting one.
Do you feel you received a good return on your investment? What training and support did and do you receive?
The initial training was thorough and adapted to my needs. I have access to a team site with all the business support and coaching materials that I need as well as a business mentor. I have regular telephone updates and meetings plus one-to-ones if I have specific development needs. I’m never afraid to ask a question and I feel very positive about my investment and future with my A-Star Sports business.
What are your plans for the future of your business?
I really want to grow the business well throughout my entire area. I’d like to build a team of high-quality coaches to engage even more children in physical activities and sports. My neighbouring franchise has 60-plus weekly classes up and running and does 250-plus parties every year – that’s my target, too!
What advice would you give to anyone considering a franchise?
Do lots of research on your intended territory and speak to other franchisees. You may have a true passion for your business but it takes discipline and hard work to be successful and you need all of these things to really reap the rewards. Finally, be prepared to listen to the advice from your franchisor – they’ve spent a lot of their time and resources making the brand successful.
Screen Rescue
Jaime Hilario is the franchisor of Screen Rescue, a dedicated commercial windscreen repairs specialist operating from fully equipped mobile units. Providing advanced windscreen and glass repair solutions to the commercial automotive sector, Screen Rescue count major fleet operators amongst their clients. Jaime reveals what makes his franchise opportunity, low-cost and high-return.
What are the features that make your franchise low-cost?
Aside from a moderate entry level of £18,000 plus vat, Screen Rescue is a mobile-based operation. This means you are able to operate with lower overheads as you eliminate the cost associated with leasing or renting business premises, and so retain higher profits from day one.
It’s extremely important to maintain the quality of our BSI-tested resins, peripherals, materials and leading technical repair systems – their combined use guarantees unbeaten repair results. So, in addition to passing on group purchasing discounts to each franchise partner, we also provide them with every item on a non-profit basis. This helps reduce their cost of sales and generates a consistently higher gross profit margin.
Screen Rescue also has many operational and financial tools available, which reliably remove most of the usual staffing costs associated with running a business. At head office, we operate a sophisticated central billing system and aged debtor collection service, which ensures the cashflow of each franchise business is good from day one. Whilst saving the need for office-based administration and accounts staff, our franchise partners are free from invoice queries and cash collection, which enables them to focus attention on running a profitable business.
We return 100 per cent of each franchise partner’s marketing levy back into their own territory so that it benefits them entirely. It enables them to cement the Screen Rescue brand in their local community in whatever way they choose. This further reduces their advertising and marketing spends and helps retain more profit on their bottom line.
What incentives are you offering to attract franchisees with lower funds?
We are offering six sister territories across the East of England – at a low-cost entry level of £6,000 plus vat, which represents a saving of £12,000 on our usual franchise licence fee.
This opportunity has been specifically designed to attract business-minded entrepreneurs who low funds but are serious about starting their own franchise business. Also, when you combine all of our usual sophisticated support systems and extensive franchise package, it is a fantastic offer for those looking for a low-cost, high-return quality investment. There has never been a better time to join Screen Rescue.
Pyjama Drama
Sarah Sear has, for the last 12 months, been active in the Three Counties area around Liphook, Haslemere and Petersfield as franchisee for Pyjama Drama, a play and drama group for the under-sevens.
How long have you been a franchisee?
I signed my franchise agreement in April 2014 and started my first classes in June.
What did you do previously and how did you come to franchising?
I trained as a commercial lawyer and worked in the City for 10 years before leaving to look after my children full time. For the next 10 years I did a series of part-time jobs including running a mother and toddler group, starting a music group for pre-schoolers and, most relevantly, as the children’s worker for our local parish church. In this role I ran a club for 7-11 year olds every Friday evening and organised and helped to lead the Sunday school groups. I often used drama, role play and dramatic storytelling to illustrate a theme or a character.
I looked into franchising because my husband had been encouraging me to do so for years and because I could not find a flexible, local, interesting, stimulating and challenging position that fitted in with having three children and a dog!
Why did you choose Pyjama Drama in particular? Was low cost a factor?
I chose Pyjama Drama for several reasons:
- The quality of the end product is excellent and far better than similar companies I investigated.
- The integrity and professionalism of founder and managing director Sarah Owen and the head office team
- The strength of the franchisee network and the ability to sound off ideas amongst a group of highly motivated and similar-minded individuals
- The perceived value for money that the initial investment offered: three phased training, ongoing support, an active franchisee network and high-quality material to use in the business
What kind of training and support did you recieve and what is offered in the way of ongoing support?
I have been very pleased with all I have received to date and with a continuing development of the network, I consider that the rewards from the investment are ongoing.
The initial training was demanding but I left feeling fully able to start my business within a matter of weeks. Sarah is always available for me to speak to and seek advice from on all aspects of running the classes and the business side too.
My second training took place in my locality and included a formal observation of one of my classes and the opportunity to discuss my teaching style and ways to improve. We also discussed the business in general, opportunities for growth and next steps to take.
My third phase was back in head office seven months after my initial three-day training. Again it combined mixture of hands-on training as well as lots of practice behind the scenes and an opportunity to discuss matters in general as well as the specific age group the training pertained too. This final training has equipped me to seek a new area for development of my business and to start working with the Sunbeams (toddler group) age range both in school and at a Saturday club.
What are your plans for the future of your business?
I am excited about where my business could be in a year’s time. I have been very fortunate in receiving a lot of interest from nurseries and I love working with some fantastic nurseries in my area. I am keen to expand this to other nurseries locally as well further afield in my territory.
I am delighted to be starting work with the Sunbeams, 5-7 year olds and have my first session next month. I am also in discussion with a local school to start an afterschool club there and again see a huge potential area for development in serving the local schools. My greatest limitation is the number of hours in a day!
What advice would you give to anyone considering a franchise?
Research the franchisor carefully and thoroughly. Investigate the competition in your local area. Does this franchise offer something different / better? Talk to existing franchisees and ask them about their experiences and opinion of the franchisor. Make sure you are satisfied that you will receive what is offered in terms of training, back up and ongoing support – you will need it. Ask yourself is there something else I would rather do? If the answer is no then you are probably making the right decision – I know I have.
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