A Q&A with Premier franchise

While working in his role within the banking industry, James Jennison discovered his passion and ability in sports coaching when on a four-month trip to the US, where he and three friends worked as soccer coaches.

 In 2005, at the age of 23, just four months after enquiring with Premier, James was running his own Premier franchise, something he would never have dreamt of just 12 months earlier. More than 10 years on from joining, James now runs six Premier franchise territories and generated over £850,000 in revenue over the last academic year.

What did you do before you took the leap into franchising?

Before owning a Premier franchise, I was a telesales associate within the banking industry, helping customers with credit card queries and later completing with loan applications. I then became a trainer, training up new staff as they entered the business.

What prompted your decision to make the change?

I always loved sport from a young age, both as a participant and spectator, although I had never really considered how I could make a career out of it.

In 2005, three of my close friends had finished university and were going to coach soccer teams in the US for the summer. I did not want to miss out on what seemed a great opportunity and so took a two-month sabbatical (which turned into four months) and decided to join them.

Prior to this, I had very little experience of coaching, but quickly realised it was something I was both passionate about and good at. I returned from the US and felt uninspired upon my return to work.

What research did you do and how did you come across Premier?

A colleague I had worked with in America had recently set up a Premier franchise. He told me all about it and I was instantly excited by the prospect. I went away and looked into some of the work they were doing and enquired about becoming a franchisee.

How long did that take? What did the training and sign-up process involve and when did you begin trading?

After enquiring, I attended a discovery day at Premier HQ in which I met some of the team who would be supporting me and found out more about who Premier are. After this day, I knew this is something I wanted to proceed with. I completed my due diligence process and spoke to an existing franchisee to get some insight into what a real day in the life is like and how they operate their business.

Four months down the line, at the age of 23, I was running my own coaching business, something I could not have even dreamt of 12 months earlier.

How different is your current day-to-day from that of life before franchising? And what is a typical day like for you?

I dictate the day rather than the day dictating me. I take my son to school most days, can go home early or take time off to spend with the family when I like. I arrange my diary around my own availability and I am not accountable to anyone but myself, which makes me extremely motivated and driven to achieve the targets to improve my business.

One of my favourite quotes, which sums up how I feel about running my own business, is: “If you love what you do you will never work a day in your life”

In what ways would you say that life has changed since you launched your franchise business?

Since I started as a Premier franchisee back in 2005, my life has completely changed for the better. Whereas before I was working within strict rules and regulations, I now have more freedom than ever. I am running a business that I wholeheartedly believe in and about which I am truly passionate; this has made me more ambitious, motivated and driven than ever before.

After developing and expanding my franchise, I have reached a level of income that ensures security for me and my family – something I am very proud of.

What would you say to anyone reading this and thinking of making a similar life-changing decision?

I have always said that had I not set up as ‘James Jennison Coaching Ltd’ 10 years ago, then right now I would either be doing something totally different as my business would have failed, or I would be running a much smaller-scale business where I am still doing all the coaching myself without being able to develop the business side itself.

To anyone who thinks they can do better on their own I would simply say ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’. There is no one better out there, and that is based on experience not bias.