Case Studies

My SuperGlass Experience Having mostly had a desk-bound job, it was a bit of a culture shock to find myself perched aloft a ladder fixing a large bullseye chip bang in the middle of a haulage truck windscreen. It was a career change my partner and I hadn’t taken lightly, but I do admit that as my five feet, one inch frame climbed to the appropriate rung I felt rather nervous as I pointed the drill bit at the screen and set about repairing the glass. It’s not until you are in a rea...

Galston and Kilmarnock-based franchisee Barry McGougan is celebrating 16 years of successBarry McGougan joined TaxAssist Accountants in 2001, having previously worked for 30 years within the public sector. He opened his first franchise shop in Wallace Street, within the franchise territory of Galston in 2004 and then a second franchise shop ten years later in the franchise territory St Marnock Street, Kilmarnock. Since 2001, Barry and his three-strong team have provided specialist tax and accoun...

Business Doctors, the SME support franchise, has launched a new rural franchise territory to cover the Lakes and Dales. Describing its offer as 'somewhere in between consultancy and coaching', the franchisor provides hands on support to owners of small and medium sized companies in every sector. The Lakes and Dales franchise territory has been bought by former FMCG director Steve Howard, who will become the franchisee for Business Doctors.  With a range of expertise from general manageme...

Signs Express, the UK’s leading signs and graphics franchise, is celebrating 25 years of franchising this year and has just welcomed their newest franchisee, Ben Walker on board. The brand-new Bristol centre opened in October and is already off to a flying start.“It’s been a busy month, getting my premises perfect for the launch of the business and I am so excited to get out in the community I love and start making connections.”Ben has a wealth of experience across many industries from diagnosti...

Just 15 months ago, Bryan Black from Oxted, couldn’t have imagined he’d have his own online retail business that is set to make over $180,000 in sales in just 12 months of trading. But that’s his guess, and it’s a conservative one. It’s something he’s been able to achieve after joining Platinum Business Partners in April 2016 with the goal of earning an additional income. “I’d been working four days a week selling campaign management and email marketing software, but that came to an abrupt end...

Natasha was already a successful businesswoman before joining Platinum Business Partners (PBP) in March 2016. Not only does she have her own website design and digital marketing company, she also designs and sells her own brand of tote bags. So why would she need support to build her own online retailing business? Here, Natasha shares her reasons and experience so far. Why did you decide to join Platinum Business Partners? I obviously have experience of running online businesses, social medi...

Born and bred in Blackpool, Mark Partington is an entrepreneur through and through. He has lived and worked in The Bahamas, Holland and the USA. He’s run a French Patisserie in London and a bungee jump enterprise on the promenade at Blackpool, but these days, he has his feet firmly on the ground as a director of the hugely successful Ribby Hall Village in Lancashire. Described as the perfect holiday destination, spa retreat, wedding venue, health club or conference venue, Ribby Hall’s five sta...

Zulfiqar Haidar and his brother Iftikhar joined Papa John’s as franchisees in 2001. Named as Papa John’s International Small Business Franchisees of the year for 2016-7, the brothers have also been Papa John’s UK Franchisees of the Year and twice winners of the Scottish Asian Business awards. They now run five Papa John’s in Scotland. “Originally, I was involved in the family retail business,” confirms Zulfiqar. “I helped my family run a convenience store. I also had a few other jobs includ...

Dean Goodall happily spent the last eighteen years working to build up his own successful recruitment business. However, a few years ago, his core market, being financial recruitment, was going through a period of major change which would necessitate Dean restructuring his business. Whilst fully capable of repositioning his recruitment business, Dean saw this period of change as an opportunity to take a look at other options.A visit to a franchise exhibition introduced Dean to the lawn care busi...

Gary Hacking from Lancashire, whose previous career had been a Technical Instructor in Aircraft Engineering, recognised that he carried many of the transferable skills needed to start a Surface Medic Franchise, 6 months into the business we asked Gary some frequently asked questions. Did you enjoy franchise training? Yes! The first 4 weeks went so quick, from day one you start at the beginning with what is in essence the easiest repair and work onwards from there. Each day you build a little mo...

After many years working as an Office Manager within an Army Career Centre, Darren Cassidy from Harrogate decided to take some of his own career advice and make the jump into self-employment. With no previous experience in surface repair, we asked Darren some questions regarding his experiences on training and life as a Surface Medic franchisee. How was the repair training? I thought the repair training was set and pitched at the right level for beginners. The level of instruction was excellen...

For many people, managing your own department within a prestigious motor dealership would be enough, but not for David Stewart – a young man with a mission. Whilst his work was both well paid and secure, David wanted more control. Firstly, having a young family meant he wanted further control of his time. He desired the flexibility to choose when and where he worked. Secondly, he wanted more control over his financial income. He wanted to set his own income level, and not have to rely on others...