Steve Hartland, Franchisee for Marla Custom Blinds explains why he chose this exciting franchise

Steve Hartland, franchisee for Marla Custom Blinds previously worked extremely lengthy hours in his previous role as a project manager at Gatwick Airport. Fortunately for Steve, redundancy gave him the opportunity he required to relocate his family to the west country where he joined the Marla Custom Blinds franchise. The Marla Custom Blinds franchise fulfilled Steve's desire of starting his own business.

Steve comments:

" Once I heard the word 'restructuring', I immediately focused my attention on exploring the possible franchise opportunities available, And while a low investment and minimal overheads were appealing, what struck me most about Marla Custom Blinds was the people. The franchise is family-owned by its founders, Angela and Martin. The owners are not slick salespeople, they are completely genuine and down-to-earth people that really enticed us. The founders of the Marla Custom Blinds Franchise have worked extremely hard to build up a solid business that is now in a great position to franchise."

Steve adds:

The initial and ongoing franchise support I received from Marla Custom Blinds has exceeded expectations. The franchise team has been excellent and they've always been available to assist in any way possible. What I really love about this franchise is the flexibility it now brings, especialy as we have a young family. This franchise provides me with invaluable time with my son, often being able to take him to and from school and still managing to run my own business. I certainly do not miss working for someone else!"

Marla Custom Blinds head office is based in Hampshire and has been manufacturing, selling and installing blinds throughout the south of England for more than 20 years. The franchise can be operated from home, or scaled up with premises and multiple vans. The main attraction for franchisees like Steve, is the low set up costs and the ability to work when, and for how many hours, as he pleases.

Marla Custom Blinds' Managing Director, Martin Froud says:

We are more than delighted that Steve decided to join our exciting franchise network. Steve is exactly the calibre of person we are looking for in a franchisee. He's not afraid of hard work, and he's prepared to represent our brand ethically, treating his customers with the same respect that we have always done, which is priceless. What makes Steve such a fantastic acquisition to our network is the fact that he's also brought his own ideas forward. We know what makes our business successful here and we're happy to share this with all franchisees, but we certainly don't know everything. Anything that Steve has to offer that can ultimately improve the Marla Custom Blinds business is tremendous for us, and it's fantastic for any new franchisees."