Working with family is something many couples dream about, believing it’s the best thing to happen to them, both from a relationship standpoint and from a business perspective. Revive! have many successful franchisees who are in business with their partners, so we thought we’d explore the topic and see the significant successes they can achieve.
Revive! Swansea – The lack of quality mobile SMART repairers in their area initially motivated the husband-and-wife team of Mike and Natalie Powell to invest in a Revive! franchise. Natalie has been running a very successful keepsake jewellery franchise for the past 17 years so was very familiar with the nature of a franchising operation.
Now they have Revive! Swansea up and running the pair are really enjoying being part of the Revive! family. They attended their first annual conference earlier this year and are already looking forward to the next one. Said Natalie: “We were really proud to see our picture up on the screen with our first record month and at the same time seeing other people’s. It was nice to be part of it and see everybody coming together like that.”
Looking to the future, Natalie is hoping to sell her jewellery business and join Mike in their Revive! Swansea business full time. She explained: “Revive! earns us more money so it’s a no brainer for us both to be working together on this one. The more we can grow Revive Swansea the better it is going to be for both of us to be on board.”
Revive! Plymouth – For Martyn and Carly Traber buying a Revive franchise was all about restoring their work life balance. With Martyn managing a local hotel, and Carly working in a coffee shop, having a whole weekend together was almost impossible. “The birth of my son gave me the kick I needed to really go out there and get looking. I wanted to make sure that I could always be there to take my children to football, swimming or ballet or whatever on the weekends, not just sometimes. Now thanks to Revive! I’ve got my weekends back,” said Martyn.
With other (franchisors) they had spoken to it was all about ‘give us your money’ but with Revive! they had to go through several interviews and were encouraged to do their own research. “We weren’t rushed at any point – it just felt right with trust building on both sides,” commented Carly.
Having worked in the hospitality industry, the couple are used to hard work and long hours but their Revive! business has given them the flexibility they didn’t have before. Martyn said: “Now I can stop work at five and carry on at seven if I want. Although you have to work hard you can adapt when you work around your family, which is important.” Business is already booming for the Trabers. The diary is fully booked for weeks ahead, and they are hoping to take on another tech soon to cope with the increasing workload.
Revive! Basingstoke – Making the choice between buying your own home or buying a business isn’t a decision many couples have to make, but for Michal and Irmina of Revive! Basingstoke neither were sure of where they’d like to settle down, but they did in fact know they wanted to start their own business. Due to Michal’s skills as a technician he wanted to start a business that would let him showcase his talents which is what initially drove the couple to Revive!.
Upon establishing Revive! Basingstoke, the couple had a number of concerns that Revive! head office were more than happy to help with. The first was the administration side of the business that neither Michal or Irmina had any experience in, Revive! offered dedicated training sessions for the couple which explained and taught them everything they would need to continue their business dreams.
Since establishing their business Michal and Irmina have been very successful with the pair bringing home the Developer Gold award from the Revive! Conference, which meant a lot to them and really made the time and effort worth it. Since starting the business together they have found it more difficult to take holidays but with careful planning have made it work well.
Gloucester – After eight years of working in the fast fit world, Jai Patel of Revive! Gloucester saw his friends around him setting up their own businesses and doing well for themselves. “I realised I was working here to make someone else rich!” For two years he explored different possibilities –perhaps setting up his own tyre fitting or MOT garage or buying a franchise. A friend was working for a local smart repair company and Jinesh could see the potential. He started looking at available SMART repair franchises, narrowing it down to Revive! attracted by the management franchise opportunity.
Persuading his wife was a bigger challenge as she was uncertain about making the big step from being employed to setting up their own business, after a few meetings with the Revive! recruitment team she could see the advantages and was happy to proceed.
Reena is an executive assistant to the managing director of a Capita division. With a career spent in financial services she has experience in HR, payroll, and marketing. Her business skills complement Jinesh’s motor trade management experience and she plans to keep her job at Capita. She said: “My job is already home based so I am putting in an hour’s work on our business before I start work and then doing more in the evenings and at weekends. By doing this I can add value for Jai and help save him a lot of time so he can focus on doing the things he does best.”
Revive! Chester – Running your own business with your partner is something many couples dream of but few can achieve. For Mike and Liz Haselden, Revive! has provided the opportunity to do just that. Mike bought Revive! Chester in 2005. He’d heard about the franchise’s business potential from a friend who was already a Revive! franchisee and was looking for an opportunity to become his own boss and take control of his family’s future.
In the early days Liz worked part time in a marketing role helping Mike out in their home office with admin. Very quickly Mike’s SMART repair service was in great demand from car dealerships and the general public and soon there weren’t enough hours in the day. Buoyed by his success, Mike realised that the way to go was to get more vans on the road and start employing technicians. That was when Liz really stepped up her involvement.
As a team Mike and Liz share the task of making big financial decisions and setting goals. Said Mike: “We find that discussing important things like the three-year plan and staffing requirements makes the task more manageable and meaningful. We work well together and there’s a huge sense of satisfaction looking back on how far we’ve come.”
The couple have won the Revive! franchisee of the year award two years running. They employ six technicians and run a fleet of six vans and are looking to expand their business even further by taking on the neighbouring territory of Wrexham and employing two more technicians.
For more information about franchise opportunities in your area please get in touch with our team here: revivefranchise.com/contact-us/
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