Making the move into franchising is a big decision, one that can affect not only your future but also the rest of your family’s, it is one that should never be made lightly or on a whim. Owning a franchise is a commitment between yourself and the brand you decide to franchise with. There are many reasons for opting for franchising over say starting your own business or continuing a career with another company. The Revive! franchise network comes from a range of backgrounds, all with their own reasons for making the jump into franchising. Some were existing Revive! technicians who decided to take the next step in their career, others were burned out on their traditional career path and were seeking something different that they could take control of. The following are just a few of the reasons why our franchisees made the move to the Revive! Way.
Liam – Revive! Bolton
One of our newest franchisees is Liam from Revive! Bolton. He had a very varied career path before joining Revive!. Initially starting his career in construction, he soon moved into the recruitment sector, working his way up to director level in a national recruitment business. He had also owned his own business which provided training services to a range of sectors. His first draw to specifically a Revive! franchise was the managerial aspect as it would allow him to utilise his skill sets in running a business. Liam also wanted to minimise the time and risk involved in starting a company which is what led him down the franchising path. It was his passion for automotive and cars in general which led him to Revive!.
Bogdan – Revive! Hinckley
There is no definitive route to working in SMART repairs and that couldn’t be clearer than in the case of Bogdan of Revive! Hinckley. Initially training as an architect before moving into the automotive sector, Bogdan spent 8 years working as branch manager for a well-known rental car company. Having previously experienced the work of Revive! during his days as a Branch manager for a rental company, when researching franchising opportunities and Revive! came up, he was instantly aware of the quality and values Revive! represented and jumped at the chance to open his own franchise. Bogdan’s parents had both owned their own businesses, so he was fully aware of the rewards for putting in the hard work, but also the flexibility owning your own business gives you.
Jinesh & Reena – Revive! Gloucester
In choosing a career path, sometimes knowing what you don’t want to do helps guide the thought process. That was certainly the case for Jinesh Patel, the owner of Revive Gloucester. With a family background in retailing, Jinesh was invited to manage his uncle’s corner shop in Gloucester. But after working there for a while he realised it wasn’t right for him. He started looking at job opportunities and began his management career in tyre fitting at Kwik-Fit. After eight years of working in the fast fit world, he saw friends all around him setting up their own businesses and doing well for themselves. Jinesh decided to follow suit and for two years he explored different possibilities.
A friend was working for a local smart repair company and Jinesh could see the potential. He started looking at available SMART repair franchises, attracted by the management franchise opportunity, he narrowed it down to Revive!, He then started ringing several Revive! franchisees – Birmingham, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Portsmouth. They were the ones that made him think, “yes, I want to come on board.”
Persuading his wife, Reena was a bigger challenge as she was uncertain about making the big step from being employed to setting up on their own business, but after a few meetings with the Revive! recruitment team she could see the advantages. Now it’s Reena who is the most enthusiastic, admitting: “I have absolutely no regrets – in fact, with hindsight we should have started up with three vans, rather than two! At the beginning I did have doubts, so it was really good to get through the first year and with a profit too.”
With a career spent in financial services she had experience in HR, payroll, and marketing. These business skills complemented Jinesh’s motor trade management experience well and thanks to the growth of Revive! Gloucester, Reena was able to balance her position as an executive assistant to the managing director of a Capita division and still join her husband in the business.
Iain – Revive! Northampton
Iain was between jobs when fellow rugby club member Mark offered him the opportunity to train as a SMART repair technician at Revive!’s own training academy in Rugby. He was ‘a natural’ and quickly rose through the ranks at the academy to become training manager. He joined Revive! Northampton as a technician and then business partner, before taking sole ownership of the franchise in 2020 after buying out the previous owner. But it hasn’t always been plain sailing. Iain’s biggest challenge was changing his mindset from being a technician to a business owner. When he was in partnership with the previous owner his partner took a lot of the admin roles. Iain soon realised that he needed to adapt things into a way they would work for him and that he would have to spend more time looking at this. Since taking ownership of the franchise Iain has taken a step back from being a technician to focus on driving sales and profit, and it’s worked, currently Iain is one of four franchisees to break the £1m turnover mark.
Ian – Revive! Glasgow
After a career in the food and beverage industry, Ian has spent the past ten years as business development manager for a training company. A desire to set up on his own but lacking the technical knowledge necessary to take such a big step, led him to look at a management franchise and he hasn’t looked back since. Ian really got a feel for the culture, ethos and values within the business and that really attracted him to Revive!. “There’s a real team there with openness, trust and transparency, and that’s what drove my decision to join the franchise.” His original plan was to set up as a family business with his son as the first technician, but with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic he chose to hit the ground running with an experienced workforce instead, his son did eventually join him as his third technician.
There are many reasons to jump into a Revive! franchise, but one of the key aims for any prospective franchisee, should be to do your research before committing to a relationship that could span the rest of your career.
For more information about franchising opportunities in your area please get in touch with our team here: revivefranchise.com/contact-us/
Keep an eye on the latest news from Revive! on our socials here: facebook.com/reviveukltd
