Redundancy Creates Challenge for Globetrotting Retailer

You might think that a life criss-crossing the world in search of new products to retail would be the perfect life! and in the short term, when your young, it is, but endless international trips can take their toll on family life.

Having risen up the corporate retail ladder to head of buying with an international retailer John Galvin started to assess what was really important in his life and it didn't include waiting  round in airport lounges.

So when he got the chance to take a redundancy package it was the perfect opportunity to rethink his career.

John had always wanted the chance to run his own business, where he could really benefit from his hard work, and with a growing family, he also wanted a work/life balance which, these days, few people have.

John had previously looked at ways to establish his own business and franchising seemed to offer the benefits of owning his own business with far less of the risk of establishing a new venture from scratch. So he started to look at various franchise options and when he saw lawn care franchises it had instant appeal.

"As a student I worked as a landscape gardener and had loved the outdoor life, it was probably the best job I ever had. I spent time researching the lawn care market and realised that it was a growing, even during these tough economical times."

John wanted his wife, Gill, to play an active role in the new business so they both set about reviewing the various lawn care franchisors. " We had always been involved in quality, professional businesses and it was important that our new business should provide a quality service to its customers, so this was very important when reviewing the various franchise's".

John and Gill narrowed their choice down to two and finally chose Lawnscience as their franchise partner. "At the end of the day it came down to trust, I spent some time with Terry Nicholson and he had the same service focus that I had, he had that same dedication. He also offered many advantages over his rivals.

He had put his business together using only the best that was available. Take the software, when he started his business he could not find the right system in the UK, so he got on a plane and went to the USA to buy probably the world's leading lawn care software, that's the passion I like.

"The territory creation model was also unique, I didn't get a "off the shelf territory" I was totally involved in the creation of my bespoke territory and that gave me a great deal of confidence that my new business would succeed."

Five months on and John has no regrets. "The training was excellent, it started with coaching sessions on the best way to structure my business, nothing was left to chance. The residential training was a full three weeks, 50% longer than other franchise's, but having gone through it I now know why, it just gives you confidence, and that's really important when you start."

John and Gills business is now on track, but what advice would he give potential investors? "No matter what the franchise, think carefully it’s a big step and commitment which will be expensive to unravel if you change your mind.

"You need to be a self-starter, be able and willing to follow a proven system and put in the effort required to make your business successful. If you do this, it's not complicated running your own business, and once you experience the freedom that you have running your own business you will not want to ever go back to working for someone else."