NAILING IT
Techy franchisees share their tales.
Armed with IT skills and a passion to succeed, these franchisees are
keeping us connected in our daily lives.
Computer Troubleshooters makes the business of data and communication a smooth affair for its clients, as these franchisees can attest.
If we ever needed an example of how vital our digital connections are, the coronavirus has given us one. As the global population hunkers down, our computers have become our link to the world.
For franchisees the ability to shape their future, automate processes and ensure Australian IT is operating effectively is how they operate their own successful businesses.
Junior Soliano has nailed the work–life balance. As the Computer Troubleshooter franchisee for East Perth, this father of two has got his working day down pat. And it’s a long way from the demands – and risks – of the corporate world.
Not only was Junior’s role as IT head for an oil and gas firm in Perth made redundant, he then faced redundancy eight months later as a project manager.
Today he is a roaring success, but the truth is he is an accidental franchisee. Junior started investigating different IT brands when he saw pop-ups on job sites promoting franchising. He liked the Computer Troubleshooters name and business client base.
Not having a job when he started up as a franchisee proved to be a good move, he says.
“It worked out really well, I had to hit the deck running. It was the best way, there was no safety net, 100 per cent of my time was dedicated to the franchise and you know you have to make it work.”
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THE FRANCHISE?
Junior is very clear. A low-level fixed monthly franchise fee allows franchisees to benefit from their business growth. However, the big winner in his eyes is the access to another 60 franchisees when he needs advice or help.
“The advice is direct from someone who is not really a competitor, so they are very free in their information. If you had a consultant to solve these problems it would cost thousands of dollars.
“To me, the best thing is you can have back-up, go on holiday.”
FREEDOM IN RUNNING THE BUSINESS
“I love the fact there is no restriction in how you run business. There are preferred suppliers, I don’t have to do the deals and costs are quite low. I don’t have to set up an office, there is no retail fit-out.
“But the best thing is I work from home. I have a six-month-old and a threeyear-old, and I got to hear their first words and see them take their first steps. That’s priceless.”
Junior has built up his business to operate remotely, with minimal site visits. After working as a consultant for the franchisor for a while he started to look for external support. Now he runs his business with a team of outsourced contractors providing back-up for admin and back-end technical support.
Clients pay a subscription fee per computer for unlimited standard support. Junior followed advice, upped his hourly rate and ditched the ad hoc clients to focus on prevention and maintenance, with occasional computer installation.
“I’ve had no new clients for two years – I don’t need them. I don’t have any contracts, either of us can give 30 days notice, it’s all done on a handshake.
“All my clients have been with me nearly six years and I treat them like gold. My business goal is to be bigger so when they grow, I grow.” the network with design projects, extending her reach to assisting UK and New Zealand colleagues.
“I also built a new website for us to use. The master franchisor liked it and I developed it for the other franchisees.”
The Wickhams have been operating for 11 years now and continue to set fresh targets to develop the business. The couple is focused on building a bigger business client base, and on selling more recurring revenue products like protection plan and website hosting.
As soon as he can, Paul Gottliebsen will be off to the Kimberley for a few weeks with family in a campervan and he’ll be taking his work with him.
“It’s a great lifestyle business, I don’t need to be in one spot. We travel six to eight weeks a year in Australia,” he says.
Today’s technology allows for automated processes, so with a remote monitoring management tool Paul and other franchisees in the Computer Troubleshooters network can operate their business from wherever they like.
“We spent many years working in corporate IT, and I took a redundancy package. I always wanted to get into my own business.”
Working in the familiar IT world appealed to Paul; what was less appealing was the challenge of having to step out of his comfort zone to run the business. So he welcomed the opportunity to gain some expert advice from the franchisor team in areas he was unfamiliar with.
“Marketing was probably the hardest thing to learn but I got plenty of ideas through training,” he says.
Paul’s success comes from his subscriptions approach, which generates about 70 per cent of his income. Over the last 13 years he has built a client base around a services focus with monthly subscriptions for managed services. A subscription is based on the number of computers in a business.
“We use a remote monitoring management tool. We automate the processes and I deal with any issues. It keeps things simple.
“There are a variety of tasks – morning is security and back-up checks, overnight issues, outsourced operations centre for critical issues, support and IT enquiries. I’m working on a small project basis – replacing computers, email migration.
“Things are changing all the time, and so is technology.”