Try a makeover to build up a new life
WHEN Robert Campbell was made redundant from his oil industry project management job in 2015, he and his wife Katie decided they would start a business of their own.
‘But as we had no experience, we realised franchising was a safer way in,’ says Robert. So now the couple from Perth, in Scotland, are franchisees with TREND Transformations, the kitchen makeover franchise.
Robert adds: ‘I liked the idea of the kitchen makeover business. In my previous career, I had enjoyed travelling and working with many different people. I could see that the TREND franchise offered this, and it looked as though it could make a good return.’
Franchisors welcome people who have been made redundant. TREND’s franchisee recruitment manager, Dug Aylen, says: ‘We have found that people who have been made redundant show a determination to take control of their lives and be their own boss.
‘They are good at following the franchise system and working hard to ensure they succeed.’ The franchise costs £150,000.
Jo Jones took redundancy after 22 years with the Royal Bank of Scotland. Now she and husband Dan own a Cafe2U mobile coffee and snacks franchise.
Jo, 42, who lives with Dan and their children in Rayleigh, Essex, says: ‘I was working from 7.30am to 6.30pm and it seemed far too long. I’d always fancied owning a coffee van, which could fit around the family, then I found Cafe2U online.’
Dan had a long-term health condition and found his job in waste management was affecting his health.
Jo adds: ‘If Dan needs a break at lunchtime, I can do the afternoon round on my own, and in a few years, when the children are older, we can upscale the business.’
Tom Acland, managing director of Cafe2U, says: ‘People made redundant are often highly motivated and skilled individuals looking for a new challenge, so we find they make excellent franchise partners.’ The franchise costs £26,995.
TREND Transformations 01892 509 680; Cafe2U 0113 232 0118.