Swapping the office for a life at the pool side may seem like paradise to many, but is it a business proposition worth considering?
Rrad Lingard, owner of the
Swimart home services franchise at Lawnton in Brisbane believes so. "This was exactly what I asked myself back in February 2001 when it dawned on me that I really needed to seriously start thinking about getting some stability back into my life," Lingard says.
"At the time I was working for Australasian Correctional Management as assistant general manager operations. I found myself sitting in a cafe in Auckland while commissioning a new remand prison there and decided to add up the number of days I had spent at home in Brisbane the previous year. I didn't like the answer, which was 19."He knew was facing a lifestyle decision and came across an ad for a Swimart
retail franchise in the paper.
"The more I thought about it, the more I realised that the skills I had gained in the corporate world would be transferable to the world of small business, so I decided to look into it more closely."
It turned out that the owner had decided to sell the store because he already owned two other Swimart franchises, which were situated closer to where he lived.
"The location suited me down to the ground," Lingard explains. "I liked the feel of the store and the fact that I would be out meeting and dealing with people all day long."
He also loved the idea that if the business succeeded, it would be because he had succeeded.
"I am a perfectionist, and my background as a police detective, senior manager in the Queensland Correctional Services and an executive in the private correctional management industry meant that if I got something wrong, people could very well escape from custody or even die. I was really looking forward to working in a more casual, fun-loving environment and dealing with nice interesting people daily while at the same time, applying the attention to detail to the business that I was so used to doing."
He took the plunge and bought the franchise in July 2001. "My initial challenge was simply to understand the business," he admits.
I found it difficult getting my head around knowing how much stock to purchase as there was very little historical data to guide me. Secondly that there was only inaccurate or outdated data available from the Council about pool ownership in the area, and this made it difficult to target prospects when it came to marketing."
He was about to discover one of the main advantages of belonging to a franchise.
"I was able to tap into the combined knowledge and experience of existing franchisees, who were only too willing to help. They were all new once, and were able to sympathise and support me in whatever way they could. They have become like a family to me."
With four major pool stores within a 4 km radius from his store, all with a loyal customer base, Lingard had serious competition. But the area was developing so he reasoned there would be plenty of opportunity for him to grow his new business. He decided to concentrate his efforts on attracting new home owners who were building pools and walked the neighbourhood doing a letterbox drop. Swimart assisted with a marketing campaign and it wasn't long before the results started to show.
"I decided to work on creating a family-friendly culture in my store as part of our point of difference. We went out of our way -and still do - to make kids feel welcome."
Lingard targets high quality staff and devotes a lot of attention to training them as he believes training is an integral part of customer service.
"I demand consistency in the way my staff and I deal with our customers because the feedback I was getting indicated that most people get different stories from their pool shop each time they visit and ask what to do about their water quality," Brad explained. "This costs them money and confuses them. We want our relationship with our customers to be like that which you have with your doctor. We need the relationship to be a trusting one but not one where the trust is abused."
So how has the business performed?
"I am pleased to say that I have managed double figure growth each year that I have owned the business. This year we are up 24 per cent on last year, which is fantastic." He remains optimistic about the future.
"There is only so much I can do at a local level to grow the business; the rest must come from the franchisor. And all indications are that Swimart is stepping up to the plate to help take the franchisee base to the next level. We are about to commence a re-branding exercise which is very exciting."
Pool works Paul Shaw used to be a sheet metal engineer. "I was in it for about 17 years, which was 10 years too long," he reveals. "I had to look for something else and a mate told me about the franchise expo that was on. I came across the PoolWerx stand and chatted to some of the franchisees. Within four weeks I was in Queensland, training."
Buying the franchise was a leap of faith, he admits, but he was impressed by the franchisee conversations and the lifestyle these franchisees had achieved working for themselves. Seven years on and with a $2.5 million turnover, Shaw can be pleased with how the business has developed – through a lot of hard work.
"When I left 'pool school' and got in the van I thought, what do I do now? Initially I had to develop the business from scratch, so did a lot of marketing. But there is support and you learn a lot in the field.
"It was competitive but there were a lot of disorganised blokes and untidy vans out there. We're always in uniform and with dressed-up vans – that would have been a nightmare to do on your own."
Now the business consists of two stores (at Moorabbin and Sandringham) and eight vans and Shaw has had to employ an operations and a service manager.
"But I'm able to take three weeks away and I'm confident in the business. My role now is to manage the whole place." The hard work has paid off and franchising has proved a real boon to Shaw and his family.
"I'm developing in ways I didn't expect. I didn't dream I would be doing this. I had some goals; we bought a house, we have had a family and I can provide for my two kids and my wife stays home, which is what we wanted.
"I've got back my investment several times over but I can't put a figure on it because we're always reinvesting in the business." The latest plans are to sell a successful territory which is a little distant from the retail outlets, and concentrate on building some under-developed areas.
18-Jun-2008