Bakers Delight Elizabeth franchise making them smile

When Leanne O’Sullivan arrives at her Elizabeth Bakers Delight franchise , she can’t help but smile.

Leanne and her husband, Peter, returned to South Australia hoping to own their own bakery franchise after a working holiday in Japan.

“We had a fantastic experience travelling and working but after five years we wanted to return home and plan our future.

“We had our hearts set on working together in our own business but didn’t have much experience, so we decided to look at a franchise business model.

“The Bakers Delight franchise was the most welcoming, they gave us a lot of information and had a solid reputation in the community,” she said, in regards to the baking franchise.

Leanne and Peter decided to take the plunge and become bakery franchise partners, purchasing the Elizabeth bakery franchise and that’s when the hard work began.

“At first we barely saw each other – Peter did the night shift and I worked during the day. He’d go back to work when I was asleep and I’d come home and he would go to bed,” Leanne said about the baking franchise.

When asked about how the first few days of the Bakers Delight franchise came along, she said, “The first few weeks were a bit of a blur and we’re both passionate about what we do, so bread rolls were flying across the bakery when I wasn’t happy with the product.

“But the hard work certainly paid off and we now have a business which we love stepping into each morning and it’s given us financial security.”

Leanne credits support from other Bakers Delight franchisees for helping them establish the successful business they run today.

“We’re lucky enough to have quite a few other Bakers Delight franchises in our area. If one of us ever runs out of packaging or ingredients, it’s always easy to source it from a nearby franchisee,” she said.

Leanne said that local bakery franchisees get together on a regular basis and share ideas, which is a useful resource and a good sounding board.

“We also trained some of the nearby franchisees so they feel comfortable calling me with any questions – especially in those first few challenging weeks,” said Leanne.

Leanne and Peter’s tip for baking franchise success:

“Be good to your staff, train and encourage them and never be afraid to say, ‘help’ if you need it.”