Business owner perks up retirement funds with part-time Xpresso Delight coffee business

Giving up a full-time wage on retirement is the typical trade-off for most people over 60 but Newcastle business owner Victor Hankins is savouring the slower pace of semi-retirement while still earning a passive income as an Xpresso Delight franchisee.

At 60 years of age, Mr Hankins has found the ‘perfect blend’ of retirement and a $500 per week income that requires minimal time and effort to maintain.

“When I purchased the franchise, I bought a lifestyle,” he said. “I’ve been able to supplement my retirement and use my spare time to do the things I love like riding my motorbike, sailing and travel.

“I was working normal nine-to-five hours before so I definitely have more time to do the things I want to do. Eventually, I would like to build the business up to its maximum size and then just have it as a comfortable retirement business to keep active and involved but still have time on my hands.

“It’s allowed me to swap my full-time job to work an average 10 hours per week and earn a weekly turnover close to $500 per week and that’s just in the first five months. Once I place all the machines into good workplace locations I will make well over $60,000 per year.”

The Xpresso Delight coffee machine franchise concept works by placing fully automated, commercial grade, gourmet espresso coffee machines into workplaces free of charge, costing just $1 per cup.

Mr Hankins has worked in the corporate world for most of his 40 year career, most recently as a mortgage broker for three years and in publishing for ten years prior.

“I came across the business when a friend of mine was looking for some sort of business to get into and he asked me for my opinion on Xpresso Delight. He didn’t end up having the capital to invest in it but I thought it was a great opportunity that wouldn’t take all my time and something that would be recession-proof.

“I did have a look to see what else was around in the coffee industry but no-one else was offering benefits like a money back guarantee and the opportunity to earn better than the national average wage for working under 10 hours per week.”

The Xpresso Delight coffee business was established in 2004 by Stephen Spitz and Paul Crabtree and has achieved phenomenal revenue growth with a 73 percent increase in the last year. Mr Spitz said crucial to the success of the business has been its ability to provide franchisees with an impressive return on investment.

“We have a strong business model which allows franchisees to leverage their valuable time to the fullest,” he said. “Once the machines are installed they require only weekly servicing to keep on generating income, cup by cup.

“We also guarantee our franchisees will make a minimum 40 percent revenue return on capital investment within the first six months or we will refund their franchise fee in full.

“The average franchise can earn better than the national average wage for working under 10 hours per week and our highest-earning franchisee has a turnover greater than a quarter of a million dollars per year for around 35 hours work per week.”

Stephen and Paul started Xpresso Delight in 2003 with 10 coffee machines and quickly realised the potential of franchising.

“Within eight weeks of establishing Xpresso Delight we had the foundations of a great business and we realised the business model and systems could easily be duplicated,” Mr Spitz said. “Franchising was the obvious model to accomplish this and we have grown from there.

“Our attitude is that we’re in a partnership with our franchisees and we try to encourage a good work ethic, excellent customer service and the importance of work-life balance. We want our franchisees to enjoy their business and not be run by it.”

Since starting franchising in 2004, Xpresso Delight has grown to a network of 97 franchises across Australia and New Zealand selling over five million coffees per year and Mr Crabtree said plans were afoot to establish 100 franchises in the first quarter of 2009.

“We know there is a huge market waiting to be tapped and we have invested considerable time and money into finding the right technology, coffee blend and suppliers to become a market leader,” Mr Crabtree said.

“Our long-term goal is to operate a network of 250 franchises by 2012 and the majority of our franchise growth will come from full-time workers and stay-at-home parents looking for an extra source of income or a flexible business opportunity.

“We have also been considering expansion overseas and in 2009 we will be investing in research to identify the best locations for our franchises. However, our primary focus will be on developing and growing New Zealand and Australia first.”