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Diary of a new franchisee: week two

Sarah Stowe

Our exclusive diary of a franchisee continues with Patrick and Gill Weiner opening their store.

This week Patrick talks challenges, the development plan, training and how he and wife Gill have made their new Bedshed store their own.

In preparing the store for opening day, Patrick explains a lack of furniture stock posed the biggest challenge.

While mattresses were provided by local suppliers, he and Gill had to borrow furniture stock from franchisees at other stores.

Patrick believes business plans are vital in the opening of a business. Bedshed provided one in the form of a spreadsheet, which he and Gill followed from start to finish.

Training-wise, Patrick says mattress manufacturers visited the store to teach staff how to effectively sell their products, and given his sales background, provided additional in-house training.

The husband and wife team hired most of their staff based on attitude – only their 2IC has prior experience in selling beds, and Patrick says the strategy has worked really well for them.

Patrick and Gill have created an identity for their store by opening it up, and they showcase the works of local artists throughout. 

To find out more about Patrick and Gill’s journey, view the video below. 

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