David Prakash owns a Fastway Courier franchise, Wetherill Park, Sydney.
I spent more than 15 years as a branch manager in the electrical wholesaling industry working for OzTech Electrical but after a quarter of a century as an employee, I felt it was time to branch out into my own business. I was convinced franchising was the way to go for me because I’d get the autonomy I sought but with the backing of ongoing training and support. I did some research and heard a number of success stories from Fastway courier franchisees and I made the decision to invest in the franchise.
I purchased my courier franchise territory less than 10 months ago, in January 2009. I chose Fastway because I felt success is almost guaranteed if you follow the system. When I bought into my franchise I was buying into 26 years of experience. A business doesn’t last that long unless it is great at what it does and I couldn’t hope to get all that knowledge at my fingertips if I started my own business by myself.
Aside from the clich of being my own boss, I’d have to say the best part of being a franchisee is the great friendship I’ve built with both customers and fellow franchisees. Their support and the back up from the Fastway network have played a huge role in my personal success.
Lifestyle balance
My previous role involved quite a lot of weekend work. That’s all different now because at Fastway we only work weekdays, so I’m enjoying being able to spend more time with my young family.
Each day is an early start but I feel as though the effort I’m putting in is contributing to my long-term personal success; I’m building my own business, not someone else’s. I arrive at the depot at 6.00am to sort parcels then take off into my area delivering and picking up parcels from customers, much the same as any courier.
I guess the difference in being a courier franchisee is that while I’m out delivering parcels, I get the unique opportunity to grow my business because of the regular face-to-face contact I have with so many potential customers. As a courier franchisee, every time I deliver a parcel the recipient is a potential customer, so all I really have to do to win their business is deliver consistent service and provide them with some marketing literature about what we do.
We all know that competition is tight so service absolutely is the key. I believe great service comes down to personality, attitude and following the system you bought into.
When I began my franchise in January I was on Fastway’s income guarantee, so while I was earning a good living, my business was only producing natural earnings of just $350 per week. However by following the system, in just over seven months I’ve grown my income by 72 per cent to $1250 per week with a projected income of $1500 in the near future.
I’ve currently got more than 75 customers and my territory still has a lot of growth potential so the sky is the limit.
I was recently nominated by Yum Restaurants International for its 2009 Supplier of the Year Awards. I was up against the likes of Star Track, Australian Air Express, Toll and Couriers Please, but I took the top slot and was rewarded for providing ‘Outstanding Performance and Contribution’ to Yum, which is the owner and operator of iconic brands KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.
The old expression that people buy you, not the product is very true in our business… personality is king!