Tasmanian franchisees show their drive to run a new business

Sarah Stowe

Franchisees making the tree change work for them with Fastway CouriersBuying a business can lead to more than you expect. Two mature age franchisees made a tree change and found themselves a fast-paced future.

Rob Cadwallander and Tom Wendt, regional franchisees at Fastway Couriers Launceston take our Q&A.

Q. Why did you choose to become a part of a franchising business?

A. In this instance the franchising business came to us rather than us searching it out. We had already made a lifestyle decision to move to Tasmania and purchased two courier franchises within the Fastway Launceston depot.  It just so happened that two months after we were operating happily in these roles, the regional franchise became available.  We had ground level knowledge of the brand and product and knew we wanted to take on the two-depot operation.

Q. What are some of the challenges of moving from one career to a new business?

A. The challenges were moving from a task-focused daily operational role of building an area as a courier, to stepping back, assessing and embracing two depots and 11 couriers with the same determination.

The biggest challenge was moving from working within the business to working on the business.

Q. How did you fund the franchise?

A. We were both in our 50s when we decided to move into the franchisee business. Having had successful careers in the business sector, and a penchant for renovating and flipping houses, we knew that we had the resources to sustain the franchise during its transition period to us.  

Naturally with any purchase of a business, due diligence remains the defining factor.

Q. How do you both plan to make your mark in the local area?

A. Tasmanians are incredibly proud of their state and rightly so. We are mindful and respectful of the local way of life.

Our immediate attention was needed within the business to get it running at its best. We believed that to be able to offer Tasmania a competitive and consistent delivery service, we had to address the internal factors first.  

Our customers are our main focus and we work with our couriers to ensure our pride comes through in each and every interaction.

Our product is going global shortly. We are excited for all Tasmanians as this will provide an extremely price competitive option for worldwide shopping and deliveries.  

We are thrilled to be a major part of the growth in a financially viable e-commerce operation for Tasmania. Local business is booming and we are working diligently with those businesses to provide global exposure and seamless deliveries.