Uplifting support

There's one area of franchising that has been particularly beneficial to me on a continuous basis - and has never been in short supply. Support from head office and even from other established franchisees within the network has been constantly available in many shapes and forms, something that's an added bonus when starting up in business.

It's been essential to follow the franchise structure as closely as possible and a comfort to know that there's back up on the other end of the phone if needed. I've also had members of the support team visit on several occasions to help with issues that have required more direct attention. The main area in particular recently has been with sales and marketing strategies. All businesses get into a bit of a panic when the economy takes a downturn, and although I haven't seen a particular lull in customers I want to stay ahead of the game and up my selling potential.

Tony Mills is in charge of business development and has made a large impact on my own business. He's been excellent and is always ready to listen and prepared to visit us to give guidance and advice, even at short notice. He's helped with sales campaigns and even conducted training for my staff in telemarketing techniques. However, this isn't where my support started.

The early days focused, sensibly, on finding the ideal location, staff recruitment and centre set-up. The technical department has also been a large contributor to the smooth running of the centre. The technical team has helped me with enquiries, such as the correct fonts to use, logos, advice on sign installation, guidance on technical print issues and vehicle wrapping - in fact, when one of the technical team visited post-opening, he helped with some slightly complicated vehicle graphics. I also receive regular updates on technical advancements, which help me stay at the cutting edge of industry technology.

There have been a few incidences where I have needed head office support extremely quickly. In one particular case, I was desperate for help with Sage and Clarity software to assist with invoicing and accountancy issues. Quite frankly, I'd have been lost without the aid of accounts. They helped me out of numerous holes in the beginning when dealing with invoicing. The accounts team also assists with day-to-day accountancy transactions through to monthly management accounts. Their knowledge and expertise has made it much easier to get to grips with understanding figures to base key business decisions.

Another key area of support that I use on a day-to-day basis is the Signs Express extranet site, the FranchiseeNet. As an online system linked with our overall website, it's convenient to access, easy to use and is an ideal communication tool between head office and franchisees. It is the first port of call when, for example, I want to ask other franchisees' advice through the discussion group, order branded materials or download documents.

These are just some of the areas that I tend to use more frequently. However, there are also other useful aids available: for example, national accounts, where the head office team liaise with nationwide clients and pass the work to the allocated centre. There's also human resources to deal with employment issues and IT support for any computer issues that arise.

All in all, the support package has been and still is invaluable to the success of my centre.