Driver Hire Case Study - Enfield
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Driver Hire
Franchisee: Manjit Singh
Location: Enfield
Manjit’s first experience of running a business was his investment in an independent wine shop – more commonly known as a ‘Corner Shop’. Whilst this gained some success, he reached a point where he needed guidance on moving the business forward and therefore decided to sell up and look at various B2B management franchise opportunities - in order to access a business model where advice and support were readily available.
Building your business
Manjit Singh opened the Driver Hire Enfield office in April 2007 with nothing more than a database of lapsed clients and candidates in a 2nd floor office within a business complex. With the support of the Driver Hire Head Office team, his neighbouring offices and one other member of staff, his first week of trading billed 3 clients just over £1,000. In the space of six months and with a lot of hard work, the Enfield office under Manjit had a record turnover week - billing just over £15,000.
“In my first year and a half of trading the growth we achieved was more than I could have initially imagined. Going from a turnover of £0 to £450k in year one had me planning grand things to spend the profits on!” comments Manjit.
Challenging times
When the credit crunch started in September 2008, Manjit initially didn’t experience any signs of a downturn in business. However by April 2009 the impact became apparent. According to Manjit thoughts of leaving the business were setting in. “By May 2009 I achieved my lowest weekly turnover since opening and made my first monthly loss in December 2009. I started to seriously consider walking away with what cash reserves I had left and if I was lucky enough to find a buyer, maybe even my franchise fee.”
Road to recovery
At this point Manjit turned to his Franchisor for support – something he couldn’t do when he ran his ‘corner shop’. When faced with challenging times the value of the old adage; ‘being in business for yourself but not by yourself’ becomes apparent when working within a franchise model.
Manjit recalls; “After a number of discussions with Driver Hire Franchisor Directors, the message I got was that I had the right attitude to recover and take the business to bigger and better things. They also highlighted that while some other offices had seen revenues fall there were many offices that were in fact growing their business. This was a turning point for me, proof that Driver Hire’s core business was sound and that there would always be demand for its services. It was this that gave me the reassurance that I was looking for to continue, to work with my franchisor to come up with a recovery plan.”
He adds, “It was time for me to make use of all the tools, systems and support mechanisms put in place by my franchisor, instead of trying to battle through on my own.”
For Manjit this included the following:
- Attending all regional meetings and conferences
- Holding regular meetings and working closely with his Area Development Manager
- Building good working relationships with neighbouring Driver Hire franchises
- Sending out bespoke mail shots assisted by the Driver Hire Marketing Team and Press Officer
- Using the Driver Hire league tables as a motivator for the office team
- Making operation changes to his office; job roles, bonus structure and tactical pricing
Onwards and upwards
With hard work and as a result of making use of the Driver Hire network and support structure Manjit saw his business start to improve and grow once again. In the financial year 2010/11 Driver Hire Enfield achieved in excess of £1million turnover and the office is on target for a 2011/12 year end turnover of around £1.5 million. This has meant that Manjit has also been able to expand the team to further invest in his business’ future growth.
Rewards
In September 2011, the hard work and effort was recognised and rewarded. Manjit - for his excellence in franchising - made it to the regional finals of The British Franchise Association (bfa) ‘Franchisee of the Year’ Awards. Driver Hire were also proud to award Manjit and his team the ‘Rose Bowl Award’ for endeavour at their annual Winter Conference which was held in January 2012 in Edinburgh.
Manjit adds “Running a business is always going to be a rollercoaster affair with challenges along the way, but the support and dedication provided by the Driver Hire team and network has meant that I know I’m not alone and can push forward with a positive outlook. Being recognised for the hard work is an added bonus and certainly helps to motivate me and the team.”
