Richard Dexter originally had a seasoned career as a Film and TV animator where he worked on films such as Lord of the Rings and Avatar. However, after 16 years in the industry, he decided he wanted a better work-life balance. Now he gets to take his 2 dogs to work with him each day, take his young children to school and watch them grow up.
“I needed a new challenge and a change from my current career. My work had become something I no longer enjoyed. I wasn’t particularly looking for a franchise but my wife found out about ChipsAway and the nature of the work really appealed, so we looked into it further.
“It seemed to offer all the things I was looking for. I could be my own boss and continue to do something creative. I couldn’t have started this type of business without the training support and backing of an established company behind me. Working outside in a fairly physical job appealed too, but most importantly it meant I could see more of my family.”
Richard became a ChipsAway partner in 2011, and since joining the franchise he has found the training and support to be excellent:
“Support has always been there for me at ChipsAway. Any problems and they’ve been there on all levels, whether it’s been a personal issue or work related. The 4-week training course is the perfect way to learn!”
ChipsAway provide franchisees with an initial month of technical, sales and marketing training, which is then followed up with more advanced training 3 months later. Other training courses are also available on request.
“Initially, my biggest reservation was putting a large amount of money into something brand new. It’s a scary step. However, I don’t have any regrets – I now have a thriving business that both supports my family and gives me the time with them that I was missing in my previous life.”
A ChipsAway franchise has certainly given Richard the freedom to mould his work around his lifestyle:
“After dropping my son at school at 9am, I walk the dogs, make my phone calls to potential customers that have come in and start my first job at 10am. There’s no set finish time. Sometimes I will work into the evenings if I’m very busy, particularly in summer when I like to make the most of the long days.”
“Joining ChipsAway has made my life so much better! I spend less time stuck in front of a computer, there’s no office politics, I have more time with my family and can even take the dogs to work. Overall, it’s just a happier, healthier work / life balance.
Finally, we asked Richard about his aspirations for the future, he replied: “I just want to continue as I am. I’ve always wanted a job where I wake up and want to go to work, and I have that now!”
After completing an engineering degree at University and starting a career in the Oil and Gas industry, he decided after a few years that he wasn’t maximising his full potential. After spotting a ChipsAway van and seeing the sophisticated interior workshop, he knew it was for him.
“I decided to become a part of a franchise because the team would be able to support my areas of weakness in starting up a business. A reputable franchise would be able to train me from the get go, thereby minimising loss of time in learning about the operations and marketing side of things. The support from the franchisor as well as the support from fellow, experienced franchisees is a gold mine.”
“ChipsAway have trained me on how to repair a car and provided me with a knowledgeable business developer, who was an experienced fellow franchisee. This mentor helped me set up and set out successfully.
At ChipsAway, we provide franchisees we an initial 4 weeks technical training, as well as sales and marketing training. This is then followed up by more advanced training a few months later. Furthermore, on-going business support from a Franchise support team is also available, as well as other courses on request.
“I have also received periodic updates about crucial changes in the industry, modern equipment for doing jobs better and quicker as they hit the market, marketing and IT training, ongoing operations support, substantial financial support when I was in need to get business loans to grow and expand amongst others.”
Now 11 years later, Tunde is loving his new life as a ChipsAway franchisee and has expanded his business into a Car Care Centres. These are fixed based workshops, often able to complete larger and more complicated repairs.
“It has taken a lot of hard work to build my enviable life, but ChipsAway really has given me an amazing lifestyle. I now have time for my wife and little baby as I can work really flexible hours.”
Tunde mentions hard work, and certainly it hasn’t all been easy: “My biggest challenge was surviving the recession. However, I overcame it by increasing my marketing, looking after my customers by giving them the best service and upscaling my skills and equipment so that I could say yes to more types of repairs that came my way.” We’re here to help franchisees every step of the way, through the good and the bad times.
“My future goal is to expand my Car Care Centre into a multi-location business, and then to sell when time is right. I am very pleased to say that there is very little I would do differently and I have absolutely no regrets with ChipsAway!”
Spencer Grainger
Spencer Grainger joined the network in 2012. Prior to joining the franchise, he set up his own Ski business in Austria which was very successful. When he returned to the UK he began working as a Sales Manager but missed the benefits of running his own business. He didn’t want to work for a company but wanted to be his own boss and reap the rewards of his own hard work – a ChipsAway franchise seemed like the perfect option!
“After I attended the open day, ChipsAway seemed like a great company to invest into and far more professional than other franchises I’d looked at. I wanted to join a franchise rather than starting on my own because of the support. This was the right decision – the technical support and training, general business support and leads from marketing definitely gave me a head start.”
“Since joining, I’ve always had someone to talk to at Head Office that is able to answer any queries. If you put the time and effort into organising your business and organising your diary, and if you absorb all the advice provided in training and from the rest of the team, you will succeed.”
Spencer was initially concerned about earning enough money and knowing whether the franchise would work for him – a common worry of many people who are looking to start their own business. However, a ChipsAway franchise has fantastic return on investment and you start earning money from day one. The average franchisee received over 1,000 enquiries via Head Office in 2017, which at our average repair value equates to over £80,000.
Not only has a ChipsAway been profitable for Spencer but owning his own business has allowed him to fit his work around his lifestyle: “I choose to start early so that I can work on my first job of the day before 9am. I complete around 2/3 jobs a day and then finish off quotations at the end.” ChipsAway franchisees are able to manage their own diary and work as they please.
Finally, we asked Spencer what advice he would give to prospective franchisees: “Have good time management skills and believe in yourself! My aim for the future is to continue being successful – I have no regrets about joining ChipsAway.” At ChipsAway, we are always here to support you.
Having been made redundant, Andy Cornell launched his ChipsAway franchise three years ago:
“I’m absolutely thrilled with the way my business is going. I’d always dreamt of running my own business rather than seek another job. I wanted something flexible, that was not massively expensive and which had the potential for growth. ChipsAway has proved to be everything I’d hoped for. ‘It does what it says on the tin’, and if you follow the business model you can’t go wrong!”
Kickstart your franchise journey at the UK’s flagship Franchise Exhibitions. Discover a wide variety of franchise opportunities and meet the people behind the brands.
