Real Franchise Stories Panel presents Julian Smith
Background
Julian Smith was a Managing Director at the age of 29 after working his way through the management ranks at the Coats Viyella Group.
10 years ago, Julian decided he needed a career change, and moved to work with SME businesses across a number of industries, successfully developing sales teams and winning strategies for business development.
He has lead and managed business units of multi-discipline teams with up to £80m turnover and 2,000 employees, as well as small teams in a number of SMEs.
In 2010, Julian came across The Alternative Board (TAB) and liked what he saw. “I totally got the concept of TAB and could see how invaluable it could be for some of the SME businesses I was working for,” said Julian. “I knew the experience and knowledge I had gained over my career was a good match and loved the idea of working for myself.”
Business Success so Far
Julian became TAB’s franchise owner in the Derby region in March 2010 and has since developed four TAB Boards in Derby with members from a broad cross section of industries including retail, marketing, manufacturing, accountancy, and training companies. He has worked with in excess of 130 companies locally.
His passion for people and desire to help them improve their personal and business lives has helped Julian become successful. He genuinely believes that TAB provides a unique, dynamic and challenging environment to ensure a business can fulfil its potential and deliver the rewards that the owner deserves.
Support
AT TAB, we pride ourselves in the level of support we provide our franchise owners. This starts with detailed initial training and support in the field, and continues during the lifetime of your TAB business. “The UK team were very impressive,” said Julian, “and the prospect of the support they would provide was compelling. When presented the TAB proposition and concept, aligned with the core values, the head office team and the international profile, I was sold on TAB.”
Julian continues “The UK head office are fantastic and always challenge themselves to improve and provide more to their franchise owners.”
Not only that, but Julian describes his fellow franchise owners as “supportive, inspiring, helpful, collaborative, always available. I would not have had the success I have without people in the community.”
The Future
The future looks exciting for Julian as he brings in his first facilitator, Jimi Ball, to help him grow the Derby territory. Julian considers it a privilege to be able to work with the local business owners so to be able to help more of them with Jimi’s help is a great motivation for him. “Having a positive influence on people’s lives and seeing them make progress towards achieving their personal vision gives me enormous satisfaction.”
Advice for those Investigating TAB
“Just do it (to coin a phrase!)” advises Julian. The autonomy that Julian felt, compared to his corporate life, was liberating for him. Doing something for himself and working with local business owners gives him a real sense of purpose, and the flexibility that he desires.
Julian continued, “Be realistic about the growth potential in your business and the short to medium goals you set. If you do not believe you can engage with people and convert them to membership by following the TAB sales process, then TAB is not for you. You have to be prepared to empathise, dig deep and ask the tough questions.”
