Why we love to do what we do...
Case Studies - Michael Farrell
I was made redundant for the second time in 2002 so I took the hint that after 30 years in the legal profession that my time was finally over. The question was, at 49 years of age what on earth do I do next? My formal training was in the administration of barrister’s chambers hardly a transferable skill.
I had looked at franchise opportunities previously but had shied away because at the time they were either cleaning services or retail outlets. Firstly I had no intention of dealing with other peoples cleaning needs and secondly I had no particular interest in the retail sector. Being available to the general public for 364 days a year was not a great attraction.
One morning’s post I received, out of the blue, a complimentary invitation to the Manchester Franchise Exhibition being held at the G-Mex centre. Combining the exhibition with a trip to see my mother in Yorkshire, redundancy cheque burning a hole in my pockets seemed a good idea at the time. The exhibition was as I expected it to be, lots of high street names with buy ins that were way out of my league, many cleaning, tools sales and care businesses in which I had no interest and then I came across “Barking Mad” The stand was occupied by two young women, smartly attired their shirts emblazoned with the instantly identifiable, Barking Mad logo. I was given a warmer welcome by these two ladies than all the rest of the franchise combatants who had enticed me with free pens, luke-warm coffee and glossy brochures.
They explained the business they were selling, also explained to me that they were relatively new to franchising and that although small and regionally disparate their plans were for firstly UK and then World domination. Not a bad goal!
I had to find a new career so:
- Having been a dog owner for all of my remembered life.
- Having been an “uncomfortable” kennel user for my own dogs down the years
- Having meet the Barking Mad “team” and being completely convinced by them that
- Home from Home pet care was the way forward.
- Living in a beautiful part of the West Country.
And having the immediate funds to purchase a very reasonably priced business.
I decided that the combination of dogs and the West Country was too good an opportunity to miss. I thought about the prospect over the rest of the weekend. I did the “back of a fag packet” S.W.A.T. analysis and decided that I needed to take this route for the next five years of my working life. A few weeks later having done a business plan with the help of the Lloyds TSB, small business unit and having gone through the franchise agreement with my solicitors, I met with the Barking Mad M.D., Lee Southern in a rather genteel but dated hotel on the South Devon coast. The deal was done, the die cast and I next met Lee when I went to Lancashire to do my training.
The training process was somewhat daunting. I had worked for a large organisation previously with a turnover of millions of pounds. That organisation had its own financial department and its own office administrator. I was now being asked to be:
Head of Sales, Financial Controller, Booking Clerk, Public Relations Officer, Driver, Dog Handler and on the list goes.
The training was nonetheless very exciting, stimulating and fun but at the end of a very exhausting week I went away with my head full of Barking Mad ideas, plots, plans and schemes.
I was to “launch” my business to the public a few short weeks later in May 2003 but in that intervening period I had an awful lot of work to do. I made contact with anyone and everyone who had a sniff of dog about them: Vets, Rescue Centres, Groomers, Pet Shops, Feed Merchants, Dog Walkers, Dog Sitters, you name it I talked to them, gave them brochures and asked them to spread the word.
I visited car parks where known dog walkers vehicles would be “brochured”
I accosted women (politely) in supermarkets if they had any doggie related goods,
I hung around like a potential shoplifter in my local pet superstore and generally made myself as widely known as possible, without being a nuisance or overstaying my welcome.
The press launch attracted the usual local press interest. Press statements were issued, photo’s were taken, telephone interviews given and then………….you’re off!
Only you’re not off because you don’t yet have any customers or host families.
The challenge now is to build up a network of “host families” which are the backbone of your business. Lovely, kind people that love dogs, are willing to have all sorts of different dogs in their own homes and receive very little by way of money for doing so, but if the money was the issue they wouldn’t do it.
People do it because they love dogs! Old ones, fat ones, poorly ones, naughty ones, it does not matter a jot!
Most hosts will have any dog, any time!
My regular dogs have their own second families where they are treated as well as they are at home. Dogs are occasionally spoilt by their hosts, being given little treats that they might not always get at home. Hosts write wonderful things to the dog’s owners and the Barking Mad “system” works beautifully!
The next challenge is to build your customer base. Slowly and somewhat organically is how I found it. Advertising per se does not always pay for itself, free editorial is a far better option if you can get your local press to play ball.
One of my aims when starting the Barking Mad franchise was to ensure that whether they used the service or not the Barking Mad brand would be known to every dog owner in the area. This has proved a far more daunting task than I thought.
Even today, four years on, I have people contacting me through “Yellow Pages” or “Yell.com” telling me that they wished they had heard about the service two years ago before they got their dog so they wouldn’t have had to go through the sometimes-traumatic experience of kennelling.
My advice to anyone considering buying a franchise is:
Is this really what you want to do for the next five years?
If in doubt don’t do it!
Do you have sufficient funds to get you through the first twelve months?
Do the “leg work” yourself. Spend time talking to the right people about your product or service.
Do your homework, get the “financials” and “legals” sorted early and don’t pay for something that you are not whole-heartedly committed to for the term of your agreement.
Can you run and organise a business where the only interaction is only with your customers and host families (that interaction is usually only about the service you are currently offering), with your franchise head quarters or fellow franchisees. No office interaction, no banter, no coffee break chats. It can be a lonely existence.
Be realistic in your initial goals, use your time well and get yourself as well known as you possibly can in your chosen field of work.
Make sure you have an exit strategy.
My overall experience of franchising has been excellent:
Barking Mad still has a “family feel” about it even though it has in excess of fifty franchised areas. The implementation of an Advisory Group, linked with regional meetings makes sure that the conduit for franchise information flows both ways, ideas are exchanged and problems dealt with early.
My principle aims when buying a Barking Mad franchise were to:
Offer my family and myself a complete lifestyle change.
Be able to generate sufficient, necessary income.
Build the business to be a saleable asset
Give myself the opportunity to create a thriving, community based, ethical, caring animal based business.
These aims have, in my opinion, been achieved and I intend being a Barking Mad franchisee for another five years. My renewal is due and I’ll be here for a while yet!
Michael Farrell
April 5th 2007.
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