The Wheel Specialist

"It has been busier than we could have ever anticipated, we are over the moon!.. We found The Wheel Specialist after looking for a franchise involved in the motor trade, the set-up of working from a fixed premises within our area, giving our customer a warranty on the finish knowing they would not deteriorate within a short period of time was just up our street. The owners of the franchise, Neill and Ginny, along with their franchise support team have put into place a first class operation giving loads of support and encouragement once the process of setting up is underway. From the day we started receiving interest from customers to opening the doors the stone has been rolling faster, with customer of all types coming in. Month before we opened we quoted £30k; month of opening: double, with an increase month on month. So with the support of The Wheel Specialist team we are onto a winner!"

"It is essential for me that any company or product I have worked with is at the top of their game in all aspects. Delivering consistency is absolutely crucial. Every week we make sure that standards are pulled back online, every month questions are asked if standards have slipped. Sure it’s hard work – but what isn’t if it's worth having? Part of our success has to be due to Ginny and her team being cut from the same cloth. Being the best every time – not accepting second best. We shortly have our annual conference in a beautiful location in the Midlands, where all the franchises get together share best practise, catch up with what’s going on in other parts of the country face to face (although there is an excellent forum on the extranet for daily communication if required). Awards are given for various achievements – great to see a variety of branches each year succeeding with the smashing of goals and targets! I thoroughly enjoy the time as it re-enforces how big the franchise is now and how each year the brand becomes stronger and more defined… incidentally did I mention that HO pay for the whole occasion, not often happens these days! The journey is interesting, challenging and great fun, not to mention rewarding. I am thrilled and delighted with the opportunity that social media has brought us and am loving the way that business shifts and changes. This year my plan is to get bigger – watch this space and keep bringing in those wheels!"

Having realised a niche in the market for a dedicated alloy wheel refurbishment service in the Grampian area, my first thoughts were to 'go it alone'. However, during my market research, I came across The Wheel Specialist, who had an opening for a franchise in the area. I visited TWS HQ and two existing franchises to get a feel for the business and what a franchise set up would offer compared to setting up my own, and there was no debating that the franchise model was the way forward. TWS offers full technical and front office training prior to start up, easy access to existing suppliers and credit terms, and full time support in technical and sales and marketing.

Our online CRM system covers every aspect of running our business and our website is user friendly and allows our clients access to online quotations, none of which I would have had access to on my own. The TWS brand is dedicated to ensuring our clients receive the best value for money service, which can be very demanding on a franchisee, however this is geared to ensure a healthy return on my investment. If the brand is followed, TWS allows you the feeling of running your own business, with the assurance of network support and experience to make it a success.

"I have owned a TWS franchise now for over eight years. Over the years the franchise network has grown substantially to become the clear market leader. This is not only due to the hard work of individual franchisees but is a testament to the franchise system, corporate branding and the support we each receive every day if required. From the outset, the support has been tremendous, from help with site selection all the way through to opening day support. The technical and computer based systems training received was also superb. Highly recommended."

“We were looking for a long time for a franchise business to invest in. After hours, weeks, months and years of scouring the internet it was by chance we came across The Wheel Specialist, after having some work carried out by another franchise. We were so impressed with the finished product we had a brief chat about the business with the franchisee, who was full of praise for the franchise. We decided to look a little deeper into it and contacted Ginny at Head Office and arranged a visit to the Birmingham branch. We were sold straight away - that was in August and by the following January we were set up and ready to go. We were supported all the way through from setup, systems to process and thereafter any issues are resolved with a quick phone call. I am left to run my business on a day to day basis and all of the things that may be neglected as a sole trader are dealt with by Head Office lightening your workload. I only wish we had come across the wheel specialist sooner.”

"I started off my journey running the Edinburgh branch of The Wheel Specialist and I absolutely loved it. After receiving an offer a couple of years later to buy my franchise, I decided to treat myself and accepted the proposal. Unfortunately I soon found myself deeply missing the world of alloy wheel refurbishment, having the opportunity to work on all those amazing cars, it was a sickness for which there was only one cure! To buy another franchise! I’m now very happily back in the world of The Wheel Specialist running the East Kilbride franchise. It’s great to be back!"

“Business has been fantastic from day one. We took in almost £20k in our first month, which far exceeded my expectations. In the early days, I got so much support in setting up the business. Everything was so well planned that we minimised the setup time and had clients booked in for business from day one. The sales and marketing provided by the franchisor has been brilliant. I have been so impressed with the leads generated for me by Head Office for free. Every day I get dozens of quote requests from potential clients off the web. With my average order value at £276, that is nearly £10k of opportunity in a day that the franchisor is giving me. Now that we are also developing trade accounts locally, I can see that the potential is even better than I was hoping for. I was nervous about setting up my own business but I have to say it was the best decision I have made. The first few months have been great and the future looks even better.”

Training was great and very valuable. I couldn’t quite believe the initial response from both public customers and trade customers alike.

The model works. We did 7 sets of wheels yesterday and we have only been open 7 weeks! If it carries on like this we will need an extra member of staff sooner than we thought, we are both really pleased.