ChipsAway

A great deal can happen in a year, as ChipsAway franchisee Alistair Hoy can testify. Last year, Ali opened a ChipsAway CarCare Centre (a fixed-base workshop) only six months after his initial business launch as a ‘man and a van’ operation, in line with his original business plan. In January, he took on his first employee to help cope with escalating demand, then in July, when he hit £10,000 per month turnover, Ali decided to take on a second employee – and all this before reaching his first year milestone! “I had big plans for my ChipsAway business from the start,” Ali confirms.

“Now there are three of us in the team, the next step is to increase turnover to £20,000 per month. It’s a challenging target, but I confidently expect to achieve a quarter of a million pound turnover business within the coming year.” Ali’s previous background was in sales & marketing. He had held senior roles in companies operating in the USA and Asia and was never interested in downsizing to a small owner operator business in the long term. On the other hand, neither was he in a position to invest up to £200,000 in one of the major franchise brands.

Following years of determination and hard work, Ali Hoy now owns his own Car Care centre in central Cardiff, where he manages multiple employees and upholds an excellent reputation in the city. He tells us more about his ChipsAway experience.

“My background has been in sales and marketing, but I was looking for a new business opportunity with the potential to grow into a sizeable operation.

“ChipsAway emerged as the clear choice, not only because it offered a saleable business model but also because it had a growing brand presence in the marketplace. The main thing that attracted me to ChipsAway was the brand awareness, and secondly was the fantastic return on investment – you can start making money from day one, yet you have the freedom to grow the business at your own pace. Since I first became a franchisee 6 years ago, my business has grown hugely, enabling me to employ more people and develop the business.

“We are now a team of 6, we have 3 courtesy cars, a beautiful Car Care Centre, our repeat or referral business is around 60% and we turnover £300k per year. Life is pretty good to say the least!”

On his way to success, Ali received a great deal of support from the ChipsAway Head Office who offer specialist services Franchise Support and Marketing, including extensive national TV advertising.

“Head Office were really helpful in terms of emotional support, practical support and marketing.” Ali continues “Marketing and advertising has been my best tool for growth. ChipsAway is really getting it right with their focus on customer marketing and particularly TV advertising. Brand awareness is growing and so is market share – it’s an exciting time to become part of the ChipsAway success story!

With a clear vision and a lot of hard work, Ali has achieved his goal of opening a successful Car Care Centre in the city. However, Ali isn’t going to stop there. He claims that the growth of his ChipsAway business is only just starting…

“I’d like to enter my centre for longer hours” Ali says. “I’d also like to employ another repair specialist in order to generate a higher turnover, whilst I move more towards business development, sales and marketing.”

When asked if he would do it all again, Ali confirmed “Yes! Why wouldn’t I?! Growing your business is a long-term project, and I’ve only really just begun! Like any business it takes time to grow, but with a ChipsAway franchise if you continue to work hard and be patient, then you will be successful.”

David Greenaway got off to a flying start, and loves everything that being his own boss brings:

Former Training Manager, David Greenaway, decided in 2011 that it was time to take his career into his own hands – his role involved a lot of travel and staying away from home, which started to have a negative impact on his family life. The ChipsAway franchise immediately captured his interest as he was impressed with the professionalism and the well-respected brand.

“Having always worked in the automotive sector, I wanted to stick with what I knew and loved. I looked at a range of automotive-related franchises, but ChipsAway stood head and shoulders above the rest!” says David.

David attended an open day at Head Office which confirmed that ChipsAway was the right choice for him. His business got off to a brilliant start where he secured £4,000 worth of bookings during his launch. He puts his initial franchise success down to the support he received from ChipsAway, and the lead generation from the national TV advertising.

“The trainers were spot on – patient, knowledgeable and they made the experience fun and interesting. I also had an existing franchisee mentoring me during my launch which was invaluable.”

“The rest of Head Office team have also done so much to make me successful - the people, the support and the brand are fantastic. They help us secure so many leads, and to be honest the money we pay for the franchise is superb value. Having that support system and specialist advice makes such a difference.”

David tells us a little more about how his business how grown: “In 2012 I opened a small centre, operating with 2 employees. In 2014, we moved to a larger Car Care Centre with 6 people on the team. Every year has given us better results and a higher turnover, and the customer feedback just keeps getting better! I have a fantastic team around me and we still have a long way to go in terms of growth, and I know that ChipsAway will nurture and support me through my journey.

David claims that his life has greatly improved since starting his ChipsAway franchise and his family are much happier.

“I love being my own boss. I can work when it suits me, have time off for holidays and free time with my family when I want it.

“I also have a much deeper sense of accomplishment and satisfaction than in my previous roles, knowing that I have built this fantastic business. I’m proud of the ChipsAway name and all the work we have done to achieve such high regard from our loyal customer base.”

You really do get out what you put in. The harder you work, the luckier you get! Financially, it’s very rewarding and I know that it will be more so in the future. My aim for the future is growth – more space, more team and more repairs.”

Having faced redundancy twice in three years after a seasoned career as a Sales and Marketing Director, in 2011 Andy decided that he wanted a complete change of direction. He had always wanted to own his own business, so the proven business model of ChipsAway appeared to be the perfect option. 5 years down the line, Andy Cornell has been crowned third time Business Mentor of the Year and Franchisee of the Year 2016 at ChipsAway’s annual conference.

“I liked the idea of being able to set up and run my own company but without the risks associated with a ground-up new start. I wanted a business which was flexible, not massively expensive and had the potential for growth.”

Having looked at a number of different franchises, ChipsAway appealed to me for a number of reasons. First of all, I had an interest in cars anyway. Secondly, the back-up of a well-known and respected brand really appealed to me – ChipsAway stood out from the others both in terms of reputation and marketing. You have a steady flow of leads and customers from day one.”

“From the initial telephone enquiry right through to the contract negotiations ChipsAway were extremely helpful and very forthright about the opportunities and the possible pitfalls with franchising their brand.

The open day presentations, meetings and repair demonstrations were very thorough and I could speak to everyone from the Chief Executive to a number of the existing franchisees, the franchise support team and the training department. Overall, the information they supplied at all stages was very detailed, thorough and honest.”

Once Andy attended an open day and spoke to existing franchisees, he was sold! He invested in a ChipsAway franchise and began his training shortly after.

“The initial product training was superb. I spent 4 weeks learning the repair process and carrying out numerous repairs until I felt confident enough to go it alone, but even then the on-going technical back up which was and still is available was invaluable. It also included a really good sales and marketing module, which provides a really good grounding in how to promote and win work.

“The initial course was followed up 3 months later by a further week of more in-depth dent repair techniques which then allowed me to then tackle bigger projects for customers.

“There is on-going training available whenever you need it and ChipsAway also offer other complimentary courses like social media marketing, vehicle lease hand back assessment and training in new products and services which again allows you to add new services and revenue streams to your business.”

Andy initially was concerned about how quickly he could generate a reasonable income, but his business was profitable straight away.

“With ChipsAway there is the potential to start earning from day one.” Andy says. “The business model is so easy. If you are prepared to put the effort in, the earning potential is very good, even as a one man one van operation. If you decide to expand and open a Car Care Centre, you can make a very healthy income and build a business with proven value as when you decide to sell it on.

“There is a visible track record of success with ChipsAway, and if you ever have any issues with the business, there are people able and willing to offer specialist advice. There is nothing that can stop you being successful apart from yourself.”

“Owning my own business is extremely liberating – no one can make me redundant or have an effect on my life apart from me. Every decision I make is for the good of my business and my family.”