Rising to the top

A while ago I wrote a piece for this page on why someone would want to set up as a franchise rather than go out on their own. I used my hairdresser as an example, and very helpful he (unwittingly) was in explaining his reasons.

Only, he missed one. If you’re setting up on your own, this never happens. People who don’t fancy clicking the link might be interested to know that I’m highlighting the story of Garth Ellison, formerly a franchisor for Fastsigns. He moved to the parent company and as per the story he is now managing director of the whole shebang.

From the outside it can look a little bewildering – he didn’t work for the parent company but now he’s running it, que..? From the inside he had a lot going for himself already. The gumption to run a business and take the financial and personal risk, the acumen and skill to do it well and now he finds the ability to move up within the parent company is a very real thing indeed.

Put like that it does seem to look like the best of all possible worlds. Has anyone else any experience of moving around within their franchise? I’d be interested to hear your stories.

Guy Clapperton is a freelance journalist who specialises in small business issues and has written for the likes of The Guardian, the FT and the Daily Mirror. Guy has written about finance and franchising for SmallBizPod. http://www.guyclapperton.co.uk