Phil and Ruth have been running their Snack in the Box franchise together for 16 years. Phil says that he enjoys the freedom of being self employed and being out and about as opposed to being in an office full time. Ruth used to be a nurse but decided to join Phil with running their business together.
Why choose a Snack in the Box franchise?
Phil looked at a wide range of franchises, but found out about SITB from a Franchise magazine. He says that the idea of being his own boss appealed to him. Phil explains that they were also able to work as a couple - they always knew they didn't want to employ staff in any franchise they took on, so the Snack in the Box franchise suited them well.
Ruth says that she never questioned how easy it is to sell a chocolate bar, and thought it was a great idea. Everyone loves chocolate! Ruth added that having repeat business each week from regular customers was also very important for them as it was regular income. She also felt that the association of Snack in the Box with the major confectionery brands meant that Snack in the Box must be a franchise company with a good reputation.
What does a typical franchisee week look like?
Phil and Ruth have around 150 customers, so at each of their sites they install a new snack box to replace the used one, ensure their customers are happy and content, collect the cash and then proceed to the next site. The servicing continues across 4 days, and then Friday is used to catch up on paperwork, assess potential new leads and take deliveries too.
They utilise their time effectively by splitting up and working on different parts of the wheel at the same time. This could mean Ruth will be at home with the family, whilst Phil services the machines, or vice versa. Phil explains that on Mondays he tends to get up early and service their customers who are furthest afield. He says he likes to get up early and beat the traffic and has tweaked the routes to be able to service as many customers as possible in a day.
Each evening they will count the takings from the day, log it for their customer records and pack boxes for the following day. This takes them about an hour and a half.
Ruth says:
"Our Snack in the Box business works well for us. We can run our franchise business as a couple and it works well with family life as we have 2 young boys. We are able to see a lot more of our family than if we were both working salaried jobs."
What customers can you expect?
Phil and Ruth's customers cover a variety of business properties and types. This includes offices, workshops, nurseries and care homes.
“When we want to build up our territory with some new customers, we now know what types of workplaces and what customer types will work for us and which won't. We also use the support from Snack in the Box, such as the sales training days, and we use the sales flyers produced by Snack in the Box which have worked really well and look very professional.”