Business Without Hassle

FRANCHISE OWNER DIARY: David & Mandy Durham, Glasgow

After 17 years of early mornings and late closing, former newsagents David and Mandy Durham picked up a copy of The Franchise Magazine seeking an opportunity to take control over the hours he put in.

“Being in news agency, the branding immediately attracted my interest,” David recalls.“But as I read about SITB, particularly the vending machine opportunity, I recognised a good value investment that would reward me for the hours I worked.”David met the SITB head office team last August and after taking time to research the opportunity he signed for the Glasgow territory just before Christmas.

“The company is very professional - they’ve been operating their compact vending business for nearly 10 years,and have been franchising since 1996” he observes.“At the same time there is a family atmosphere. You get to know everyone at head office and are never left talking to a stranger when you phone up.”David’s initial training started in January and he launched his business at the start of February,with the assistance of a SITB canvassing team. “They had a lot of sites waiting for me, such as companies who used our service in other areas,” he observes. “We picked up a lot of business very quickly and by mid-February I had all 50 of my initial vending machines sited and turning over an average of £1,200 per week.”

Through canvassing and word-of-mouth rather than advertising David has now sited well over 100 vending machines and is beginning to re-site the lower performing ones. “I’m now generating over £2,500 per week", he reports. “The ability to build the business up without the hassle of employment was another attraction to investing in the franchise, but the size of my territory will eventually demand that I expand my business with a second van.”