Graham Mitchell started his Recognition Express business enterprise by investing in an established franchise near to his home. The South East Scotland Recognition Express franchise had been in business for the last 12 years and was in profit, but the owners were looking to sell the business as they were planning to retire. Graham took over the business in 2005. It covers central Scotland, Fife and Edinburgh. He has since experienced an increase of 60% in sales.

Graham did not have to worry about training and employing staff, finding a location for the premises or securing the clientele as he purchased an established franchise. Graham was able to lead the business after two weeks of complete training from the previous owner and at the head office. He is now able to concentrate on increasing the sales as the daily operations of business are managed by his four members of staff. At present his annual revenue is £300,000 and over the next two years he hopes to increase the figure to £500,000.

Recognition Express is a business to business franchise that produces and supplies personalised and corporate promotional goods to businesses. Graham found this an ideal opportunity for him as he had experience in this sector and the franchise was near to his home.

Lasertech franchisees function from fully stocked vans which supply office stationery and printer consumables to the consumers. Ultimately, a Lasertech franchisee will aim to add staff and further vans to their territory, in order to develop their business into a multi-van franchise.

Lasertech franchisees operate to a proven business model, and supply products that are a need not a luxury. They service the right market and have low spending. These are the factors behind the success of Lasertech.

Lasertech’s purchasing power also enables franchisees to supply equipment and office products to consumers at outstanding profit margins. Lasertech UK have built a partnership with one of Europe’s leading equipment and office product suppliers. They now have more than 25,000 varieties of product lines available. Franchisees offering brilliant customer service and are able to gain many new customers.

Lasertech is a well-established supplier of office products and a producer of printer cartridges, with over 16 years of experience. They have a devoted field franchise sales manager, expert cartridge technicians and a continuous research and development programme. Franchisees of Lasertech receive comprehensive training and excellent support before and after the set up of the business.

Eprintglobal is making a convincing business proposal which involves harnessing the power of technology in order to deliver online support, and flexible ‘print on demand’ solutions.

Craig Rutherford, CEO, said that eprintglobal have created the technology to offer one of the most exciting franchise businesses available. They strongly believe that now is the perfect time to benefit from this exclusive opportunity. Being an eprintglobal franchisee will enable you to provide one of the most efficient printing solutions available today.

Eprintglobal has developed an online business by utilising the power of the internet through which all the companies can access all their print and design needs such as marketing, stationery and design support packages.

Consumers can direct their design and do the printing work by choosing a template and delivery process, and then making the payment. All of this work can be done online. The facility to track, manage and store files is also available.

Eprintglobal invests in state of the art technology and also widens the integrated franchisee support services such as local and central online marketing, initial and ongoing training, production, design, online delivery and workflow management.

Eprintglobal is an online unique franchise opportunity that offers every business with a convenient print on demand solution.

Paul Tallett, who was already an established designer, turned to the Kall Kwik Franchise when he wanted to expand. Paul invested in launching his own business as a Kall Kwik owner in Cardiff. He adopted a team that was highly experienced in gaining business clients through manufacturing and delivering design, print, direct mail and large format print services.

Paul said that before Kall Kwik he had been running his own print and design agency. He was the only person handling all of the work, and his tasks included answering enquiry calls, meeting customers, designing, and administration work. He wanted to expand his business and found that franchising was the best option. He was impressed with Kall Kwik as they were one of the best in the design and printing franchise business. Kall Kwik has a much classier and cleaner style with the emphasis on good design.

Kall Kwik has brand power which enables greater negotiating power with suppliers, greater recognition and improved prospects. Kall Kwik offers comprehensive training and will help you to launch the business. There are more than 160 Kall Kwik franchise throughout the country. They also have a well-established relationship with banks in case you require financial assistance in setting up the franchise.

Kall Kwik offers five weeks training which covers marketing, sales, and product knowledge.

Peter and Gill Butlin decided to direct their own future and looked to buy a franchise. They initially came from an agricultural background. They wanted to run a large scale business but also wanted a franchise opportunity that would require lower investment, which was also suitable to be launched as a home based business. They also desired a franchise which had the potential to grow into a considerable multi-van operation.

After researching, they finally decided to join Countrywide Lawn Doctor as there was huge potential to develop due to its all year round service and the franchisor’s substantial knowledge in building up a franchise system. Within each territory, the potential for growth is unlimited. This feature has enabled Peter and Gill Butlin to build a profitable and successful business that provides them with financial security and a good quality of life.

Peter and Gill Butlin have enjoyed the work so far. They are never bored since they work outside and meet different people. They regularly come in contact with many other franchises in the network in order to compare and discuss ideas and to solve any problems.

This year, one of the UK’s oldest franchises has completed 25 years of professional maid services. In the past decade alone, Molly Maid has carried out over two million cleans and has made good profits.

Estimates imply that the domestic cleaning market employs more than 200,000 people and is worth over £3billion. Pam Bader set up Molly Maid in the UK in 1984. Now it has a turnover of £12million annually and 69 franchisees across the UK.

In 1979, a Canadian created the original concept. Now, it operates in Canada, the US, Portugal, Japan, Puerto Rico and Bermuda. Molly Maid offers a trademark “per clean charge” wherever the franchisees operate in the world.

Molly Maid customers have to pay for the service rather than paying by the hour, and franchisees employ easily identifiable uniformed maids.

Molly Maid staff firstly visit the customer to assess the job. They provide an estimate for the time and then charge accordingly. They also consider the frequency of visits.

According to Pam Bader, their continuous success is the result of their desire and hard work to offer customer care with the power of the brand.

Molly Maid also allows people to run their own business from home without experience or formal qualifications.

The head of the UK’s franchising body has urged a number of the major employers that have proclaimed job cuts in recent weeks to consider purchasing a franchise.

Director General of the British Franchise Association, Brian Smart has offered to arrange free of charge workplace seminars if any of the companies are interested in taking up his suggestion.

Mr Smart said that they are willing to talk to companies and added that franchises have much higher success rate than conventional start-ups. He added that franchising is not a magic pill. To become a success, franchises require desire and hard work.

In 2008, Dominos Pizza experienced 10% sales growth. They are now looking for new franchises. In the UK, Dominos currently has 553 stores. By 2017 they are looking to increase the figure to 1,000.

There are many companies who are looking to expand through franchising. One of the examples is CleanMy, which sells cleaning products. They believe that franchising is one of the best ways to grow. Ben Williams, Managing Director of the Hereford-based company, feels confident that he can find franchisees to sell CleanMy’s products.

Perfect Pizza is a UK-based franchise. They have recently redesigned their website as part of the brand’s expansion into the digital age.

The new site aims to deliver a simpler and faster user journey. It features appealing brand use in order to drive spending and promote great deals.

The ‘Perfect Pizza Promise’ is a new feature of the site which details the chances of you qualifying for a money saving deal. This is an excellent feature which is well-liked by many.

If you are eligible for a discount, then the ‘Perfect Pizza Promise’ feature automatically applies it to your basket. As well as this, when you create an account with them, the site retains information of your previous five orders. It is therefore possible to order the same food with just a click, helping you to save your time.

The Marketing Director of Perfect Pizza, Simon Jarvis, said that the Perfect Pizza site was redesigned in order to offer consumers the best deal. It has been designed with consideration to ensure that the consumer can benefit from it as easily and quickly as possible.

The demand for home cleaning remains strong in spite of the recession. Due to financial pressures, often both people in a relationship now go out to work and this create more customers for home cleaning services.

The demand for this service is also rapidly increasing as home owners are finding it hard to source dependable cleaners. These fundamentals should ensure that Merry Maid businesses will continue to grow in 2009.

Merry Maid is the biggest domestic cleaning franchise both in the UK and worldwide. They have an excellent reputation in the market. They do not look for owner cleaners but look for couples or individuals who can manage to carry on with a developing business. Merry Maid works on the principle that “if you grow we grow”.

The cost of a Merry Maids franchise with full equipment is £ 15,900. You need to pay the initial payment of £ 4,770. The remaining balance can then be financed.

Merry Maids Franchising is an ideal choice for you if you are looking for a franchise business with solid support and a thriving future.

Franchise Expo Paris is an event which connects investors from 92 countries with the most well-known franchisors looking to develop their concept internationally.

Franchise Expo Paris is known as the most diverse, world-leading franchise exhibition. It features over 30,000 entrepreneurs who are ready to invest, and 400 franchisors.

The international franchise community includes lawyers, retail real estate developers, consultants, franchise associations, and bankers. All converge upon Paris to discuss franchise business opportunities, create new relationship and exchange ideas.

Franchise Expo Paris is a worldwide franchise development exhibition and business network recruitment event.

The franchise exhibition presents more than 400 franchise concepts from over 20 countries. It spans 75 various activity sections which include fashion, fine food, estate agents, auto repairs, beauty salons, toys, swimming pools and stationers.

Approximately 30,000 entrepreneurs planning to launch their own franchising business are likely to be present at the exhibition.

Franchise Expo Paris is becoming increasingly global, with 14% of outside visitors in 2008. The international franchise day will be devoted to them in order to meet the needs of international franchisors, investors and master franchisors.