The franchise, Cash Converters, is persisting in expanding its territory with the opening of its most recent store in Ashton under Lyne. The new store is operated and owned by two Australian business partners John Strickland and Adam Steward. The two also own many other Cash Converter stores back in their home country.

Strickland and Steward met 20 years ago while training to become police officers. They then served in the police for 12 years, after which they followed their interest in opening up a small business. The two accepted franchises from the Cash Converters organisation and since then have enjoyed many years of successful business.

When talking about the new Cash Converters store, Steward said that he was delighted to still be working with Strickland. Due to the vast experience the two have in this field, they are well prepared for the new venture and are hoping to offer a variety of services to the local people. This particular franchise can help in many ways at this present time when people are looking for a bargain and need to get cash from unwanted goods.

Strickland added since traditional methods of borrowing are not as popular as they were, a large number of people have begun to realise that the services offered by Cash Converters is extremely beneficial to meet their financial needs.

Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs has developed a revolutionary new programme to combat the growing levels of overweight children in the UK.  The franchise, which is the only national sliming organisation that offers exercise in addition to dietary advice, is launching its new programme Kids 2.

Through Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs’ network of franchise owners, Kids 2 classes will soon be available in towns and cities across the UK.  The six-week programme enables a child over 10 years of age and a parent to attend classes together.  The pair participate in fun activities, which offer practical and motivational advice, take part in nutritional games and quizzes, fitness circuits and learn about healthy meal planning and preparation.  The emphasis is on everyone having fun.

“This innovative programme has been developed exclusively by Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs and is the first scheme of its kind to operate in the UK,” says Rosemary Conley CBE, founder of Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs.  “Kids 2 provides children with the opportunity to participate in a programme which is non-threatening and non-competitive where the emphasis is on fun, fitness and healthy eating.  It is not a slimming club for kids.  It will really help them to feel successful and positive about their physical pursuits.

“It is important to establish ways to combat the growing trend of obesity in the UK, especially amongst the younger generation.  While we already offer exercise sessions in our hugely popular classes, making this programme available to children is a natural progression for us.  All of our instructors are fully qualified to teach exercise and nutrition already, but they have also completed a professional training course for Kids 2 to enable them to deliver a safe and effective class including children.  They are perfectly placed to help families learn how to change their lifestyles to become healthier just by making simple changes.”

Bluebird Care and Boots have teamed up to offer customers who require prescription drugs at home a seamless service of help and care.  A franchise that provides home care, Bluebird Care’s 43-strong team of care managers are working with pharmacists, using tried-and-tested Boots’ initiatives, to help people safely use their medication at home.

Customers and carers are being encouraged to use specially designed blister packs and pill dispensers, to ensure they are taking their medicines correctly.  Extra devices are also available to help the partially sighted and visually impaired, including a credit card-style design with pre-recorded information.  Additionally, Bluebird Care’s promotional literature is on display at pharmacies, providing  clearly written information for customers seeking to receive care at home, either for them or a relative.

“We are delighted to be working with Bluebird Care,” says Chris Glass, Domiciliary Care Manager for Boots.  “We see them as a major provider of quality care and our working together will offer our customers both information and practical help.”

Bluebird Care Managing Director Paul Tarsey adds:  “It is often confusing and difficult for people to get the help they need and the support in place to enable them to stay at home.  We are working alongside Boots to help people through that maze, whether that is organising care at home or help with their medication.”

A bride-to-be has found a unique way of saving money on her wedding – by being driven to the venue in the groom’s new Apollo Blinds van.  Helena Hamblett decided to make the short trip to her wedding venue in the van because she liked the flowers on it and it would enable the couple to save around £200 by not having to hire a posh car.

“When Matt turned up in his new van I loved it and asked if he’d let my dad drive me to our wedding in it and he said yes,” Helena says.  “Like a lot of other families right now money is tight because Matt has just started the Apollo Blinds franchise but we didn’t want that to get in the way of having the happiest day of our lives so we found a few ways to keep the costs down.

“The van also symbolises that Matt’s business will be a big part of our lives and, as his new wife, I’ll be right beside him as he gets Apollo Blinds off the ground in Wolverhampton.”

Matt admits he thought his bride-to-be was joking when she made the suggestion.  “I was gobsmacked – which for anyone who knows me is a rarity – but it has saved us valuable cash by having her dad drive her to the wedding in the van,” he says.  “It’s also a good opportunity to keep advertising the new business because the van is very distinctive and I’m sure lots of people will do a double take when they see a bride being driven to her wedding in it.”

By wearing creative additions to their uniforms, staff at Prestige Nursing kicked off its new Charity of the Year partnership.  Prestige Nursing, a nursing and care agency franchise, is hoping to raise over £10,000 a year for the learning disability charity Mencap.

Across the UK 1,500 Prestige Nursing staff paid £1-£2 to wear hats, gloves, scarves, tiaras and feather boas in order to raise funds for the charity.  The money raised will go towards Mencap’s work providing vital support for people with a learning disability and their families and carers.

“Prestige Nursing has been working with people with a learning disability for over 60 years and so it was very fitting that our choice for our first ever Charity of the Year partnership should be Mencap, the UK’s leading charity in this sector,” says Jonathan Bruce, Managing Director at Prestige Nursing.  “Mencap’s role in supporting people with a learning disability is absolutely crucial and we are committed to raising as much money for them as we possibly can.”

Mencap Spokesperson Lloyd Page adds:  “We are very happy that Prestige Nursing is helping to raise money for Mencap.  Every penny donated will support the 1.5 million people, like me, who have a learning disability develop skills, gain confidence and become more involved in their community.  Everyone at Mencap wishes them the very best of luck.”

Ask AMI provides a state-of-the-art touch screen kiosk to help guests orientate themselves in an unknown area and find essential information easily and quickly. They are currently in the UK, Portugal and France and have successfully launched in Cyprus, with franchise owner Lefteris Efstathiou. Ask AMI are seeking to expand their network of franchises in Spain as well as other European and worldwide countries.

Lefteris joined the company in October last year, and has expanded his business to six kiosks in separate hotel locations. His first kiosk has developed quickly to include over 60 advertisers, including brand names such as Versace, Guess and Calvin Klein. Each of his kiosks, with its many advertisers, now generates Lefteris a regular and ongoing income and he has even more kiosks planned for the future.

The business can be developed on a part-time or full-time basis and simply requires good communication skills from the franchise owner and can be operated from home using only a telephone and computer to start earning money.

Philip R. Smith-Lawrence, MD, is quick to point out. “This business is ideal for someone looking to start something different and exciting with a low investment level. No experience is required as we provide full training and support and ideally you should have some sales and marketing experience.”

With nearly 50 years IT experience between them, you’d think the Holden’s would be naturals at this, but there is so much more to running an Activ Web Design franchise than just building websites.

Previously, Cecilia worked for a large US Investment bank, but disliked the culture and work/life balance. Home was just somewhere to spend the weekends, hopefully see a bit of husband John, and also play golf.
John moved to the UK from his native Ireland in the 1980s when the software firm he worked for expanded and re-located. John was made redundant in 2001, and opted for a complete career change. Also a very keen golfer, John started his own company printing personalised golf balls. He enrolled on several courses at the local university to learn the skills needed to manage your own business, taught himself Dreamweaver and built a website, converted the garage into a workshop and off he went. The first few years were quite successful, with his products featuring on ITV’s This Morning.

There came a point when both John and Cecilia were looking for a new challenge. They though a franchise was the safest bet and after meeting the Activ team at head office, it ticked all the right boxes…Activ Web Design was that new challenge.

We’re known by our golfing friends Team Holden because we work so well together. John does the thinking, and I do the hitting. It was difficult at first establishing a whole new type of relationship. It was like moving in together all over again! We’ve spent more time together in the nine months we’ve been with Activ than we have for the whole of the rest of our 16 year marriage. We’ve learned a lot together, and while we are still both learning about the marketing side of our business, we love the rest of it. Head office support is great, and so far we have 17 satisfied customers, with eight more under construction, and several more ‘thinking about it’. Networking in our local area has helped and we are now starting to get referrals from our happy customers.

We love what we do and love the work-life balance. We work harder than ever, but we do at times that suit us, and we back each other up. John fields my calls if I’m playing golf, and I look after his customers while he’s on the golf course.

So where do we see ourselves going? Absolutely nowhere! We love what we do and we aim one day in the not too distant future to be building 10 websites a month each (yes, 20 between us). So we need to get more streamlined, get better at admin, sales and marketing and stop rebuilding pages we’ve already built because we had a better idea.

Molly Maid was proud to celebrate its 25th anniversary of franchising in the UK.  The Canada-based domestic cleaning company was brought to the UK in 1984 though a Master Franchise agreement.  Since then, the company has built up a UK network of 70 franchise owners, with 350 cars operating and over 800 staff generating an annual turnover in excess of £12 million.

Pam Bader OBE, Molly Maid CEO who has been involved with the company from its first entrance into the UK, said:  “From the moment I heard about the Molly Maid business I knew it was going to be a success.  It took hard work and dedication from everyone involved, and still does, but it is such a strong brand and such a great service we know we will be here for many years to come!

“Help around the home is becoming an ever more essential part of the household budget.  No one wants to spend their free time doing housework so people are turning to Molly Maid for a high quality service that they can rely on.  The number of customers calling on Molly Maid keeps growing and over the last 10 years Molly Maid has cleaned the equivalent of all the bathrooms at Buckingham Palace (of which there are 78) 41,691 times!”

Despite the recession, online tyres retailer etyres has reported that its weekly sales figures have seen double-digit growth to those achieved in the equivalent week in 2008. The most recent result reported showed a 24 per cent increase, mainly due to drivers seeking to drive down their vehicle maintenance costs.

Tony Bowman, Managing Director of etyres, said:  “We’re delighted that we’ve seen continuous double-digit growth for the past 12 months, even during these difficult times.  Consumers are turning to the internet to find cheaper prices on everyday essential items like tyres.  They are not exciting products, but everybody needs them and they don’t want to pay a penny more than they have to.

“Many people think that if they have to economise on tyres they have to buy economy brands, but that’s not the case with us.  Our customers get premium range tyres for the same price that the high street depots are charging for mid-range and economy products, and we fit them at their home or work saving our customers time and hassle as well as money.”

ChipsAway is celebrating its best ever month for customer leads to its network after generating 9,000 leads for its franchise owners in March.  The automotive paintwork repair franchise has generated just under 20,000 business leads for its network of 350 franchise owners in the first quarter of this year, which is up by nearly 60 per cent on its like-for-like figures in 2008.

Lloyd Evans, Chief Executive of ChipsAway, said:  “Despite predictions of doom and gloom, demand for our services is currently going through the roof.  We believe this is partly due to the effects of the credit crunch.  Our franchise owners are telling us that motorists seem to be investing in repairing existing vehicles, either with a view to keeping them on the road for longer or to sell them for a better price in order to take advantage of some of the great deals around on new cars.  SMART repair technology keeps a car looking good for longer, extends its life and maintains its value – our customers clearly recognise this and our franchise owners are feeling the benefit.”

Carrie Blenkinsop, ChipsAway Coventry franchise owner, added:  “We’re experiencing a ‘mini boom’.  In 10 years, we have never been so busy.  It’s weird considering the current market but demand for our services is crazy at present, particularly on used cars.”