How confident do you feel?
Life-changing decisions can be difficult to make, especially if you’re thinking about starting your own business. The current circumstances might be causing you to feel a bit hesitant, so how can we help?
If you’re thinking about change, it’s been well-researched that people naturally hesitate during economic instability. Maybe you’re feeling it at the moment and are taking measures to ensure you and your family are ready for the challenges. At The Wheel Specialist, we understand. Which is why we wanted to address some of the concerns you may have about starting a business right now.
The impact of the economic crisis on SMEs
You may have heard reports on how SME owners are likely to be affected by the cost of living crisis, with its impact on the supply chain and rising fuel costs. If you have, is it causing you to think about holding off on making the decision you’re bursting to make – to be your own boss? Before you do, you may be encouraged to know our franchise network continues to do really well, with 92% of franchisees consistently smashing through their sales records each month, compared to last year.
As Managing Director, Jack Murphy, explains, “We’re a high-profit margin business, and have learned how to thrive during times of uncertainty because we can adapt to market change. So, when times are tougher, even though we feel some of the effects of the cost of living, our franchisees are not adversely affected as we’re not ‘scraping the barrel’. We’re also always developing our franchise model with the aim of increasing our franchisees’ bottom line; one of the benefits of being part of a franchise, working towards the same goal.”
But, is a potential recession the right time to start a business?
Whilst we can’t give you a definitive answer on what you should do, we can reassure you we know how best to support you, whenever you decide to open. Within our franchise network are franchisees who opened during both the last recession and the pandemic. They leant on our support as they started their new venture, and have built a profitable business for themselves.
Meet Jon King
Jon opened his TWS Cardiff showroom in March 2010 – right in the middle of a recession. Here’s what he says about his experience:
“I opened in March 2010, during the recession, which is coming back around. But, despite this and even though TWS wasn’t as well-known as we are now, I found it wasn’t so bad. From day one, with the CRM system and marketing support, business came through the door. The economy will always ebb and flow, but I’ve found with the premium product we offer we’re pretty recession-proof.”
Meet Caroline and Eddie
They opened their TWS Ribble Valley showroom just before the UK went into its first lockdown:
“Opening a franchise was a big step for us, and when Covid hit we’d only been open for five weeks! As this was new to us, Caroline went into a flap! But, the support we received from Head Office really helped to calm her down – they advised us on what we could do to keep our business moving forward, which was reassuring when something you’re really excited about building looks like it’s suddenly facing an uncertain future.”
What about funding my new business?
You may be concerned lenders will be hesitant to fund new ventures. However, as it helps to strengthen the economy, many are happy to work closely with you, to create a business plan which includes considerations for economic challenges.
Helen Mackellar works for d&t, a fully regulated third-party financial advisor, supporting The Wheel Specialist franchisees. This includes guidance to secure the right funding options for opening a TWS franchise, plus ongoing accounting advice. She says, “As we all know, times have been challenging since 2020; then new ways of doing business emerged. As independent finance brokers, we work closely with lenders to ensure we can negotiate the most suitable bank loan and asset finance solutions. We’ve helped TWS franchisees obtain the required funding, even during covid. So, you’ll feel confident you’ll have taken all reasonable steps to plan for economic challenges.”
Did you know: When you first start, we will provide you with a dedicated B2B sales rep, along with 200 dedicated trade leads to help you make a strong start. We also offer a buy-now-pay-later service for customers. This will help you offer payment solutions to customers and increase conversions. Since introducing it, TWS franchisees have seen an increase in customers who choose to spread their payments – a valuable lifeline to further help your new business grow.
Feeling more confident about starting a business?
Why not call George on 07498 210 301 to discuss these or any other concerns you may have?