Trade EE Telecommunication Franchise (West Ealing, Amersham, Twickenham)
Well, we’re going back some years, before I got into business and franchising, I was a sales director of around a dozen O2 franchise stores. The decision was easy, franchising is a great and easy way to start a business and EE is fantastic brand. Our business commenced with a store in Amersham and within a year or so we had grown to two other sites.
Proudest moment?
In 2017, we achieved Best Franchisee of the year! Definitely one of my proudest moments!
Challenges along the way?
I believe for me it was finding the right mindset. Making that leap from being a sales director into a director - a business owner. It’s no longer just about sales and targets, I’ve got to think about fixed costs, taxes, accounts, banking etc.
Why did you choose Valentis?
What I valued most was the timely business and coaching advice I received. Valentis coached me to think and behave like a director. The team are amazing and gave us valuable advice throughout our business’ life.
At the beginning, I hated VAT. I found it overwhelming, and the liability would always be a shock. Valentis trained me to understand VAT along with the rules on selling to the EU & outside the EU. They discovered that I had paid £25,000 of VAT in error. By correctly applying the VAT rules they were able to fully recover this from HMRC.
I believe it’s imperative that you speak to an accountant if you’re thinking about franchising, initial agreements, leases, fit-out costs, accounting systems, ROI and an exit strategy are just some of key things that you would need advice on. A specialist in the field saves you so much money and time along the way.
We sold Digitalis Group Ltd in 2020, and I am grateful to Nurul and the Valentis team for all the support we had received. We saved an incredible £150,000+ in taxes through tax planning.
I now have two other franchises and a restaurant in Baker Street and Valentis takes care of everything!
Technical Post: