1. The Challenge

Mark Brewer and Simon Trim were running their own sports coaching company and indoor soccer centre, based in Dorset. Between coaching, planning sessions, developing products, and managing their business, they were struggling to make time to focus on customer relationships and new sales.

Operating in 15 schools, they understood the opportunity for growth, but found delivering on it a challenge. “At times, we found it difficult to get traction in new schools and areas. Our varied responsibilities within our business hampered our ability to turn opportunity into the financial growth we knew was possible.”

“We were operating in schools across Dorset and into parts of Somerset but growing into additional territory was definitely one of our ambitions.”

2. The Solution

Since merging their business into the Premier Education network, Mark and Simon have trebled the number of schools they partner with, to 45 within their re-defined territories in Dorset and Wiltshire, giving thousands of children the opportunity to get active each year.

Proud of the impact their franchise has been able to have on children throughout the region over the last few years, Simon told us “we’ve been privileged to work with so many schools, teachers and children, all whilst growing our revenue. We just wouldn’t have had the same trajectory without joining Premier Education.

The sheer scale of the network and the depth of specialised support on offer as a franchisee was attractive to us. We had been trading for some time and our trading figures compared to a Premier Education business of our age displayed a clear difference.”

Bringing their established business into the network, Simon and Mark very quickly saw the benefits that the specialised support brought to them, with the centrally organised sales team providing them with pre-qualified leads to rapidly grow their revenue. Alongside this, Simon credits the “support of an experienced network” as another benefit, with neighbouring business owners lending their valuable experiences and sharing successful strategies across the border.

3. The Process

We asked Simon what he made of the transition process, from being an independent business to becoming a valued franchisee at Premier Education. “Overall, it was certainly a positive experience, and we have no regrets at all about joining Premier Education. Initially, there were some challenges – for instance, we had to justify a 40% price increase for our schools, but the benefits heavily outweighed that.

Simon had some clear advice for other organisations looking to join Premier Education, “I think it’s crucial to review your business as it stands and compare it to a Premier Education business of a similar age.”

As many of our franchisees report, the franchise expertise and support on offer for the network in unrivalled, and not something that independent organisations can access. “We have found one of the largest points of support our fellow franchises, this is something a standalone business cannot benefit from”, Simon added.

“I think having a balance of still having control of your business with the support of a network is a excellent proposition. The local company where we have good relationships, yet as a provider we have a national presence and voice!” At head office, we refer to this as our national voice, with a local accent, and through our extensive Power of One franchisee support, we ensure that our network is up to date with everything from marketing and product training to HR and finances.