Five Business Success Tips
Natalie & Jason Sims have achieved incredible success since they joined Poolwerx. From growing their business to include two retails hubs in South Australia, to being named Poolwerx Franchise Partners of the Year in 2018, the Sims are a great example of how hard work, dedication and team work can lead to great business achievements. Here they speak with Franchise Business about their top business tips.
Trust yourself
The first 12 months was very challenging. I had moved from the stability of a corporate career to being self employed, which was quite stressful. However I had completed my extensive Pool School training at Poolwerx head office and that meant I was tooled with newly acquired skills and raring to go.
I remember eagerly waiting for calls to start coming through and even recall ringing my own phone to make sure it was working. During this time, knowing I had the support of the franchise network and support centre helped me a lot.
My one piece of advice to other franchisees would be to trust yourself and go with your gut instinct. Embrace having to make decisions and weighing up each situation. Even if you struggle trusting yourself to begin with, it will get better over time.
Invest in your business
You will need to continually invest in your business and your team in order to be able to move forward and grow. Admittedly, this isn’t something I prioritised at first, and it’s something I regret now.
Understand your role
Franchisees need to have confidence in a proven system and make their business relevant to people in the local area.
You might not always agree with everything so you’ll need to be flexible in the way your business needs to operate. Understand that following a tried and tested system allows you to focus on other areas of your business.
Training and support are crucial
Poolwerx training and support has been key to our growth. Without it we never would have learnt everything we needed to know. The aptly named Pool School is an intensive six week program covering all aspects of the business and also provides ongoing face to face support driven out of head office. It really is essential to build and grow.
One of the main key performance indicators of the Poolwerx business was partner profitability. This showed us that there was a high level of support and training provided, which has been recognised in a 5* FRANdata rating.
Take risks
Be willing and prepared to take risks. We have achieved some of our biggest gains from this approach, although it’s also important to remain grounded and remember that not everything will be successful. If something you try fails, it’s important to keep going.
