"I am over fifty now and have spent around 35 years working for many companies large and small. After my first year owning a franchise . . .

I have replaced several bosses with one, myself.

I have replaced getting up in the morning because the alarm has gone off with getting up because I want to get on with MY business.

I have replaced wondering how my employers are going to manage the business and me going forward with always knowing what is planned because I am planning it.

My regret is I should have done it twenty or thirty years ago."

Ivor Spinks - Time For You Franchise – Southport

"In 2004 I quit the Oil Industry after deciding I wanted to return to being my own man. I was a very successful executive and left as Operations Director of a major service company.

On day 2 of my retirement I attended a franchise exhibition in Glasgow and quite frankly was appalled at some of the offers being made, the conditions of contract were so onerous I very nearly decided to retire.

A few weeks later I came across an existing franchise for sale and I phoned for more details, it was for a domestic cleaning franchise. I was attracted by what the franchisee said and resolved to follow it up. Again I phoned head office and was convinced to at least have a face to face meeting with the franchisor. This proved to be the pivotal point, I had considered whether to go the route of franchise or branch out on my own.

My initial thought was to go my own way as most of what I had seen was at best a long shot. The outcome of my meeting with the franchisor was to go ahead, this was very largely due to what I can only describe as an instant rapport with the franchisor. I felt comfortable and assured that his and my interests were the same. After some further discussion, regarding training and support, I decided that having a family around me was a distinct advantage, no need to re-invent the wheel and through the internal intranet all the further queries could be answered by active franchisees.

The most important part of the franchise plan for me was that the business plan was in place and working, and the marketing plan was tried and tested. It can be pretty lonely out there, and knowing you can talk to someone makes a difference."

Paul Spencer - Time For You Franchise - Aberdeen

"From personal experience I have purchased a franchise as well as having launched several businesses over the years. My favoured route has been franchising, why? Any decent franchisor will have piloted the business model, either as a single franchise or with several pilots. If these have proved successful, there's every likelihood that this success could be emulated elsewhere.

Banks, either for immediate or future funding also prefer lending to franchisees; they are seen statistically as being more likely to survive than their single business counterparts. In addition, potential clients tend to trust a franchise more, as they are seen as offering more stability and security to the potential client.

Going it alone, in short has to overcome all of the aforementioned issues. In my opinion, franchising offers the franchisee not only a much stronger brand, but equally importantly, more of a chance of achieving long term financial success and survival, especially in recessions."

Adam Cadell – Time For You - Newcastle South

Working for yourself. Not for the faint hearted - or is it?

"Many years ago I started a decorating business from scratch. Although I knew a lot about decorating, I knew nothing about marketing, how to close a deal or generally how to get the general public to buy into my service.

It took nearly three years of hard work before I became properly established and, even then, I was still somewhat naive about pricing and how to get the maximum return for my effort.

In short, from my experience, I found that working for yourself was not easy! Franchising, however, is a totally different ball game!. I purchased a domestic cleaning franchise some six years ago and have never looked back. From the start I was given clear advice and guidance as how to find clients, how to find cleaners to do the work, how to market the business and how to monitor and control it.

The learning curve was so easy compared with my experience working alone. With a franchise I have back up and support from head office and also support from a network of like minded franchisees all of whom share the same experiences in business as me. Instead of me taking three years to become established it was more like six months. Yes, I still work hard but with the proper tools to succeed and with the ability to make a good living.

So, working for yourself can be for the (slightly!) faint hearted if you choose the franchise route as I did. Try it, it's so much easier than starting out alone."

Paul Urbanowicz – Time For You – Newcastle North

"In 2004, I was working as a retail manager. Whilst it was a job I enjoyed, I felt a desire to go it alone and run my own business which just wouldn't go away. The biggest concern though was "going it alone"! With no real knowledge of how to run a business and not really an idea of what business to run - franchising seemed the obvious choice. I researched thoroughly about industries, costs, what a franchisor provided and didn't provide. I found my ideal franchise, they encouraged my ambition and I came away more certain than ever that this was the right path for me.

Getting started was hard work - going from the security of a monthly pay cheque to realising you have to generate everything yourself from scratch is a big shift in mindset. When you start your own business, there can be times that feel lonely; times when you come against a problem that you have no idea how you resolve. But in franchising - there is none of this. At the end of the phone you have a franchisor who will understand the problem and be able to help you resolve it. Or fellow franchisees who have experience of the same issues and are all willing to help each other.

It's important to realise though that a franchise IS your own business. You enjoy the freedoms, prospects and potential that running your own business brings. In a career - your earnings potential is limited by how much your line manager reckons you're worth and you're never going to bust through that ceiling. In your own business, your earnings aspirations are set by you and the more you put in - the more you will get out. But it's vital to remember that a franchise isn't a business on a plate - you still have to work hard at it to make it become what you want it to become.

5 years along and I'm still glad I chose franchising. Today I continue to regard it as the safest step into business and appreciate the support of franchising which first attracted me to it. Franchising is a business of your own, but never a business on your own."

James Booker – Oven Wizards - Maidstone