The best of Scottish franchising and inspirational business stories from across the country are in the spotlight during Scottish Franchise Week, which runs from Tuesday to Friday.
Organised every year by the British Franchise Association (bfa) and sponsored by banking giant HSBC and consultancy Platinum Wave, the campaign aims to encourage people to learn more about franchising and perhaps go on launch their own ventures.
According to the bfa, in contrast to the 80% failure rate of new business start-ups, 92% of franchises are profitable.
In 2013, Scottish franchising accounted for an estimated £700million in revenues, 28,000 jobs and 2,000 individual businesses representing nearly 500 different franchise brands.
The highlight of the week is a business breakfast taking place in Glasgow on Thursday. It is expected to attract 250 people from across the Scottish business community, including from organisations such as Entrepreneurial Spark and Business Gateway.
Its keynote speaker is TV presenter Carol Smillie who alongside her television duties has founded and runs her own underwear business, Diary Doll.
While the Scottish Franchise Week event programme is focused on Edinburgh and Glasgow, the organisers are using business success stories from across the country, including from the north and north-east.
Three ventures in Aberdeen are being held up as examples of what can be achieved.
They include Driver Hire’s Granite City office, which is the top performing franchise in a 100-office UK-wide specialist transport and logistics network and is expected to hit £3million turnover for the year.
Another is Autosmart’s Frank Sutherland, who has single-handedly achieved annual turnover of £500,000 from supplying vehicle cleaning products in Aberdeen and throughout Aberdeenshire. Last October, Mr Sutherland was named the bfa/HSBC B2B Franchisee of the Year.
The third north-east business helping to highlight the potential of franchising is the Aberdeen operation of Cafe2U, which recently beat 70 rivals in the coffee delivery network to win a performance award.
Meanwhile, Merry Maids in Inverness now employs 19 people and saw its profits increase by 35% last year after a 20% rise in 2013.
Bfa chairman Simon Bartholomew said: “Franchising is a proven and reliable route to becoming your own boss which is far more secure than going it alone.
“During Scottish Franchise Week we will reveal what franchising is about, its benefits and what the public should be looking for when choosing a franchise business.
“Scotland has a rich tradition of successful franchising and a wealth of experts ready to offer good sound advice on all aspects of franchising. We would encourage members of the public to tap into this knowledge and expertise during Scottish Franchise Week.”
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