Nick Craven has spent most of his life in retail, most recently as a manager for a large supermarket group. However, with his two daughters off to university, Nick felt that he'd reached a suitable time in his life for a complete change of direction.

"I've always loved cars and I like to be working with my hands," he explains. "I've worked a lot of years doing the same thing and in fairness earned excellent money in the process, but the idea of being self-employed really appealed to me and I knew that if I didn't do something about it now, I never would."

Having looked into the possibility of setting up entirely on his own, Nick opted for what he calls the 'parachute' of a franchise. "I recognised how much harder it would be to get established without the benefit of a brand behind me and the idea of support from experienced professionals seemed an obvious benefit," he recalls.

Nick did his homework and thoroughly researched the various opportunities available to him, alighting on the PCC franchise. Having attended a PCC 'Discovery Session' at the company's Midlands-based Head Office and chatted to some of the existing franchisees, Nick was convinced that this was the perfect franchise for him. Once his training was complete, Nick launched his new business and got off to a tremendous start. "Word had spread among family and friends," he reveals, "and I'd literally got a queue of people waiting to have their cars valeted before I properly got underway!

"I've been amazed by how things have snowballed from that first week. I wasn't fazed by sales, having spent so long in retail, but cold calling was something new. Even that was not a problem though. You turn up in a smartly liveried vehicle, looking well turned out and professional in corporate uniform and you're half way there. PCC franchisees look as though they know what they're doing, customers have confidence that you'll do a good job and, when they see the end result, they are impressed!"

He adds that he has had to do very little marketing as the combination of regular repeat work, together with word of mouth recommendation to new customers, keeps him fully booked for weeks ahead. "I hate to turn customers down, but really there's no choice when you're busy. I know that in the future I'm going to have to get more vans on the road to keep up with demand for my services, but first I want to get a little more experience under my belt!

"Being a PCC franchisee is fantastic! I feel very positive and enthusiastic about my work. I can talk to people easily and have generated lots of good business. Financially I'm going to be much better off and I certainly have more flexibility than I ever had before. Physically it's pretty demanding, but that's OK too. I'm a hard worker and believe that you get back whatever you put into a business - if the first few months are anything to go by, my philosophy has proved spot on!"