Women in Franchising: Jane gets ahead of the game in football fashion

Q. What motivated you to buy The Soccer Company?

A. My seven-year-old son is my motivating factor. I've watched other people make personal investments and raise finance through banks and institutions to buy a business, then grow that business and sell it on to repay the debt and make substantial personal gain. I'm ambitious and I wanted a slice of that cake for myself, and the best for my son.

I looked at several businesses before I found The Soccer Company. At that time it was a mail order company selling football kits. I recognised that the owners would struggle to grow the business because of the fragmented market - the Football Association is the only lead body and they only hold data on 15 per cent of the footballing population. We would need a unique method of approaching customers that wasn't mail order, or high street based.

Q. When you took control of the business in 2005 what steps did you take to develop it?

A. The business had been trading successfully for 18 years but there were changes that needed to be made. I started from the bottom up looking at where we source and design the kits, how they are brought into the country and distributed to customers. I drew on my experiences in accountancy and internal auditing to work through every system in the company and to document them to make sure that everyone was working to the same systems, and communicating with the staff to help them take greater responsibility and pride in their work.

We laid the groundwork for the implementation of the franchise by producing training manuals that included these systems and by developing a website to allow online ordering. We had tremendous help from FDS. We shopped around for a franchise consultant but wanted to use Tony Urwin from FDS Northern. His advice has been invaluable and he has hand-held us through the entire process. I believe the advice and service we have received is second-to-none.

Q. What is the franchise model?

A. The franchise, Football Kitz 'n' Pieces, was launched in July 2006. Franchisees visit football fields, sports grounds, schools, league meetings, etc. in their mobile showrooms to show customers the garments. They then place orders via the website to head office where it is dispatched to the franchisee, who delivers direct to the customer. This has given the company access to a greater proportion of the market and gives customers an individual service that is customised with high quality, competitive garments.

Q. How have you balanced your work with being a mum?

A. Being a single mum has been very difficult, as I work full-time and my son is at school full-time. He's spent many evenings and weekends at work with me. It is a struggle and he does miss out on time with me, but I believe that I am a better mum for doing this and we enjoy a better relationship. It is also educational for him to be mixing in a commercial environment, and it makes the time that we do spend together very special.

Q. What have been the high and low points?

A. The financial implications of buying a new business and being in debt is a low. I'm constantly reporting to banks and financial institutions and have re-mortgaged my house. Taking financial and personal risks definitely leads to sleepless nights.

The highs however are that the longer I'm in this business the greater my belief in its potential. When I bought the business there were people who had been working in it for 12-13 years and they didn't have a vision of the future of the business or of their own involvement within it. It's great to have watched those people change, become happier and take more ownership of their roles. They take pride in getting the job right first time, and communication has improved significantly.

Q. What has been your greatest achievement?

A. Raising the finance. The business burned down just two weeks before I was due to sign on the dotted line. The entire business was lost including stock, the warehouse, accounts - everything. I was given six months by the investors to gather the insurance proceeds and re-instate the business before they would re-consider funding. It took a huge amount of time and commitment from me, the previous owners, and the staff to stabilise the business. I took a massive risk by giving up my job but I was extremely proud when I finally got the funding and bought the business.

Q. What are your plans for the growth of the business?

A. We're aiming to recruit 100 franchisees in the UK. We have four already, three waiting for vehicles and another four in the pipeline. We have a rigorous selection process and are looking for good people to service territories to the standards set by us.

It's not about taking fees but about getting the right people with the right knowledge of football in their community. We want to franchise the whole of the UK and also develop the mail order side of the business. We want to recruit 20 franchisees by the end of the year then grow the business by 10 franchisees per annum.

When we reach 20 or 30 and have a thoroughly proven concept we would like to do the same thing in other European countries. We're very confident about what we're offering. Our quality garments give us an edge over the competition. Many of our kits are modelled on European styles and we believe that we are ahead of the game in kit fashion.