Alex Davidson - Certax franchise owners

Before launching my Certax franchise in June this year, I worked for RBS for three years within the relations department, dealing with large commercial businesses, which generated anything from £5 million to £25 million.

I have always wanted to work for myself, so I decided to utilise my accountancy degree and business knowledge and join the Certax franchise.

I first heard about Certax through a recommendation from a friend, as he had hired a Certax accountant to do his books and was very impressed with the price and quality of the service.

After contacting Certax to find out more about the company and the services it provided, I spoke to 10 franchise owners, to gain a further insight into the business. I found the staff and business to be very genuine and after a couple of meetings with Certax founder Keith Bradshaw, I decided to invest in their franchise opportunity.

I then went on an intensive five-week training course where I learnt about all aspects of business and found it very useful as it was tailored to my level of knowledge and needs.

The support since I launched my franchise has been excellent and I have a Support Manager who I speak with on a weekly basis to discuss everything from customer services to technical issues.

I am aiming to have a £30,000 turnover by the end of my first year and am confident that once I have a solid client base I will be hitting this target easily. I would like to get to the point where I can hire a member of staff and in the future move to business premises.

Since joining the Certax franchise, one of the aspects I have found most enjoyable is meeting new people, I like going to new clients and getting a feel for their business. I also enjoy the fact that I don't have to work in a strict office environment. I love working from home and having a support team just a phone call away.