Having launched his franchise in Spring 2006, Roger Catchpole is reaping the rewards of a thriving business by indulging in his love of cars and motorcycles. 'I can honestly say I've been booked solid ever since my launch and work has continued to flow in, mostly from word of mouth recommendations,' says Roger. 'Despite the current climate, I am still growing strongly. After six months my income was equivalent to my previously well-paid position. Today I am the proud owner of a top of the range 3-litre Z4 BMW Sports Coupe and a brand new Harley Davidson Fat Boy motor bike.'
Formerly an IT'Manager, Roger took being made redundant for a second time as his cue to seek an alternative to employment. 'I realised that being employed was no guarantee of security,' he reflects. 'I decided that in future my life would not be dictated by the decisions of other people, and that by becoming self-employed I would take control of my own destiny. I've always wanted to run my own business, but I'm a cautious character and don't like to take risks. I recognised that franchising was the safest route to self-employment and set about identifying franchise opportunities that were well established and had a long term record of success.'
After attending an open day with Small to Medium Area Repair Technology specialist ChipsAway, Roger liked what he saw. 'I was able to speak to lots of different franchise owners, whose feedback was really positive. I also searched the internet for customer feedback - everywhere I looked the comments were excellent.
'I love running my own franchise - I am no longer just a number on a company payroll and my quality of life is directly affected by my own hard work and determination to succeed. When I was made redundant, it hit me like a ton of bricks, but my ChipsAway franchise has given me my life back and restored my self-belief. I thought I'd made the right decision from the start - but now I know it!'