Franchisee Diary: Duncan McEwan, Warwick

I found out about the David Reid Home franchise opportunity in The Franchise Magazine. The franchise attracted my attention as it was a new venture for the UK and I was looking for a business opportunity that I thought would have real potential for the future.

As part of the training I went out to Australia to meet and spend time with franchisees there, which enabled me to see how the David Reid Home businesses operate and to get a general feel for the day to day running of the business. I found this to be a crucial part of adding to my understanding of the franchise as it allowed me to see how the company worked. Additionally I have received training with the practical aspects of operating my franchise such as computer systems training, knowledge of dealing with the accounts systems and an overview of the project management requirements.

When I launched my Warwick-based franchise in mid-September this year I became the first David Reid Home franchisee in the UK. I think this is an exciting time to launch my franchise, as it is such a new concept to the UK and no other building company offers this turnkey service. Although I would say I'm still in the process of launching my business I've had a lot of interest from people about what we do and the service we provide. At the moment my priority is to build up my business and in the long term I'm hoping to be able to expand and take on more franchise areas.