Such has been the success of their Dream Doors Poole franchise, Clive Coldwell and Angela Lowe enjoyed sales of £175,000 in their first five months of trading and are more than a year ahead of their business plan.
The couple hold the record for the fastest showroom launch in Dream Doors’ 12-year history, having completed their initial training course in December and opened the doors to their showroom by the end of March.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better, or a faster, launch to the business. Everything has worked out exactly how we wanted,” said Coldwell. “It has been back-to-back appointments since we launched. Last week alone we sold three full kitchens, while our sales in June hit £65,000.”
Coldwell and Lowe took voluntary redundancy from the IT sector at the end of 2009 to pursue their passion for home improvement by fitting kitchens and bathrooms locally. However, they soon realised the hands-on aspects of their business didn’t suit their long-term aspirations.
Coldwell said: “As soon as we started looking for management franchises in the home improvement sector, Angela and I could see that the Dream Doors model is far better suited to our experience and abilities.”
The busy start to their franchise hasn’t been without its problems, as Coldwell explained: “We’ve got 10 jobs to fit at the moment, and the challenge we have is whether to accelerate our business plan and take on full-time fitters instead of relying on sub-contractors.
“That usually happens in years two and beyond, but we have not even been open a year yet! It’s a good problem to have, as I’d rather that than sitting here twiddling my thumbs waiting for customers to come in through the door.”
Published: 15 September 2011
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