We've doubled our turnover!

Judith and'John Booth, Liverpool

IN'the three years since we took over the Liverpool Snack-In-The-Box (SITB) franchise we have almost doubled the weekly turnover from £1,400 to £2,600. We work really well together because we bring different skills to the business and share the same goal of making it a success. John acts as the face of the business and is out on the road Monday to Friday meeting clients, re-stocking vending machines and making sales, while Judith juggles the bookkeeping and other paperwork with her job as a personal assistant for the NHS. Between us we are able to ensure the business runs efficiently.

Before SITB we owned a greetings card franchise and were looking for a new challenge when a friend of ours put his SITB franchise on the market. We liked the SITB concept of snack vending machines and also the fact the franchise is associated with Cadbury which makes canvassing the territory easier as people are more inclined to listen if you have the backing of a big brand name.

Our friend organised a meeting for us with SITB at their head office in Portsmouth and the team made a great first impression. They were professional and friendly and answered all of our questions. When we left the meeting, we knew our future was with SITB.

The training and support has been excellent. The initial training covered how to install, use and maintain the vending machines, route planning and canvassing. Since we took over we have had ongoing meetings with our SITB'Business Development Manager to discuss ways in which we can improve the business. The company regularly holds franchise forums where we can all get together and brainstorm ideas.

We are now reaping the rewards of running our franchise. Judith has been able to buy her dream car - a Mini Cooper S, while John is looking forward to celebrating his 60th birthday in Las Vegas later this year!