Posted:20-March-2025
From Employee to Franchisee
Natalie Reid is the Greensleeves franchisee for Aberdeen. Natalie worked in the oil and gas industry before deciding to take time off after her first child. After 10 years, Natalie felt the time was right for her to get back into work. She started working for the local Greensleeves franchisee which she thoroughly enjoyed, and so when the opportunity arose to buy the business, she decided to take the plunge! She already knew the business and had invested a lot of time in getting to know customers etc and so decided it was goa od opportunity to benefit from something she already loved doing.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and what you were doing prior to buying your Greensleeves franchise?
I am 43 years old, a wife, a mum to two girls (ages 12 and 15) and a black Labrador! I am married to Donnie – Donnie works offshore and therefore at present is Joint Franchisee/Director of the business, however continuing in his offshore role. It is his intention in the next 5 years to leave his current job and commit to the business full-time.
I had a long history of experience in the Oil & Gas industry, mostly working in Administration/Offshore Procurement and then I took a break to have my first baby. Being in the very fortunate position that we were, we could financially manage without me going back to work and therefore my maternity break turned into over 10 years out of work. I thoroughly enjoyed this time and wouldn’t change a thing, as it enabled me to watch the best years of my children’s growing up. Once both girls were independent enough, I decided it was time to get back to work.
I did study a degree in Primary Teaching for a few years, but found it just wasn’t the right fit for me. I struggled balancing homeschooling and studying etc throughout the Covid years and lost myself a little in it. I then decided I wanted to get back into an office environment. I did a short-term contract in the Finance Department of another oil company, before accepting an Administration Assistant role at Greensleeves. It was from there that the opportunity arose to take the reins!
Why did you go down the franchise route?
Prior to working at Greensleeves, owning my own business had never been on my radar…at all. When I started at Greensleeves, I was happy in the role and my intentions were to remain there for the rest of my working life. When the opportunity came to buy the business, although it initially took months and months of serious thought, once we had decided to take the plunge, we knew a Franchise would offer the best possible route into owning our own business. I was already very invested in the role, enjoyed the rapport I was building with the customers and thought if I intend to spend the rest of my working life here, we could benefit from this if we owned it. The Franchise route is ideal primarily because of the support around you. It feels like a family of business owners; we are all facing similar challenges and we help each other out. Knowing you have people around to ask questions, brainstorm, share ideas etc just makes owning the business so much easier. It really is a fantastic network of support and with a tried and tested ‘model’ to follow, you are set up for success.
How did you raise the finance?
As the Aberdeen territory is one of the biggest Greensleeves Franchises, it came at a price. Raising finance for such a huge investment really took some thought, planning and digging deep. We initially spoke with the bank regarding a loan, this took some back-and-forth negotiations as we were required to put down a more substantial downpayment than we had originally expected. However, knowing how much we wanted this, we took a good look at the investments we had in shares etc, and we sold everything we had that wasn’t ‘locked in’ for any period. That risk definitely took a lot of consideration, but we were so invested in the purchase that we were confident that it was the right move. We also have great faith that the business can and will do well, enabling us to pay off the finance and achieve a return on investment within the first 3 years. Considering the scale of the purchase, this timescale seemed very reasonable.
What training and support did you receive initially and ongoing?
I initially attended a week of training at the Neighbourly Training Centre in Brackley. The week was extremely intensive, with a lot of information to take in. Having worked for Greensleeves for a few years prior, I did have some background knowledge, although I still learned so much from that week in Brackley and came away with so many ideas to put into place, more efficient ways to run the business and the best route to maximising growth. I thoroughly enjoyed the week – it was varied, interesting and that continued feeling of support was evident throughout.
Since then, I have monthly meetings with my Business Development Manager, Mike. Having worked in the office prior to the purchase, I had met Mike several times, although discussions were very brief with myself, as he was largely visiting to hold meetings with the previous Franchisee. Mike has been a fantastic source of support, I know that I can call him at any time, with any question or concern and he will be there. I have had two BDM meetings so far and each time, I have said to Mike (and to Donnie) that whenever they are over and Mike leaves, I always feel instantly less anxious or worried and more positive. By nature, I am a fairly anxious person. I am a born worrier and notorious over thinker, this in itself can create challenges when I am running the business on my own whilst Donnie is offshore. At the training in Brackley, I mentioned this to Mike and since then he has come to know me as a person, knows what will be worrying me and continues to offer support and reassurance. His support in this has been and will continue to be instrumental.
I also find the monthly network meetings fantastic in being able to just take an hour to sit back, listen and share experiences with other Franchisees, whilst hearing from Head Office about all the developments coming up!
How would you describe your day-to-day role as a franchisee
My day-to-day role can vary quite widely. I have a great team of staff who take care of carrying out the treatments etc, whilst I focus on the administrative/management side. Some days I am totally snowed under, the to-do list has nothing ticked off, but 10 things added…and other days I can come up for air. Overall however, my day usually would consist of ensuring the workload is planned effectively, keeping on top of customer calls/emails (that is a huge focus on my day – trying to not have customers wait unreasonably long periods for responses) and thereafter spending a little time each day covering other aspects of the business. In order to not become overwhelmed, I try to plan my jobs into 30-60 minute blocks. Perhaps 30 minutes of following up recommendations, 30 minutes of ensuring activities are up to date, 30 minutes of following up quotations etc. That way, I am consistently attending to each ‘list’, whilst not becoming too bogged down with one job, whilst the others fall by the wayside. I try to ensure my banking is done at least once a week, if not twice per week (where time allows) so that customers payments are updated regularly. My ‘in-tray’ is never empty, my to-do lists never complete each day, but I feel that this is positive as if I had nothing to do, the business would surely be failing.
Provide information on challenges overcome as well as your key successes to date.
Weather is an enormous challenge in the North East of Scotland. We lost around 7/8 working days in January which set us up on the back foot, chasing our tails to the end of the month. However, we made it and one thing I have learned is that we can neither control nor change the weather. It can have a significant impact upon our business, but these external factors can only be accepted…not changed. Whenever we had ‘good days’, it would be pedal to the metal. A real positive about the business is that the work postponed due to weather is not ‘lost business’…it is postponed business. Nothing is lost, only delayed.
Staffing is always a challenge. Prior to taking over the Aberdeen Franchise, I saw relatively high levels of staff turnover in the business, and this was a big concern for me when taking the business on. However, I feel that my present team (following one or two recent additions) is good, the staff appear positive, and I am hopeful to continue that way. Although every day can bring challenges, I try to manage my mindset in terms of the issued I need to worry over…and those I really don’t.
I would suggest that my key successes to date have been hitting our turnover target every month. We hit our January and February targets comfortably (despite those weather delays) and we are well on course to do the same in March. We all breathe a sigh of relief on the last working day of each month, and give ourselves a well-deserved pat on the back!
How do you retain your best staff and keep morale high and productive?
Treating your staff well is absolutely key – the staff are the ones out there, in all weathers, carrying out the work and bringing the money in. Making your staff feel valued, appreciated and important is vital. From the offset, Donnie and I sat the team down and laid out our expectations for the year ahead. We encouraged input from the team and reassured them that an open-door policy is in place here. We asked them ‘is there anything you dislike or would change about your job?’ and we took on board the feedback, making changes where we felt we could and where they made good business sense.
We find that small tokens of appreciation go a long way. This year we have implemented a commission scheme, whereby a financial reward is paid out on any additional work the Lawn Technicians bring into the business. Furthermore, with a young workforce, we could see how popular some drinks/snacks were amongst them. Therefore, we installed a fridge to our workshop and we re-fill it weekly with snacks/drinks. This has been running for a month or so and is very, very much appreciated. At the end of a long day, they can grab a drink and snack, and it may have saved them a few pounds at the shop. It does not cost the earth to make these small changes, when weighed up against the value each team member brings to the table. Therefore, if we can offer small gestures every now and again to remind them of that value, we are more than happy to do so.
Can you tell us about any community involvement?
We currently treat the lawns at ‘Charlie’s House’ in Aberdeen, completely free of charge. Charlie’s House is a local charity, who aim to improve the quality of life for children with life-threatening or life-limiting conditions. This is something we are extremely happy to do for such an incredible cause.
What is the most invaluable piece of advice you could give someone looking to buy their first franchise?
The most invaluable piece of advice I could give would be: follow the model, take the support, ask the silly question (it’s not silly!) and enjoy being a part of this (cliché as it sounds) family. We are in our very early stages, but we can safely say that we are so glad we made the move!
Natalie Reid is the Greensleeves franchisee for Aberdeen. Natalie worked in the oil and gas industry before deciding to take time off after her first child. After 10 years, Natalie felt the time was right for her to get back into work. She started working for the local Greensleeves franchisee which she thoroughly enjoyed, and so when the opportunity arose to buy the business, she decided to take the plunge! She already knew the business and had invested a lot of time in getting to know customers etc and so decided it was goa od opportunity to benefit from something she already loved doing. to myself ‘this gets better….’, because in hindsight…it did.
In your opinion, what makes a successful franchisee?
A forward thinker – a growth mindset! This isn’t something I was born with or something that comes naturally to me, but it is essential. You must believe in the franchise, the model and the business…if you don’t, it won’t work. Drive and ambition are key, the business will remain stagnant (or decline) if it is not being pushed. If you have those attributes, the rest will fall into place with the support of the network. Be willing to listen, be willing to be guided. Some days you really need to grit your teeth and dig deep, there is no mistaking that. However, the quality of life, the flexibility and the pride in watching your business grow are all entirely worth it
What are your plans for the future?
My focus right now is on hitting our overall turnover target for the year. I think if we can get our first year down, whilst still finding our feet and make target, this counts as a success.
Going forward into year two and beyond, I would love for the business to continue to thrive and grow. With more customers embracing our packages and adding to their lawns, therefore improving the quality.
I try not to look too far ahead as it can be overwhelming, so smaller achievable goals are my go to. I tell my team, don’t get bogged down with the yearly figure, perhaps don’t even get bogged down with the monthly figure…if we hit the daily target week on week, those big numbers will take care of themselves. So far..it’s working!
If you had to do it all again, what would you do differently?
I genuinely don’t know that I would do anything differently. I feel that we have made a solid start to the year and have no regrets. If I could go back to January when I was second guessing absolutely everything, as we had the worst snow we have had (probably in my lifetime) and I was watching every day go by with absolutely no work being done, I would probably say to myself ‘this gets better….’, because in hindsight…it did.
Interested and want to know more about Greensleeves Lawn Care?
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