Posted:12-August-2013
New Dream Doors franchisee sells £50,000 in first month
Susan de Mey opened her Dream Doors showroom in Truro on the last weekend in June. By the end of July she'd sold £50,000 of kitchen makeovers.
She admits there have been some stressful moments, but with such a rush of customers, Susan says she's delighted with her decision to join the kitchen facelift franchise. “I'm really enjoying myself and absolutely love the selling,” she says. “Of course, there have been some difficult days. This is a totally new industry to me, and a busy one! But I like a challenge and there's never been a problem we haven't been able to solve – or that somebody else hasn't been through before.”
Like most Dream Doors franchisees, Susan had no previous experience of selling kitchens or managing a team of fitters. And, because her partner has a good job that he enjoys, she runs the business on her own with the support of staff that Dream Doors has helped her recruit and train.
Investing more than £70,000 in a new venture takes nerve, especially taking on fixed overheads like a showroom. But Susan investigated a number of franchises before choosing Dream Doors, giving her a valuable reference point when undertaking due diligence.
“I'd seen lots of other businesses, and this is definitely the most professional and well-run franchise I've ever seen,” says Susan. “The products are great, the people are easy to get along with, and there are more resources in place to help franchisees than any outside observers would know.”
Susan isn't alone in getting off to a flying start either. Worcester-based couple, Dionne and Mark Battin, have just taken the record for the fastest start in Dream Doors' 14-year history, opening their showroom just three months after joining. And South African ex-pats, Gary and Hayley Ashe sold £567,000 from their showroom near Woking last year – their first year of trading.
Dream Doors has been franchising for over a decade, is a former bfa 'Brand Builder of the Year' and SIX-time winner in the Franchise Marketing Awards. It was also voted one of the top six franchises in the UK this year, making the finals in the bfa's 'Franchisor of the Year Awards'.
The average annual turnover from a showroom is now close to half-a-million pounds. Some franchisees earn a six-figure income from that. The latest audited accounts to come in from one established franchise show £120,000 net profit, after paying themselves a basic salary!
Interested and want to know more about Dream Doors?
The Dream Doors profile outlines all aspects of their franchise opportunity and allows you to contact them for further information or to ask a question.
