Receiving a postcard from Revive! HQ congratulating them on achieving their first record month was one of the highlights of Revive Swansea’s first year!

Mike and Natalie Powell launched Revive! Swansea in August 2023, and that first record month was just £9,000. Now their monthly turnover is nudging £30,000 and the couple have ambitious plans for further growth.

The lack of quality mobile smart repairers in their area initially motivated the husband and wife team to invest in a Revive! franchise. Twelve months on with their business going from strength to strength, the couple are looking to add a fourth technician and an alloy wheel van to meet the growing local demand for specialist alloy wheel repairs.

Natalie has been running a very successful keepsake jewellery franchise for the past 17 years. This enabled the Powells to keep all of the income from Revive! in the business to cover running costs and build up capital for forthcoming investment in the new van and a workshop unit – because, as Natalie said ruefully, “it always rains in Wales!”

Their biggest challenge was learning how to manage people. Explained Mike: “We’ve never managed anyone before so it was quite a big learning curve. With the jewellery business we make everything ourselves, but having technicians out on the road is a very different kettle of fish.”

At every stage of their journey, Revive! business owners receive award winning ongoing support from Revive! Innovations UK directors and the company’s large office team. In a new business the first few months are often the hardest, and for Mike and Natalie it was no different. “If it was easy everyone would do it!” observed Mike. “ At times we did struggle, but the day-to-day mentorship we received from managing director Mark Llewelyn personally to help us through those bumpy first eight months was fantastic. The whole team has been incredibly supportive.”

Once they got to grips with the management side of the business and had the right technicians in place, the business really took off. Word of mouth recommendations gathered momentum and sponsorship of the South Wales 360 Car Club raised their profile even further. A third van and technician were added to cope with the extra work now coming in.

Natalie and Mike are enjoying being part of the Revive! family. They attended their first annual conference earlier this year and are already looking forward to the next one. Said Natalie: “ We were really proud to see our picture up on the screen with our first record month and at the same time seeing other people’s. It was nice to be part of it and see everybody coming together like that.”

Moving into their second year of trading, their priority is to find a workshop unit before the winter nights set in. A fifth van and technician are on the cards soon to meet demand.

Looking to the future, Natalie is hoping to sell her jewellery business and join Mike in their Revive! business full time. She explained: “ Revive! earns us more money so it’s a no brainer for us both to be working together on this one. The more we can grow Revive! the better it is going to be for both of us to be on board.”

Added Mike: “The dream is for us to extend our territory all the way up to Cardiff. There’s so much growth out there for us the future is really exciting.”