Deborah Williams
A Day in the Life of a provender® Franchise Owner- Vol. 4
provender® not only provides you with your very own vending franchise business, it provides you with the opportunity and flexibility to create the lifestyle that suits you.
Affordable upfront fees, great return on investment, easy to run and grow, no staff management, flexible work hours. Own your own mobile vending franchise business.
Meet Deborah Williams... The Mum!
"I don't work weekends giving me time to take my kids to their sports activities and by working with provender® I am also able to make time to help out at their schools."
Q. How long have you been a provender® Franchise Owner?
A. 17 years
Q. What appeals to you about this particular vending franchise business?
A. Having been with provender® for so many years I have built great relationships with both provender® and my clients. As a Franchise Owners I thoroughly enjoy the customer contact on a daily basis. It is because of this communication that I have so many long term and loyal customers which is very important for ëHonour Vending' to be successful. provender® offers a level of flexibility which makes it possible for me to spend time with my children and be apart of their school activities for example working in their school canteen on occasion.
Q. Was there a lot of work initially?
A. Yes I thought that there was a lot of work involved back then. I had never run a business prior to provender® therefore this was a challenging learning curve for me; getting use to doing taxes, book work etc. We worked our way up from nothing. Having said that provender® is well established now and offers more assistance than they could many years ago. Franchise Owners today can buy fully established businesses. It is not as difficult now as it was 17 years ago.
Q. Has your workload increased or decreased?
A. Personally my workload has increased as I don't employ staff anymore. I can handle my workload since my kids have grown and they don't demand as much attention anymore. Our product range has also increased and this is due to provender®'s growth as a franchise company.
Q. Is a vending franchise business difficult to manage?
A. No. Experience has definitely helped. provender® provides me with assistance wherever I need it.
Q. How do you plan to grow your vending franchise business further?
A. There is a lot of potential for new business with existing clients by offering them a wider range of provender®'s services. I only have one vending machine. Honour Refreshment makes up 99.9% of my business. I therefore have a great potential to expand into the vending machine sector. My existing clients refer my business to their contacts. I have not needed to cold call for many years.
Q. Does being in the franchising business offer you flexibility or is that just a myth?
A. Yes it does. The flexibility I get as a Franchise Owner gives me the chance to be part of all that is important to me in life. But you must not take advantage of the flexibility. In order to make your business work you need to remain focussed.
Q. Where do you find the time to do non-work related activities? Do you get time?
A. I don't work weekends giving me time to take my kids to their sports activities and by working with provender® I am also able to make time to help out at their schools. I am also able to do more reading.
Q. Explain how the flexibility offered to you by your franchise business has changed your lifestyle?
A. provender® doesn't have a strict corporate business like structure which was the lifestyle I came from. I am not tied to office hours and enjoy the flexibility and responsibility of starting and finishing work when it suits me. Because of this I am always home when my kids are. I enjoy working outdoors in the fresh air and believe it has had a positive affect on me staying fit and healthy. Meeting new people has made life more interesting as I am always up for a chat. I find that if a client upsets me it doesn't stay with me like it would in a corporate environment because by the time I move onto the next site I have cooled down and the change of environment and people changes how I feel. I had considered going back to my corporate lifestyle but very quickly changed my mind.
Q. What are some things you are able to do with your spare time now that you were not able to do prior to becoming a franchise business owner?
A. If I had not changed from my corporate lifestyle to becoming a Franchise Owner with provender® I would not have been able to be as involved in my kids life with school and sporting activities and also making time to work in their school canteen.
Q. What benefits does a home-based franchise business offer you?
A. I am a very family orientated person therefore just being able to be with my family is important and a big benefit. When my kids are home, I'm home. I can catch up on paper work and other aspects of my business from home but at least I am still at home with my family. I have been able to help my kids with their homework whenever needed which I have enjoyed over the years too.
Q. Is the process of obtaining products for your vending machine difficult or time consuming?
A. No. provender® has a very efficient ordering system in place which is easy to use. The delivery arrives at my doorstep easily and quickly despite the fact that I am in the South Island and the products come from Auckland. We don't have to be concerned with sourcing suppliers because provender® has them in place for their Franchise Owners.
Q. What made you choose franchising as a career option?
A. provender®'s concept appealed to me and my husband. It was a job I thought I could do bearing in mind that it would be a challenge. Knowing provender® would provide support via their business development managers as opposed to starting a separate business was very comforting. It is evident to me that provender® has grown and evolved a great deal and therefore won't fail.
Q. Are you happy with your franchise business choice?
A. Yes. provender® looks after me and my business which inturn looks after my family. We have our moments but this working lifestyle works best for me. Things always balance out. I meet lots of new people on the job which is ideal for an extraverted person like me who loves a great chat. Every time I think of leaving to take up something new I stay.
Q. How does the franchise business differ or compare to your past jobs or career paths?
A. I was an Insurance Broker in my previous position where I had to work long hours and spend time away from my family which I had no control over. Now I am far more independent and have control over the hours that I work. provender® offers an unstructured working environment that gives me flexibility to make room for the other important things in my life. My work is my own choice and I know that if I choose not to work seriously I will have to suffer the consequences but on the other hand will reap great rewards if I put in the extra effort. As a Franchise Owner you can determine your level of success.
Q. Tell us who your favourite customer is and why they are your favourite?
A. School Support. The staff members are very lovely and honest people which are very important qualities when you have refreshment centres (snack boxes).
Q. Describe your average weekend as Franchise Owner?
A. Being family orientated I spend most of my weekend with my family. My kids have sports which is a big part of our weekends. Then there's housework and relaxing with a book. We also make time to catching up with friends and family.
Q. Do you feel the need to employ someone to help run your vending franchise business?
A. No. I am almost at the point where I could employ someone but won't. I prefer the hands on approach and having contact with my clients to build and maintain a good relationship. Employees don't always go that extra mile that you do being the owner of the business. Contact with customers is very important because depending on how you communicate with them and the type of relationship you develop this can determine the success of your business. I ask them what they prefer to have as their snacks and tailor my refreshment centres (snack boxes) to this which increases my profits.
Q. Is there any advice you would like to give to potential Franchise Owners?
A. Don't give up. Be friendly and be prepared to work for success, it gets easier and it works. I am proof that it works and you will enjoy it. Use all the help that you need.
Create your own lifestyle like Deborah Williams. Join New Zealand's No. 1 Vending Franchise.