Andy Cornell accepting Franchisee of the Year 2016 award, Chief Executive, Tim Harris on left and Julia Choudhury, Business Development Director on right
Having faced redundancy twice in three years after a seasoned career as a Sales and Marketing Director, in 2011 Andy decided that he wanted a complete change of direction.
“I liked the idea of being able to set up and run my own company without the risks associated with a ground-up new start. I wanted a business which was flexible, not massively expensive and had the potential for growth.”
Having looked at a number of franchises, ChipsAway appealed to me for various reasons. First of all, I had an interest in cars anyway. Secondly, the back-up of a well-known and respected brand really appealed to me – ChipsAway stood out in terms of reputation and marketing. You have a steady flow of leads and customers from day one.”
“From the initial telephone enquiry, right through to the contract negotiations ChipsAway were extremely helpful and very forthright about the opportunities and possible pitfalls with franchising their brand. Overall, the information at all stages was very detailed, thorough and honest.”
Once Andy attended an open day and spoke to existing franchisees, he invested in a ChipsAway franchise and began training shortly after.
“The initial 4-week product training was superb. The initial course was then followed up 3 months later by a further week of more in-depth dent repair techniques, which then allowed me to then tackle bigger projects for customers.”
“There is on-going training available whenever you need it and ChipsAway also offer other complementary courses like social media marketing, vehicle lease hand back assessment and training in new products and services which again allows you to add new services and revenue streams to your business.”
Andy was initially concerned about how quickly he could generate a reasonable income, but his business was profitable straight away, and in 2016 was crowned Business Mentor of the Year and Franchisee of the Year for the third time in a row at ChipsAway’s Annual Conference and Awards Ceremony.
“With ChipsAway there is the potential to start earning from day one.” Andy says. “The business model is so easy. If you are prepared to put the effort in, the earning potential is very good, even as a one man one van operation. If you decide to expand and open a Car Care Centre, you can make a very healthy income and build a business with proven value as when you decide to sell it on.
“There is a visible track record of success with ChipsAway, and if you ever have any issues with the business, there are people able and willing to offer specialist advice.”
“Owning my own business is extremely liberating – no one can make me redundant or have an effect on my life apart from me. Every decision I make is for the good of my business and my family.”
If Andy’s story has sparked your interest, come and join us on one of our regular, informal open days, where you can meet the team, experience the exciting ChipsAway system first hand and chat with existing Franchisees. Call 0800 731 6914 or enquire here to book your place.
