01752 905790
info@extra-help.co.uk
Extra Help is delighted to welcome our latest franchisee, James Shanker, to our ever growing team. James will be running the Surrey East franchise and we’re thrilled to have him on board …
James will be running the Surrey East franchise and everyone at Extra Help is thrilled to have him on board!
James enjoyed a lucrative career in the Telecoms industry, working for high-profile companies such as Siemens, Nortel, NEC and Huawei in project management, consultancy and sales and product marketing roles.
“However, he always longed to run his own business!”
In 2010, he attempted to launch a new venture, providing mindfulness-based stress management courses to corporate employees. Unfortunately, James encountered problems in converting clients onto longer term contracts. Also, the prolonged recession at that time resulted in huge cutbacks in training budgets and, as a result, the business did not succeed.
James’ wife returned to full-time work and James became a house-husband for a while, taking on voluntary roles for charitable organisations such as Young Enterprise, which involved advising young people on starting their own businesses.
He then decided that the time was right to consider running his own business again but, understanding the risks involved in starting a new venture, made the decision to consider franchising instead.
With a completely new startup, it takes a lot longer to take a product or service from concept to market and it made sense to utilise a tried-and-tested model instead,” he says.
James attended The Franchise Show in London with a completely open mind and came across Extra Help. He spoke to an existing franchisee who was helping out on the stand that day and was impressed by her enthusiasm for her business.
“I just felt that Extra Help was the right one for me,” says James. “With all my charity work I consider myself to be a caring person and have a passion for helping people, so it seemed to be the ideal opportunity.“
James advises that anyone considering investing in a franchise should ensure they speak to existing franchisees to get their views on the business.
“I’m so glad I took the time to speak to them,” he says. “I was really impressed with their passion for Extra Help and could see that the business model clearly works for them, so I knew it could work for me too,” he says.
Having completed his training, James officially launched his business at the beginning of June. He is currently focused on recruiting home-helpers and pro-actively promoting the business, with the help of the Extra Help Head Office team. He is very impressed with the advice he has received so far.
“They are open and supportive and they delivered an excellent training course,” he says. “They have taken the time to answer all my questions thoroughly and I already feel like I’m part of a larger team that I’ll be able to work effectively with.“
James will primarily focus on delivering Extra Help services for the Elderly as he feels that, with the current issues surrounding care homes and government budgetary cutbacks, a gap in the market exists for the delivery of client-focused, home-help services that help elderly people to remain independent and stay in their own homes.
Although there is significant competition in his area, James believes that there is definitely room for a more affordable service such as Extra Help. His biggest challenge at the moment is building the right team of honest and reliable home-helpers and ensuring he completes a thorough vetting process.
“If your business is focused on delivering high levels of customer service, it’s very important to find the right team,” he says. “This business relies on referrals so, if you approach it with the right attitude and are determined to deliver a good, consistent service, the business has a much greater chance of success.“
If you’re considering a franchise, why not get in touch with me on 0845 618 2904 or click here to send an email enquiry and let’s arrange a chat to see how, like James, we can welcome you to the Extra Help team.
Until next time …
CLAIRE ROBINSON
PS:Why not visit www.extra-help.co.uk and find out more?
