Julia Goodfellow has experienced a phenomenal start to her business, since joining Expense Reduction Analysts back in October 2004. Leeds based Julia, who was a Commercial Bank Manager previously, opted to join Expense Reduction Analysts as she became frustrated by the limitations of employment in large organisations.
“I became frustrated by the amount of time that was being wasted and just wanted to have more control over how I worked. I felt that I had the skills to become self-employed and made the decision to leave my employment, once I felt comfortable that a franchise would give me the independence I needed but with the support and resources of being part of an organisation”
I quickly narrowed my search for a franchise down to established members of the British Franchise Association as I knew the banks were much keener to support recognised and proven franchise models. An established business model appealed to me with a service I felt I could sell comfortably. I wanted a business that was recession proof because the economic future was uncertain.
The concept seemed to fit so well with my skill sets. I looked at one or two other businesses that had similarities to Expense Reduction Analysts but the literature I was presented with was poor in comparison to what Expense Reduction Analysts provided and the depth of client base, support structure and strength of brand of the appeared to offer me so much more!
In the back of mind, my only concerns were about whether I would feel lonely working from home and the time it would take for income to be receipted. My experience however, was such that I barely had time to contemplate these concerns as I was too busy with my Expense Reduction Analysts work. I enjoy great variety in my working day as I meet clients and suppliers, all of whom have different needs. I also work with a large number of my fellow franchised consultants on different projects and also have a regular ‘partner’ where we jointly visit new prospective clients and share project work that is signed. Even when I am home-based, I am still in constant communication with my colleagues through the excellent Expense Reduction Analysts communication and database systems.
In fact, Julia has experienced one of the most impressive starts to an Expense Reduction Analysts business that has been seen.
“I prepared my business plan in accordance with the conservative guidance of the franchisor, and also the views and feedback from the franchisees I spoke with, and made sure I could support myself financially as the business developed. The reality, I found, was different. I started receipting income in only my third month of business and billed a six-figure level within only thirteen months”. Expense Reduction Analysts franchisees run extremely low cost businesses, with no staff or premises, so a six-figure billing level, could be as high as 80% profit, after taking out business overheads including a monthly franchise support fee.
There is an immense amount of satisfaction to be able to make a big difference to a client, but I find that clients often resent the big fee notes when spectacular savings are achieved, particularly as it sometimes a) embarrasses them because they thought they had been doing a good job or b) makes them wonder whether they could have achieved some of those savings themselves.
Working for Expense Reduction Analysts has exceeded my expectations in terms of income and support. I guess the thing that springs to mind is the willingness to help when I have needed it. The support from all members of staff is always ready at hand. The other really important thing to me is the production of marketing materials, support for a decent IT system, etc which largely happens without my input. I also achieve great satisfaction from knowing that success or failure is my responsibility.
It’s great that the bulk of what I do, I am rewarded for directly. I have complete control of my business. The key to success, I feel, is enjoyment. You need to be assertive with clients and suppliers but that comes easily when you are full of confidence because you know that what you are offering will help the client. You have to be prepared to work hard but, again, when I am the beneficiary and I love what I do, it doesn’t feel like hard work! With the increased income I have received since working with Expense Reduction Analysts, it has enabled me to do more activities I really enjoy, e.g. traveling & skiing, creating a balance between working hard & playing hard.
Being self employed as part of Expense Reduction Analysts has completely changed my perception of work. I was talking about this to another self employed person just last night. We both felt that the stress we used to feel working in organisations has almost completely disappeared. People occasionally ask me how many hours I work each week, but I have no idea - I work when work needs doing, and am relaxed about the time I spend away from the office. I will often start working early in the morning if I am up, or nip back into the office in the evening after I've been out. Being self employed for me has helped me to blur the edges between work/home/voluntary and social life. They are all just integral parts of life. |
