Prior to franchising I was a salesman

"From my research, I discovered that Swisher suited me down to the ground."

After a successful 20 years in various sales jobs, John Ross believed that securing new employment would start becoming more difficult. 'I realised I was coming to the age where maybe I needed something with a greater degree of stability,' he reflects. 'I began to look into franchising with the view to secure employment for myself until retirement age.'

Using The Franchise Magazine as the basis for his research, John attended a franchise exhibition, where he looked at a wide range of opportunities. 'Although I wanted a sales based management franchise, I also wanted the option of taking a hands-on role within the business,' recalls John. 'From my research, I discovered that Swisher suited me down to the ground and I launched my Swisher business in September 2004.'

Swisher provide an extensive initial and ongoing training package based both at its Corporate Office and on territory, which John says was thorough and covered everything he needed to know. Combining this training with his experience in sales, John found that new customers and sales enquiries grew very quickly after setting up the business.

'Of course there were a few creases to iron out in the beginning, but the business now has a turnover of over £100,000 and is growing rapidly.'

John speaks very highly of the extensive support he has received from Swisher and also praises the help of the established franchisee network. 'Each franchisee can learn from another's experience and work together to find how best to overcome any issues,' John reveals. 'Swisher Corporate are very selective about the franchisees that join and accordingly there is a very high standard calibre of franchisee within the Swisher network which reflects well on each franchise across the UK.'

With three vans on the road and a number of employees, John is looking forward to building his Fife based business: 'Swisher provides a great opportunity for anyone with experience in sales and the organisational skills to run a business. My immediate plans are to reach a turnover of £200,000 within the next year, which I believe is realistically attainable. I'm looking forward to the challenge, I'm in control of my own business and I'm finding the experience increasingly rewarding.' Further details: 01202 30 33 33