Franchise Wire:
It is a significant reflection on the quality of a franchise operation when a franchisor becomes a franchisee. Too often the marketing promises of franchising businesses fail to live up to expectations, but the case of Martin & Co’s Chelmsford franchisee, Stephen Frost, is a great example of a businessman really putting his money where his mouth is.
Following a ten-year career as a residential letting agent, Stephen was appointed to join a national operations team of 4 as an Operations Director with Martin & Co one of the UK’s largest letting agencies, with over 150 franchised branches across the UK. Stephen’s role during that time was to support franchisees in terms of business generation, facilitating the integration of the Martin & Co systems, supporting franchisees with the growth of their businesses.
He must have done a pretty good job, as he realised that the opportunity for franchisees was so robust that he should himself buy a Martin & Co franchise and see some of the fruits of his own advice. Stephen knew the ropes, understood the systems, was aware of both problems and opportunities, but was above all passionate about the service provided to landlord and tenant clients of Martin & Co.
As a seasoned professional letting agent, he could have gone it alone as an independent. “I did consider the independent route…but not for long,†he admitted.
