PACK & SEND – A Business that you Can Have a Life With!

Hari Bodi has had experience of several industries in retailing and catering, with success along the way, but the issue that he had was that he was finding that work was all he had time for! He joined the PACK & SEND team in 2012 and has found that his work:life balance has changed dramatically compared to the late night hours of fast-food retailing.

Franchisee: Mr Hari Bodi

Age: 32

Are you married/working with partner - Married

Territory of franchise: Oxford

Brief career biog: Over 12 years experience within the fast food and retail market, gained in selling, marketing and general management. I have turned fast food stores which were running in losses to profit powerhouses.

What did you do before franchising and what led you to look into it?

I was a JV Partner in two of the Dominos Pizza Outlets. I was looking for a change from Food business to something like a ‘normal’ office hours business which led me to take up the franchise opportunity with PACK & SEND

Why this sector and why PACK & SEND? How did you find out about them?

I was always interested in retail business, in my 12 years of experience in retail I have sold Rice, Bikes, Motorbikes, Cooking Oil, Dominos Pizza and now Pack & Send. PACK & SEND is unique in its own way and that is what excited me to know more about this business model.

In PACK & SEND we specialise in Packing Fragile, Large, Awkward, Valuable, Art & Antiques and Shipping with in UK or anywhere in the world. I found PACK & SEND online (Google) when researching new opportunities.

How did you find the process of raising funds?

I needed to get some bank lending but the Business Manager at our bank (NatWest) was very efficient at arranging the funds, it was quite easy and a straight forward process.

How long did the whole process from funds/applying to training to getting up and running, take?

4 – 6 Months

What support and training did you receive and continue to receive from the franchisor?

The training programme provided wider knowledge about PACK & SEND which included the packing, shipping, marketing and sales etc. After finishing my training and I started trading in my store and in the first month I sometimes had doubts when it came to packing methods and it was easy to get in touch with the corporate team to clarify the best approach. They were also helpful in doing a marketing plan for my store and were in the store with my for the first week or so.

How has it been going so far?

It has been 3 months since I took on the PACK & SEND store in Oxford and the progress has been steady. Everyday is exciting as you don’t know what you can expect from customers and what we will have to pack and ship next. It is also stimulating as there are often several ways to help with a customer’s complex needs and I enjoy putting suitable proposals together for them.

What's your typical day like (if there's such a thing!)

This is difficult to answer as it is always different. One of the things that attracted me to the business was the variety of the jobs we handle and the challenge of providing appropriate solutions.

What do you foresee for the short and long-term future of your business?

The short term business plan is to train my new staff and grow the sales in my Oxford store so that it meets the budgeted monthly sales on a regular basis. This will then allow me to expand by opening multiple stores.

How has it had an impact on your life?

PACK & SEND has fulfilled my need for change when it comes to work life, as I was looking for an office hours business. This has improved the quality of my life and the time I can spend with the family and friends.

PACK & SEND – An Experienced Franchisee’s Perspective

Pack and SendZayad Ali is an experienced entrepreneur who has started and run several successful businesses and has previously owned a McDonalds restaurant. His knowledge and experience of maximising the potential of franchised business models attracted him to the PACK & SEND opportunity in early 2011. Zayad was their first franchisee in London and has been influential in helping design their approach to trading and business development in major UK cities.

Why did you decide to take on a franchise and what appealed to you about Pack & Send?

I had previous experience of how a franchise model and strong brand can help you grow a successful business relatively quickly as I had owned a McDonalds restaurant in London but wanted to be in a market with fewer resourcing demands and better trading hours.

PACK & SEND was an attractive option as it combined the proven success of 20+ years trading in Australia with the choice of great territories in the UK. The chance to be the first store in London was a key factor in my decision.

What did you do prior to joining PACK & SEND and how did this help in starting your new business?

I have started and run several local businesses in my career and this has taught me how important it is to plan carefully and manage costs when opening a new business. My time with McDonalds also showed my how a strong brand can help grow a business.

I have also learnt the importance of recruiting good people in your team as they represent me and my business whenever they are dealing with customers and I am depending upon them when I am not there. Recruiting can be hard work and time-consuming so making good appointments is really important.

Have there been any unexpected problems or especially challenging jobs?

One issue that took time at the launch of the business was securing a good lease on my preferred property. It was time well spent though, as the terms that we ended with were far better than those originally on offer and have made a significant difference to the running of the business. It is always wise to get good legal advice on the contractual parts of the business.

What training and support did you receive initially and ongoing?

The PACK & SEND training included three weeks of classroom and practical training before we opened and we then had someone from the business in-store with us at the start of trading. There is a lot of information available online to support the training – which is just as well as there is a lot to remember!

What does a typical day look like? What do you love about your work now?

There is no such thing as a typical day at PACK & SEND! We have to solve different problems for every customer and finding effective solutions provides a great sense of satisfaction. People are paying for our expertise and advice as well as our packing and shipping services and part of the fun in running a PACK & SEND store is in working out the best approach on a particularly challenging packing task.

There is a lot of advice and support available in the business though, and as orders can range in value from less than £100 to many thousands it is important to get it right!

We help solve people’s problems and that’s a great thing to do.

What would you advise someone who is considering investing in a franchise?

As PACK & SEND is my second franchise business, it would be surprising if I did not recommend franchising as a good way to start a business. Choose a business that you understand and can see yourself running as well as one with a clear USP, strong brand and track record.

It is important to do your homework before deciding on a business model and you should expect to see some performance information and speak to some existing franchisees before making a commitment.

PACK & SEND – A Franchise Business for Corporate Managers

Richard Webb is a veteran of a high-flying career in media trading that took him from an advertising agency buyer to managing director at Mirror Group Newspapers. He left in 2008 to set up a media consultancy and a manufacturing business (ShirtStar). In November 2011 he started a Pack & Send franchise in Richmond.

Why did you decide to take on a franchise and what appealed to you about Pack & Send?

I wanted a transactional business that was going to give me a regular income and could be grown and scaled. I knew it would be very hands-on in the early stages, but eventually I wanted something that would let me step back a little. There were plenty of franchises out there but most of them seemed to be pretty poor quality or to be operating in a saturated market.

Pack & Send is a physical business that is not going to be killed by the internet. I like the concept and the fact that it’s new to the UK – that makes it a risk but also a great opportunity. Like all franchises, one gets a territory of an agreed size but, as Pack & Send is fairly new and the concentration of stores is not yet that high, to all intents and purposes I can operate in a much bigger area. It’s a high gross margin business based on service, innovation and delivery and there just aren’t many companies nation-wide that have our skills and ability – we offer a retail service that fills a gap in the market between the high volume corporate contracts offered by the freight companies and the discounted but basic delivery services available to consumers. So far it’s been entirely what I expected it to be.

In what way did your earlier experience in other areas/careers help?

My career has always involved dealing with people, negotiating and trading, so I use that experience to deal with private and business customers alike. I understand the corporate mentality and that helps with some of the bigger companies that use our services. I’m a great believer in doing things properly even if it’s slightly more expensive and involves a little more work. If you do a good job for people they will remember, and our customers are already giving us lots of word-of-mouth recommendations.

Have there been any unexpected challenges or especially challenging cases?

One of the more interesting challenges was a Tang Dynasty Chinese horse sculpture with broken ears. It had to make a round trip to a craftsman to be fixed – and come back in one piece. We used a custom-made foam bed for the horse which became a re-usable transport case for it.

We create solutions on a daily basis with a bit of lateral thinking and some imagination. It helps to have some construction skills and be good with tools, and that’s all part of the fun. We get a lot of help from head office and the rest of the network but ultimately we have to decide on the solution ourselves.

What does a typical day look like? What do you love about your work now?

We have to solve different problems every day and finding solutions provides a sense of satisfaction. We work out both how to pack and ship all kinds of things to ensure safe and timely delivery, but also to keep the costs competitive. We could be dealing with orders that range from £50 for a private individual to £4,000 for a corporate customer and working out how to transport anything from circus equipment to delicate computer parts. It’s not rocket science but we have the means to take away a lot of our customers’ headaches, such as packing challenges and customs paperwork. I believe all of our customers have been delighted with the service and many have come back – we help solve people’s problems and that’s a great thing to do.

What would you advise someone who took on a Pack & Send franchise?

If you want to do something a bit different and more interesting Pack & Send is a fantastic opportunity. If you’re not comfortable with the physical side of it and humping boxes around, running vans and dealing with large volumes of material, then it’s probably not for you. You will need to be reasonably practical and good at dealing with people.

What are your plans for the future?

My ambition is to make a huge success of this franchise after which I hope to expand into more branches.

Pack and Send - Keeping it in the Family

Helen & Colin McDonald – PACK & SEND Southampton

Pack and SendAcross the territories that PACK & SEND trades there are many successful stores run by husband and wife partnerships and when Helen and Colin McDonald took on the PACK & SEND store in Southampton in the Spring of 2012 they became the second husband and wife team in the UK.

What did you do before you ran your franchise?

Helen was a police officer for almost 29 years undertaking roles from an area beat officer to scenes of crime investigator amongst other things. Colin was an area manager with several breweries up to 2007 – managing between 40 and 60 pubs in England and the Welsh borders. He also managed two supermarkets for the Co-op for eighteen months before joining PACK & SEND.

What made you decide to work together?

The couple had discussed what would happen when Helen retired from the police as she would still be relatively young and had considered a bed and breakfast at one stage. However, just as Helen was due to retire in March 2012, the opportunity arose to purchase the PACK & SEND in Southampton franchise from the previous franchisee who was selling due to ill health. Colin knew the business, the existing customer base and the financial performance, so the decision-making process was relatively straightforward. Being a couple who own the business ensures that you both have the same goal to succeed.

What appealed to you about the brand?

The PACK & SEND business has been trading for 20 years since its launch in Australia and, as Colin was already involved in the franchise, the couple could see the potential growth in the business and the existing customer base in Southampton.

Whilst it is still new to the UK, the PACK & SEND proposition is unique in the market which makes raising awareness of the business in the local area the biggest challenge for franchisees.

The variety of jobs from high value antiques, sentimental family heirlooms, to sending 3 metre long ceiling panels for super yachts, means every enquiry brings a different challenge and tremendous satisfaction when you provide the customer with a tailor made solution.

How do you work together

Deciding how Helen would slot into the business was a challenge as Colin already had a role and Helen had to be inducted whilst keeping the business running. As a couple we have allocated tasks that use our personal strengths. Helen’s interpersonal skills, developed over many years of helping and serving the general public, are focussed on the customer facing parts of the operation in store, on the phone, through email and customer feedback . Colin spent many years appointing and advising self employed publicans on how to grow and manage their businesses so these areas of the operation fall under his remit. Both of them get involved in packing though Helen wisely ‘delegates’ the heavier boxes and parcels to the other staff members boxes around the store!

Good communication between each other and no assumptions are key to success. The biggest challenge when working together is to achieve a sensible work /life balance. As with most small businesses, the current economic climate makes sales and profit growth very time-consuming but, whilst there are days that are just too long, working together means they both know what needs to be done.

What advice would you give to other couples considering franchising?

Any couple considering running their own business must be honest with each other and be prepared to see a different person to the one they see in a home environment.

The plus points are that you are your own bosses in control of your own destiny and will reap the rewards of your business success. You will find your partner has qualities that you never realised they had.