Franchising
Case Studies

Case Study: HARRY DUFF & TERRY ATKINSON-: ERA

ERA franchisees Terry Atkinson and Harry Duff are both based in the South West of England and have each been with the group for two and a half years. Their backgrounds are in the Armed Forces – Harry having spent 14 years as an Electrical Engineer in the Royal Navy and Terry 35 years in the Army, the last 12 as a Quartermaster.

Both had harboured an ambition for a long time to be self employed and felt that franchising offered the safest route to achieve such a goal. Harry read about ERA in the Franchise Magazine whilst Terry attended the Franchise Exhibition at the NEC Birmingham where he met ERA representatives.

Harry recalls his initial visits to Head Office, “The professionalism and openness in answering all of my questions, coupled with the family atmosphere really convinced me that ERA was right for me. I also liked the variety of categories and felt the business concept was a perfect fit with my own skill set.”

Terry agrees, “I was convinced that my previous experience would be an asset to this type of business and ERA provided a great deal of support and advice before the initial training. I was able to investigate all the claims made by ERA before making my decision and parting with my money.”

Having completed the training course they each returned to their home-based offices to launch their businesses. Terry explains, “Harry and I decided to run our franchises in partnership at an early stage. We still share all of our projects and, with the full backing of ERA, it has proved to be a winner!”

Harry adds, “Initially we teamed up to share experiences, constructively criticise each other after prospect and client meetings and, most importantly, to support each other when either one of us had a bad day. The real benefit to come out of it though is that we have now discovered that I am best suited to organising, planning, analysis and project management; whilst Terry’s main strength lies on the sales, marketing and client management side.”

Terry and Harry certainly got off a good start. “For the first few weeks we really focussed on marketing and on networking with old military colleagues,” says Terry, “This networking proved to be particularly successful and led to us picking up £1.8 million of project work within three weeks! This success highlighted to us that the particular types of organisation we were targeting represented a market niche for us to offer our services to and so we developed a marketing strategy specific to such organisations.”

This strategy has certainly been successful. Between them the pair currently have £12 million of expenditure on their books with £4 million currently under review. Terry has a large number of ex-military contacts within the independent schools sector which has helped the pair to gain a substantial portion of business in this area.

One example is that of Harrow School, with whom they have been working for some time. They have reviewed a range of categories from stationery through to cleaning materials. Recent analysis of Harrow’s waste management system is set to achieve savings of over £500,000 over the next five years in this area alone. The project involved cost analysis as well as detailed research into new processes and recycling initiatives.

Their work with Harrow and other schools has earned Terry and Harry a sound reputation. They now get many referrals to other schools due to their proven methodology and experience of understanding and dealing with the sensitivities, standards and long-established traditions.

Meanwhile, Harry is full of praise for the ERA support team. “We know they are there when we need them. They continue to give superb support in all areas and we are particularly impressed with the marketing initiatives that are constantly being developed to help us all to create a professional business image.”

Terry continues, “Harry and I are very grateful for the support we receive from all at Head Office. John Allison, MD of ERA, is a very hands-on person and regular meetings with Head Office representatives and other locally-based franchisees help to encourage the constant contact across the network. We also work closely with a few Auditel colleagues as the skills they bring to our team enable us to offer our clients extra services.”

So, are Terry and Harry happy with their decision to join the ERA network? “Absolutely! The potential within this business is unlimited! We have had two very successful years due to teamwork, determination and the right attitude. In five years time we plan to be running very successful ERA businesses and to be the first people businesses turn to when they wish to increase their profitability. We love being a part of ERA – it’s like a big family!”