Signs Express Case Study

Steve Read, Signs Express (Aylesbury)

“Before I became a Signs Express franchisee, I had spent 25 years in the RAF as a navigator on the Tornado Ground Attack aircraft. I reached a natural break in my contract period and could have stayed and although I loved my time in the military I wanted a new and different challenge. The timing was also right with my family and children settled so I decided to make the break.

I had an aspiration from an early age that one day I would start my own business and following 25 years in a large organisation I wanted to run a smaller concern where I could take decisions on my own and which would take effect immediately.

Although I had a lot of management experience from the military I did not have a lot of commercial experience so a franchise with a proven record and excellent support seemed a logical choice. I looked at many different franchises and in particular I focused on the business model and support provided from the various franchisors. Some franchisors offer the world but with little to substantiate it so I was drawn to a more established franchisor with a proven track record and the potential market for signs and graphics is enormous. This ultimately led to me setting up the Signs Express (Aylesbury) centre.

It has been a huge change moving from the armed forces to a start up business and the thing I noticed first of all was that running a business could be a lonely position to be in. However, with the support of the Signs Express HQ staff and the other Signs Express centre owners this was made much easier – there is rarely a day goes by without some form of contact with the rest of the group.

The first year is always going to be the most difficult and has been extremely busy for us, but also thoroughly rewarding as we have had a great start to the business, exceeding our targets before the year end. The key is definitely hard work but also simply following the basic principles that we were taught in our training. Our aim is to be noticed above our competitors, provide excellent service and quality products and market ourselves, with support from HQ, in any way we can.

One of the most satisfying feelings is when you first start to get repeat business. This means you have satisfied customers and is the foundation for the future.

My goal is to continue to grow the business and also give those working for me more responsibility as time goes on. This will allow me to focus on the wider issues involved in business planning – who knows maybe even on the golf course!

In the longer term I look to other franchisees and see the possibilities – so am very excited about what the future will bring.”