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Sector: Services
Employees: 10
Location: Yorkshire
The big idea:- Using a service model from another sector to grow the business
What they do
Starting out in 1998, Greensleeves provides domestic customers with lawn care services including treatment, feeding and seeding.
The challenge
To develop the business in a way that was manageable, sustainable and self financing. With more customers streaming in from an ever-broadening area, it became clear that John could not meet the growing demand. He could either have stayed small or employed others to take on the load, but in the end John opted for a very different solution.
The solution
To adopt the franchising model which is accepted in many other service sectors but was new to the garden services sector.
Prospective franchisees purchase a trading area based on postcodes typically covering 100,000 homes. The initial fee pays for all lawn care equipment, certified operator training, freephone sales line and first year marketing and business support. Greensleeves also supplies lawn treatment products as part of the franchising contract, at advantageous prices negotiated with preferred suppliers. They have agreed service levels that ensure fast, reliable and accurate deliveries direct to the franchisees - eliminating the need for Greensleeves to hold stocks.
Issues arising
With ambitious targets for growth - 50% in the current year, Greensleeves needs to select franchisees who share the work and quality ethic of the company. "We are very thorough in the recruitment process," says John, "You can teach people the technicalities of our business but not attitude, integrity or motivation. We have to work hard at explaining our business and, in particular, demonstrating that it's a sound proposition with a reputable company."
As the company has grown, John has had to learn to let go. At the start, he knew all the customers and oversaw more or less everything in the business. Once it started to grow the challenge was to bring in the right people and not only trust them to do the job well but allow them to bring forward new ideas to improve the business and its services.
In addition, John has had to grow his own skills in the areas of procurement, business planning, monitoring and financial management. Annual revenue targets are produced for the company and its franchisees, with progress reviewed monthly to identify any problems.
The outcome
By franchising its operations, the company has been able to grow at 30-40% each year with no borrowing and little additional staffing. Most investment and staffing pressures are born by the franchisees, who in return benefit from a highly successful business model and comprehensive support.
The nature of the operation is steadily shifting from directly delivering services to managing and safeguarding an increasingly valuable brand. In addition, by securing favourable prices from its suppliers, Greensleeves is able to achieve modest margins and revenue from the supply of products.
"With franchising, we've achieved rapid growth without departing from our 'no borrowing' philosophy. This has meant learning and adopting new approaches as we've grown, not least in changing our mindset from 'service provider' to 'franchising company'", explains John.
What next?
Here are some ways Greensleeves is building on the success of its innovation.
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