The Voice Of Reason

Layamon and Laura Bakewell both had 18-year careers in the Royal New Zealand Navy before deciding the next stage in their lives was to buy their own business. ‘It’s no exaggeration to say that we looked at literally hundreds of possibilities and rejected the lot,’ Layamon laughs.

‘We weren’t completely green – both my parents had owned businesses in the past, and it was what I studied at University – but one of the best pieces of advice I ever received was, “Get the best advisors you can afford.” It was spot on – and it’s served us well.’

The couple felt that a franchise would be the best option for their first business. ‘Our research was extensive and involved reading lots of issues of Franchise New Zealand magazine, which is where we came across Franchise Accountants, headed by Philip Morrison. By June 2020 we had found a franchise we were seriously interested in – Pets in the City, the doggie day care centre – so we arranged to meet Philip to get him to check it out for us.’

Despite the distraction of the Covid lockdowns, Layamon describes Philip as being, ‘The steadying voice of reason and calm throughout the whole process. We hit it off immediately. Philip put together the first financial forecast for us, and we became the new owners of Pets in the City Silverdale. The advice and support he has given us ever since has been simply phenomenal – he has become much more than just an accountant, and we consider him to be a key business advisor.’

How do we do this?

With Layamon and Laura’s business doing well, Philip’s advice became more important than ever earlier this year when the opportunity came up to buy the whole Pets in the City franchise. ‘My initial reaction was, “We can’t afford it!” then I thought again and rang Philip and said, “How do we do this?” He then worked very closely with us to get us across the line.’ Layamon admits, ‘Although we knew how good the business was, we had a few cold sweats over it. Whenever I phoned Philip to ask one of many silly questions, he always explained things and reassured us, “Don’t worry, it is a sound business and the numbers do stack up.”’

As the new franchisors, Layamon and Laura plan to expand Pets in the City across New Zealand over the next few years. ‘Obviously, such expansion requires careful planning and Franchise Accountants will be a key part of building our growth strategy.’

Buying an established business

Glen Singleton and Victoria Rukuwai also worked with Franchise Accountants in the acquisition of a very different type of franchise. The couple are buying the joint Speedy Signs/EmbroidMe store in Kapiti which has been established for four years.

‘We felt that having two well-known brands and the support of such an experienced franchisor would be a great help, but as newbies in business, we wanted to be sure we were making the right move,’ says Glen. ‘It was the owners who recommended we look at the Franchise Accountants website, which is easy to follow and an excellent guide to all the possible traps to watch out for in franchising.

‘We contacted Philip in August this year and his wisdom hasn’t stopped since. He has a great way of making it easy for non-accountants to understand, and his advice has been totally independent. He took us through the documentation and has always been available to discuss details with us. The real clincher for us was his analysis of the figures and his deep understanding of the franchise model. He thought the outlet probably had unrealised potential so, with our new energy and an excellent accountant-plus-business-consultant behind us, we are looking forward to turning our new business into an even better one.’

Award-winning excellence

Franchise Accountants are five-time winners of the Service Provider of the Year title at the Westpac New Zealand Franchise Awards. In the last 10 years, the company has worked with more than 1,000 franchise businesses in New Zealand and evaluated over 250 different franchise brands, giving the company an unmatchable working knowledge of franchising in New Zealand.

‘If you’re evaluating a franchise business, make us your first port of call,’ Philip says. ‘We’ll help you to benchmark the opportunity and determine how it measures up in the three critical areas: viability, sustainability and profitability. Buying any business requires detailed examination, and we are experts in the small details that make all the difference.

‘We also love helping existing franchisees to find the weaknesses and opportunities in their businesses. We have a wealth of experience of due diligence in the franchising sector, and in these uncertain times, it is more important than ever for franchisees to have an accountant they can trust who really understands their business.

‘During the lockdowns we talked to every single one of our franchisee clients and over 95 percent of them came through in one piece. That’s where having the right advice can make a big difference. Contact us now to find out how we can help you.’   

See this advertorial on page 63 of Franchise New Zealand magazine Year 31 Issue 4

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