Cabin fever!

It could be the storyline for a romance novel: Aussie boy meets Kiwi girl. Boy eventually asks girl out. Love grows. With girl, boy returns to Australia. Girl gets call to please come home with her now fiancé to work in the family business. Girl and fiancé learn a lot and buy the South Island arm of the family business. Covid curtails wedding, three times. The couple welcomes Harvey, three, into the world, and Austin, six months ago. And that’s just the beginning of the story. 

Boy – Cody McCallum and girl – Whitney Green are owners and vendors of all South Island territories under the Mizin Cabin Hire franchise. Both only recently turned 30.

“In 2015, my mum, Mary, and dad, Gordon, used their many years of business experience to identify and then launch Mizin Cabin Hire to fill a large gap in the affordable accommodation and temporary space sectors,” explains Whitney. 

“High demand changed their plan to manufacture and hire out a total of 100 cabins initially, as a way of topping up their pension fund. Competitive benefits such as construction quality (certified compliant with NZ Healthy Homes Standards) and living comfort contributed to making Mizin a popular choice. We’re also a WINZ-approved accommodation provider” says Whitney.

“In 2019, about six months after Cody whisked me off to Australia to work in the accounts side of the earthmoving company that had brought him to the Wellington Transmission Gully, Mum and Dad asked us to help with restructuring Mizin Cabin Hire as a franchise system.

“It was an offer we couldn’t refuse. Just as I couldn’t refuse a date with Cody once he’d spent six months plucking up courage to ask me out. One date. Surely that won’t interfere with my OE plans, I’d thought? How wrong I was!”

Fair and sustainable franchise model

Professional consultants at The Franchise Coach helped create a fair and sustainable franchise model to give Mizin Cabin Hire franchisees a comprehensive package. This includes online and on-site training, ongoing support, and tools for routine maintenance. Mizin Cabin Hire also became a member of the Franchise Association of New Zealand and the Hire Industry Association of NZ.

Mizin’s franchisor credentials were further strengthened by winning the Hire Industry Association of NZ 2023 Hire Company of the Year in the up-to-$2.5 million turnover category. It also received a HIANZ Merit Award for Innovation and Technology.

“My experience with heavy machinery was put to good use in areas such as cabin construction and routine maintenance,” says Cody. “Whitney was doing a great job in admin and franchisee recruitment, with Mary providing franchisee support.

“By 2021, there were 350 Mizin Cabins out there, mostly in the North Island. That number is now closer to 800. With Whitney keen to relocate to Christchurch, where she and Mary were born, we negotiated to buy the eight South Island territories and are now looking to sell them on to the right buyers. To give franchises equal opportunity, these territories are based on population.

“Our growth strategy is to maximise the appeal of Mizin franchise territories by establishing regular hire customers. Already, near Cromwell, a large packing house is a regular customer. While, over recent seasons, NZSki have been accommodating many Mount Hutt staff in our cabins. In the South Island, double glazing is installed to increase winter and summer comfort, and air con/heating cabins are also available for hire.”

Full time, semi-retirement or side hustle

“Currently, there are 73 cabins spread over our southern territories. All are on our minimum six-month lease at around $85, and up to $185 per week for the 2.4m x 4.8m Mizin cabin. Territory investment is from $275,000+gst, which includes 10 cabins and the custom-built, remote-control trailer that makes delivery, site set-up and pick-up a breeze, plus also admin and accounting training.” 

Whitney adds, “If you share our family values and, whether as a full-time, semi-retirement business or side hustle, you can appreciate the huge semi-passive income potential of Mizin Cabin Hire, we want you to call us to chat.”  

See this advertorial on page 18 of Franchise New Zealand magazine Year 33 Issue 4

Contact details for Mizin

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