Richard

After working as a designer in Ripples Solihull for over 10 years, when the opportunity arose to become a franchisee, Richard took the plunge. We caught up with him to find out more about his journey from designer to franchisee.

What was your background before joining Ripples?

I attended Northampton University where I got a degree in Product Design. After not being able to find a position locally within that field, I joined the Halifax Bank as I had an interest in numbers and providing great customer service. After not being stimulated in the role I worked up to, I started looking for a position where my design skills could be utilised and came across the position at Ripples in Solihull.

When did you join Ripples and in what position?

I joined as a Sales Design Consultant in November 2012 and worked my way up to becoming a Senior Design Consultant.

When did you start conversations about becoming a franchisee?

After working in the business for quite a while, it had always crossed my mind whether I would be able to run a business like this for myself and that prospect really excited me. After a change in business structure, I started conversations with my now co-owner about how I might be able to transition from designer to franchisee and join him in running the business.

What made you want to become a franchisee?

During my time woking as a designer I was lucky to be exposed to all aspects of the business and I started to develop my own thoughts and ideas on how I might improve things further. From working directly with clients on a day to day basis, I gained a good understanding of how business and client interactions are evolving and therefore what changes we could make in the showroom to keep the business current and successful. The next natural step for me personally and professionally was to be in a position that would allow me to express myself and utilise my knowledge, not just through design but in business too.

“Ripples has always been a close-knit family environment throughout my designer days and still today. Everyone was there to help and assist whenever called upon. The step up to ownership has not changed that - the questions are just different from before…I know that I am not on my own, I can lean on any other franchisee for help and assistance with the back-up of the franchisors for anything else.”

-Richard, co-owner of Ripples Solihull

What are the key differences of being a franchisee vs a designer?

It’s not until you take the ownership step that you fully realise and appreciate the importance of making the business as successful as it can be, particularly from a financial point of view. With being able to control and utilise this, you are able to do a lot more for the business that you may have wanted to do but were previously unable to do. The other biggest change is that I now spend a lot less time designing bathrooms! More time is now spent on business aspects rather than time being spent designing rooms for clients but that is where having the right team in place allows that side to be still at the forefront of the business. I still make time to ensure I oversee all the designs the team creates for clients which I really enjoy.

How were you supported in the process of becoming a franchisee? By purchasing an existing business, this has cut down quite a lot of the help I would have been offered and needed.

As I was joining an existing business, which I’ve worked in for a long time, the overall process was fairly straightforward. Myself and my co-owner also prioritised creating a sustainable business plan which is an extremely useful tool to make sure all of our plans remain on track.

Ripples has always been a close-knit family environment throughout my designer days and still today. Everyone was there to help and assist whenever called upon. The step up to ownership has not changed that - the questions are just different from before. With more showrooms open now than ever before, it means there is a lot more knowledge than ever before that can be utilised for any aspect that I come across. I know that I am not on my own, I can lean on any other franchisee for help and assistance with the back-up of the franchisors for anything else.