In our latest Franchisor Interview, we spoke with Claire Thorp the Social Media and Marketing Executive at it’seeze franchise, to discuss what makes this franchise opportunity unique and what prospective franchisees can expect from them.
it’seeze franchise are a web design company committed to helping businesses grow. Established in 2008, they’re an experienced and creative web design company with a specialist team of website design, web development, and technical support experts.
How is it’seeze franchise different from other similar franchises in the UK?
it’seeze franchise is a unique web design franchise that offers a business-in-a-box solution to prospective clients looking to start their own business, with the support and recognition of a well-established organisation to back them.
- We’ve been operating as a franchise for 12 years now – far longer than any similar franchises in the UK. We’re the most established franchise in our sector. We have a large team of 25 skilled and experienced employees at our Head Office who are there to support our franchisees.
- Our personal and comprehensive onboarding training consists of five full days of training at our Head Office and then spending a day with an established franchisee, where new franchisees see first-hand how they run their franchise. Similar franchises in the UK commonly offer online only training opportunities. We also regularly offer training events via webinar to upskill our franchisees with new marketing techniques and systems.
- Our unique business model means franchisees can earn money from three different income streams and have more opportunities to focus on increasing their earnings, as our Head Office team take care of all the website designing, technical administration, and monthly income – tasks that are commonly undertaken by the franchisee with similar franchises in the UK.
- Unlike other similar franchises in the UK, we’re increasingly selective about who we partner with, so only offer a franchise to people who we truly believe have the skills and qualities to succeed and the working capital to fund their monthly outgoings whilst they grow their new business.
What is your biggest achievement at it’seeze franchise so far?
it’seeze franchise is now 12 years old, with some of our franchisees in their third term and earning nearly £100k per year. They’ve also taken on multiple territories and have grown the business tremendously.
It was also an incredible honor for our Head Office team to win the Gold Award for ‘Outstanding Franchise Marketing’ at the inaugural AFA (Approved Franchise Association) Awards last year – something we were extremely proud of, having been up against such strong competition.
What is the best feedback you have heard about your brand?
“The support from the team at it’seeze franchise has been first class and they’ve adapted superbly to the fact that now everyone is working remotely. The speed of response across all departments and the general willingness to help and make a difference is clear. They help me run my business the way I want it to run, providing a level of service above and beyond what might well be expected” – Garry Stewart
Why would you recommend it’seeze franchise to people wanting to open a franchise?
The low investment of £14k (75% of which can be borrowed subject to status) makes this an affordable franchise opportunity for most people as this will get their business set up, launched and growing. Furthermore, with no need for stock, staff or premises and the opportunity to earn from three income streams and add multiple territories in time to further grow their business, financially this is a favorable option for many.
it’seeze franchise also takes away the pressures of starting a new business. Franchisees enjoy all the benefits of growing their own businesses and working flexible hours but with a team of expert designers and award-winning support services to help them succeed. Our team at Head Office work closely with franchisees, from our developers to our marketing experts, we all help them to make the very best of their business. After all, our franchisees success is our success!
What qualities does the ideal franchisee possess?
Our franchisees come from varied backgrounds of expertise, from teachers to web designers, marketeers to salesmen; but they all had something in common: a desire to put their skills to use to grow their own business, not someone else’s.
A knowledge of web design and/or digital marketing is an advantage in helping our franchisees build a strong reputation as the leading local choice for website services. However, this is not essential as our team of expert web designers and developers manage all of the design, technical build, maintenance, hosting and security for our franchisee’s clients, leaving our franchisees more time to concentrate on winning new business.
Ultimately, the ideal franchisee with be enthusiastic and enjoy helping and interacting with people.
How long does the process of starting a it’seeze franchise franchise take?
The process of starting a franchise with it’seeze franchise is simple. Firstly, we recommend picking up the phone and having a chat with Alex Brook – our Franchise Development Manager. Once he’s answered any initial queries, he’ll invite potential business partners to join our team for a Discovery Day. It’s a chance to meet the team at Head Office, get deeper into the details from financials to operations and everything in between.
If, afterwards the team feel someone is right for us, and likewise they want to join us, they can attend their weeks training at our Head Office within just a few weeks, after which they can officially start their it’seeze franchise franchise.
From the initial phone call to starting a it’seeze franchise franchise it can take as little as a month.
How much support and training is offered to your franchisees?
The initial franchise investment is reinvested into the franchise pack so new franchisees can hit the ground running. The franchise pack contains everything a franchisee will need initially to get their business set up and launched and then to grow and generate new business.
Furthermore, we provide comprehensive training to our franchisees and promote a strong peer culture across multiple platforms and events.
We support our franchisees as soon as they join us, by giving them a 5-day training course, to learn everything about running a successful digital marketing franchise. They also benefit from a day with one of our current it’seeze franchise franchisees, seeing how they run their business.
As well as a full induction from the outset, all franchisees have multiple opportunities to upskill – whether it be through how-to videos, webinars, or training courses with Head Office or through third party trainers, either online or face-to-face.
Our information-packed Support Website also provides ongoing support to our franchise network by consisting of various useful tools, resources, documents, and advice, including FAQs by department, how-to videos, marketing assets, and useful contact information. Within the Support Site are also two online forums that all franchisees can view and interact on.
Once a year, everyone involved in it’seeze franchise gets together for the annual conference. It’s a chance to meet other franchisees, learn more about one another’s online marketing franchise, and share hard-won website and digital marketing knowledge.
Our Franchise Development Manager, Alex Brook, dedicates his time to supporting franchisees throughout the whole of their business journey, regularly communicating with franchisees on the phone, email, video conferencing and face-to-face meetings, to discuss how things are going, to identify and share best practice, and to assist franchisees in overcoming any challenges.
In what ways do you help it’seeze franchise franchisees achieve a healthy work-life balance?
Our home-based franchisees set their own schedule and full-time working hours, giving them control of their work/life balance and the opportunity to spend more time with their family and friends.
For our franchisee and working mum, Gemma Green, the ability to choose her own full-time hours really appealed to her.
“I really wanted to partner with a franchisor that would allow me the flexibility to work from home. it’seeze franchise appealed to me because not only is it an industry I am familiar with, but by enabling me to set up my it’seeze franchise franchise business at home, it means I can still do the school runs every day – which is really important to me. I can also attend personal appointments in the day when needed, without feeling guilty as I can catch up on my work in the evenings or at weekends.” – Gemma Green, it’seeze franchise consultant in Knutsford.
