{"id":24978,"date":"2025-04-23T15:00:45","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T14:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/?p=24978"},"modified":"2025-04-24T07:49:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T06:49:11","slug":"why-i-upgraded-my-auditel-business-andy-buxton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/why-i-upgraded-my-auditel-business-andy-buxton\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I upgraded my Auditel Business \u2013 Andy Buxton"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #101010;color:#101010\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #101010;color:#101010\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/why-i-upgraded-my-auditel-business-andy-buxton\/#flexible-business-models-to-suit-varying-start-up-circumstances\" >Flexible Business Models To Suit Varying Start-up Circumstances<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/why-i-upgraded-my-auditel-business-andy-buxton\/#making-the-initial-business-model-decision\" >Making The Initial Business Model Decision<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/why-i-upgraded-my-auditel-business-andy-buxton\/#choosing-when-to-upgrade\" >Choosing When To Upgrade<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/why-i-upgraded-my-auditel-business-andy-buxton\/#a-great-outcome\" >A Great Outcome<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><p>Birmingham-based Andy Buxton joined Auditel as an \u2018Associate Partner Business\u2019 on the May\/June 2024 induction programme, but within just six months of his venture commencing, was already looking at upgrading his Auditel franchise to \u2018Full Partner Business\u2019.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"flexible-business-models-to-suit-varying-start-up-circumstances\"><\/span><strong>Flexible Business Models To Suit Varying Start-up Circumstances<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-24986 alignright\" title=\"1739293743398\" src=\"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1739293743398-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"1739293743398\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1739293743398-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1739293743398-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1739293743398-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1739293743398-420x420.jpg 420w, https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1739293743398-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1739293743398-696x696.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1739293743398.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Auditel provides a choice on investment models, an Associate Partner Business (APB) at \u00a322,000, or a Full Partner Business (FPB) at \u00a344,000. The FPB model is effectively the \u2018standard\u2019 Auditel franchise, which most Partners either start with or upgrade to later.<\/p>\n<p>The APB model was introduced in 2022 with the primary purpose of providing flexibility for those whose circumstances suited, such as people with other business activities seeking a \u2018portfolio career\u2019 to run their Auditel business part-time within, or those simply looking for a part-time business for work\/life balance reasons. Also, existing businesses that sit as complementary services to Auditel\u2019s offering could leverage the Auditel network and resources better by running an Auditel franchise as a \u2018bolt-on\u2019 to their existing enterprise.<\/p>\n<p>However, the APB model also allows a lower-priced entry into starting and Auditel business, with scope to upgrade to the FPB at a later stage. So what\u2019s the difference between the two models? Auditel Commercial Director, Nick Tubb, explains<\/p>\n<p><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-24980 size-full\" title=\"Picture2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Picture2.png\" alt=\"Picture2\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/>\u201cEssentially both models provide the same training, resources, support, tools and IP in general, but the difference is financial. The Associate model means you can join for a lower fee, but you\u2019ll pay a higher management fee by comparison to the Full Partner Business model. Once you have some clients on board and some regular income streams into the business, you\u2019ll be financially better off in the long-term by upgrading to the Full Partner model. You pay the difference between the two, plus a 25% (of the difference between the APB and FPB models) upgrade premium, so to use the Associate model as a stepping stone will not be the cheaper option, but relative to the turnover of your business over say a 10-year term, it\u2019s not a significant difference.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"making-the-initial-business-model-decision\"><\/span><strong>Making The Initial Business Model Decision<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>For Andy, as with most who join Auditel, it wasn\u2019t an easy decision over which model to take at the outset. <em>\u201cI was always looking at this a full-time focus, and I weighed up starting as an APB or FPB. In the end, I simply felt more comfortable to \u2018de-risk\u2019 my initial decision. I was excited by all I had discovered, and speaking to the key team and several existing Auditel franchisees during my exploration gave me the confidence to go ahead, but of course there are still \u2018fears of the unknown\u2019 and \u2018what if\u2019 thoughts, so in the end I chose the Associate model and was happy with my decision.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Andy\u2019s business kicked off with training over the May\/June period as part of a large group of trainees within that particular cohort, and his initial engagement with potential clients started over the Summer.<em> \u201cI was busy from the outset, putting in the efforts required in marketing and prospecting engagement. I picked up my first client, then another, and by October I was working with four clients, and had several other meetings in the diary, and proposals out for decision making. Very quickly you\u2019re juggling the marketing alongside learning and development, client management and project management. I recall Nick telling me in the exploration process about needing to \u2018spin a lot of plates\u2019 when growing the business, and he wasn\u2019t wrong!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_24981\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24981\" style=\"width: 451px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-24981 size-full\" title=\"Picture3\" src=\"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Picture3.jpg\" alt=\"Picture3\" width=\"451\" height=\"226\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Picture3.jpg 451w, https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Picture3-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Picture3-150x75.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 451px) 100vw, 451px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-24981\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Andy (fourth from right) alongside fellow trainees and head office team on the first day of his induction training programme<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"choosing-when-to-upgrade\"><\/span><strong>Choosing When To Upgrade<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Andy continues \u201cAs I entered the New Year, I took stock of my progress and compared the numbers for my monthly fees under the APB against if I had the FPB, and realised I was already at a point where I could save myself several hundred pounds per month if I upgraded. The APB, whilst less initial investment has a higher monthly fee as a percentage of turnover, compared to the FPB. Of course, upgrading to the FOB would require further investment but this time I have the security of knowing I have long-term clients, income streams and solid financial projections so it was an easy decision to \u2018invest\u2019 in the upgrade for long-term financial benefit. My pipeline was and is still growing so it made sense to upgrade at the earliest opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"a-great-outcome\"><\/span><strong>A Great Outcome<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Andy summarises <em>\u201cI\u2019m very pleased to be upgrading my business. I chose to \u2018de-risk\u2019 by investing less initially, acceptant that as my business builds successfully, it would cost me slightly more overall, but I have only chosen to upgrade because my business is going well. I have added another new client this past month and have more new opportunities opening up too, so I\u2019m well on course to beat my year one target by a considerable margin. I\u2019m still only nine months into my business, but I\u2019m delighted with progress, and loving being part of the Auditel Business Community. I\u2019m learning so much about the word of carbon too, and as far as I\u2019m concerned this will serve me very well for the rest of my working career.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Birmingham-based Andy Buxton joined Auditel as an \u2018Associate Partner Business\u2019 on the May\/June 2024 induction programme, but within just six months of his venture commencing, was already looking at upgrading his Auditel franchise to \u2018Full Partner Business\u2019. Flexible Business Models To Suit Varying Start-up Circumstances Auditel provides a choice on investment models, an Associate Partner [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":24987,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1061,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-auditel","category-business-franchises"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/andy-buxton-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}