Franchise recruitment set for a boost from The Apprentice

The return of the BBC's Apprentice should be good news for Franchisor's as the programme is promoting entrepreneurialism and if you are prepared to put in the hard graft, then there’s still lots of great career opportunities to be had and money to be made from running your own enterprise.



“Franchising is an ideal way to start your own business as it provides entrepreneurs with most of the same freedoms associated with running your own company but often with better rewards and lower risk which is particularly important in today’s economic climate. The 2007 NatWest/ BFA Survey shows that 93% of all franchise businesses are profitable and that the average turnover for a franchise business tends to be around £323,000 per annum - higher than most start ups.


Andy Emmerson, Business Development Director for Domino's Pizza says, "Since ‘The Apprentice’ was first aired in 2005, Domino's has seen a 10% year-on-year increase in enquiries about becoming a store owner. We will be well prepared for the predicted surge in enquiries and the franchise flash point, which we think should arrive in mid-May.”

Card Connection Celebrates 16 Years Success

Leading greeting card publisher and franchisor, Card Connection, has this week been celebrating its sixteenth successful year in business with results that managing director Robina Every describes as: “even stronger than expected”.

The Gift Connection products include; Heartwarmers – sentimental verses on credit card keepsakes, Card Connection’s own unique designs of flashing badges, mini collectable bears that can be attached to belts, bags and mobiles, in addition to magnets and key rings incorporating the unique animal designs of Rachel Hale. They are distributed with Card Connection’s extensive range of greeting cards through its network of franchisees around the country.

“Additional highlights from the past year include the addition of numerous new greeting cards, such as extensions to the Tall Humour and Handmade ranges, which are created by our dedicated in-house design team,” continues Every. The franchise territories also continue to remain particularly popular. We have taken on thirteen new franchisees in the past six months alone and in addition, several of our experienced franchisees have expanded their businesses by snapping-up additional territories.”

Card Connection itself is one of the UK’s largest card publishers and is the market leader in the franchised distribution of greeting cards. Using a proven system, franchisees place greeting card ranges in retail outlets on a ‘consignment’ basis. The award winning merchandising service provided to retailers by local franchisees is second to none and has established the company’s excellent reputation especially within the convenience sector. Card Connection supplies numerous national accounts, which include the likes of Total, Costcutter, Budgens, Londis, Spar and Shell.

Because the franchise networks in the UK and Ireland are complete, the available opportunities now consist of acquiring an already-established territory from an existing franchisee. These vary in price according to their level of development, but start at £20,000 (+ stock) with earnings potential in excess of £50,000 per annum.

“The continued growth in popularity of Card Connection’s product range is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our network of franchisees backed up by the creativity of our in-house design and franchise support team,” confirms Every. “We have had a great year being ‘sweet sixteen,’ however, we are all very much looking forward to making next year: sizzling seventeen!”