By Yusuf Majid, Belvoir – Derby West
My path to becoming a Belvoir franchisee
My background is in property. For over ten years I was buying and selling properties as well as renting them out.
Through this, I had previously been in touch with Belvoir to talk about looking after my properties up north. I got the feeling back then that they were a genuine company and they really looked after the genuine interests of me as a landlord. That stuck with me.
It was a natural step to open a sales and lettings business. I thought being a landlord would give me a good edge. It ended up being true! But I thought I might need help and guidance with the legislation side of things. So the franchise route was the wise choice for me, and I thought Belvoir were the right people.
Start your own story
Everybody has got their own story. Mine was completely different. Opening a sales and lettings business was something I knew I wanted to do – I just had to find the right company to work with.
Try a discovery day
I met a few other franchise companies, but meeting with Belvoir at a Discovery Day helped me make the decision. They introduced me to all of the Central Office team, explained how things worked and how they could help get me started and find the right place and the right location for my business. I learned there was a resale opportunity in Derby. After meeting them I thought ‘this is the right place for me’. It felt real.
It was a really quick process from my initial enquiry to opening my first branch
Belvoir Group put me onto their training course within a matter of a week. I spent three weeks with the team at Central Office along with nine other franchisees, and it was brilliant.
I financed my first branch myself, but I had bigger plans that Belvoir assisted with
I had the funds and I financed the Derby West branch opportunity myself.
When I expanded to Heanor via an acquisition opportunity, Belvoir assisted with the finance side of things. It was a business that had been trading for 20 years. We began contact with them and it took close to 12-months to get the acquisition deal done. It was really exciting. I went from managing 100 properties, then suddenly overnight I had 500 – that was a totally different ball game. It was scary but fun.
You have to grow. Always look to grow. Whether it’s naturally or through acquisition.
I’m actually in the process of buying two more branches. It’s a bit early, but I can definitely tell you about one; it’s a smaller business that I’m hoping to grow. Watch this space.
Being part of a team is fantastic
When you start up on your own, there’s nobody else to talk to or get advice from. With Belvoir, you can speak to other people in the franchise – everybody’s got different ideas that can help you. It’s good if you are working as a team.
My advice to someone considering a franchise opportunity with Belvoir
I would first tell them to have a good look at the area they are planning to open in. Speak to as many franchisees as you can. Everyone’s got a different way of working so it’s really useful to go to and spend half a day with a Belvoir franchisee and speak to them about how their own journey went.
Don’t think twice joining Belvoir, that’s what I say.
If I was to describe being a franchisee in three words…
Exciting. Challenging. Fun.
If you are interested in finding out what it’s like to be a Newton Fallowell franchisee then read our interview with Richard Morris or if you’re interested in what daily life is like as a Northwood franchisee then read our interview with Deryck Highet.
