A Principled Franchise

Iain Ritchie has managed the Glasgow regional office for Legal 4 Landlords for the past 18 months.  In an interview with Amanda Fitzgerald of Farrell-Ambrose, he explaines his experience as a franchisee for the Landlord Legal Network.

1.Why you chose this particular franchise?

I chose this particular franchise because of several factors; The BFA Associate level that Legal 4 Landlords has says a lot about a successful business, secondly when I met the team they filled me with extreme confidence and they answered all of my questions that I had. The Private Rented Sector is huge and ever changing, the opportunities to grow a viable business in this market is ideal.
2.How did you rate the training you received?

The training was pretty intense, five days straight at Head Office in Warrington! There is so much information to take in, it digests slowly for the next 4-6 weeks, however the manuals are great and are easier to understand. The field training was very interesting, it showed clearly that I needed a Sales Person to help me with this role. Signing up Lettings Agents is key to success in your area, the more the better.
3.How is the ongoing support and is it of better value than other franchises you looked at ?

Ongoing support is great, the guys at HQ put in as much effort as I do as a franchisee put it and it shows. That is the difference with Legal 4 Landlords, many franchises I looked at were just in it for the money. But as time has gone on, I truly realise the sales line of…. “We as the Franchiser only make money if you the franchisee does”. Great support, always lots going on!
4.Where do you see yourself in 3 years time.

I would like to have at least 80% coverage in my area and if all continues, purchase an adjoining area. I have already reserved my local area so you never know. I don’t like to take risks, however I am proof that with the right effort this works and you can make a lot of money.
5. Where did you first learn about the L4L network?

As I am a landlord, I actually came across L4L whilst searching Google for some help with a problem tenant. The rest you can say is history, I have always been interested in this sector and this franchise opportunity just kept popping up everywhere.
6. How does it fit in with your life? ie; how many hours you put in a week?

This is a full time job, no question about that. You also need help within your first two months, as the workload grows month on month from the business you can potentially bring in.

I roughly put in about 50 hours a week.
7. What has your income been from the investment?

At first there is hardly any profit, but from month four onwards for me everything started to really pick up and has done ever since. What most people observing from outside the box think, is that you can make profits from Day One. But anyone with business acumen will understand that to make a profit in your first year is great!

I read a stat recently that 87% of start-up businesses fail in their first year. However, owning a franchise the stats are 1 in 3 will fail in their first year!