The humble story behind my successful international franchise

My entrepreneurial journey actually began at another company’s desk. As the UK Operations General manager for the country’s biggest logistics company, I was given the task of increasing its efficiency and reducing costs. I was good at this. So good that the company merged with another and my position was no longer required.

Since I didn’t want to go back into the finance position that the company offered me, I chose redundancy. I had always wanted to work for myself at some point, anyway: I had just turned thirty and this seemed the perfect opportunity to take the leap. But what should I have done?

I sold my house, moved up North from Surrey to be closer to my then girlfriend, and decided that setting up a coffee shop in the beautiful historical city of Chester was the business for me. After all, how difficult could that be?

Bear in mind, this was 2007. Oh dear, just in time for the financial crash and the big expansion of coffee chains like Nero, Costa and Starbucks. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Subway, the biggest sandwich chain in the world, opened right next door. Did I mention that, apart from coffees, sandwiches were my biggest seller?

Not the greatest start. I knew the writing was on the wall and that this could have been a slow death, but what to do?

Now, you might think this is where Wok&Go appeared, but—spoiler alert—it wasn’t! What I did then was adapt my business model to the opportunity that was staring me in the face: students. My shop was slap bang in the middle between their favourite night club and the university campus. Investing in a pizza oven and a late-night application allowed me to quadruple my turnover within a year.

This could have easily been the end of the story: the university was not going to move, the night club was successful, and I was earning great money, right?

True, but it was also a horrid business of working late and starting again as early as 5.00 am, dealing with drunk people and violence (and that was just the staff, ha!). I had also upset the local kebab shop owners as I was, by far, the busiest in town, and they were actively looking for opportunities to open a shop right in front of mine.

This was the beginning of Wok&Go.

When the charity shop next to my store became available, I just had to take it, even though it wasn’t rent-free and I hadn’t even got a vague idea of what I was going to do with it. You know, all that stuff you’re told about—business plans, a clear strategy, finance in place…? I had none. I simply did what I felt I had to do.

Creating Wok&Go

I had a shop. I got planning permission. Now what?

On a holiday to New York, I spotted a noodle bar in Chinatown. It was very traditional, and they were selling their food in noodle boxes. You know, the type you see on American TV and films? It hit me like an epiphany: why don’t we get these in the UK?

I decided that I would have introduced them. I created the menu with the help of a Chinese chef, and launched my new concept. It immediately gained popularity in the area.

Now what?

I had no intention of franchising—in all honesty, I didn’t even know what franchising was. I just knew that I had stumbled across something that had the potential to be scaled and rolled out, and I also had this overriding feeling of fear. Fear of missing out on opportunities and being copied, I guess.

But could I afford to grow?

It takes a lot of money to open restaurants and, having opened four already, I was financially stretched. As it was right in the middle of a recession, getting a loan for a restaurant was impossible.

Anyway, I don’t know how or where the franchise idea came from. I vaguely remember seeing something about Subway franchises being advertised. Whatever it was, it sparked my interest enough to research how to franchise your business. Had I known then what I know now about franchising and ‘consultants’, I would have saved myself a fortune.

My first (bad) experience with franchising

I joined the biggest franchise consultants I could find… only to end up paying £10,000 to be told that ‘yes, indeed, my business was franchisable’ and to get a franchise agreement contract drafted. I felt conned. I certainly wasn’t going to listen to any more guidance from the consultants about operations manual and using their registered copywriters.

I followed my instinct, learned through experience, and started looking for franchisees.

I then grew my company-owned and franchise stores to eighteen national Wok&Go branches, two overseas stores in Portugal and 25 signed in Ireland.

These days my wife Sharon has taken over the reins of the business, allowing me the time to focus on my Podcast and Consultancy

New franchise opportunities

To adapt to the growing food-delivery market and maximise profits, I started operating four popular virtual brands from my existing Wok&Go kitchens. You can find out more about my franchisable restaurants on my brands page.

Basically, I have learned to build and design stores, franchise both in the UK and internationally, maximise revenue streams, and create types of passive income that are unique to my company. You won’t find them offered by any other franchise. I have learnt from my mistakes and continued on my journey, investing and creating new brands.

Now I wish to help you grow yours, and for you to write your own unique story in the world of franchising. Shall we begin?