Liz talks about her experiences running her Antal franchise, and how it has improved her life and career.

Why I Got into Franchising?

My brother David had worked for the company-owned side of the business in recruitment and had decided he wanted to take an Antal International franchise and launch his own recruitment company.

I had always wanted to run my own business but had not found the right products to sell or service to offer. When I found out more about Antal International and the support they could provide through franchising, the recruitment idea and the support that a franchise could provide me with seemed to work very well together. 

Franchising gave us the opportunity to be affiliated with a global brand, one that David had a lot of faith in and it also gave us the flexibility and business opportunity to pursue our own ambitions.

I hadn’t really thought about franchising so much but because David had worked for Antal for several years – both he and I had an understanding of the organisation from an early stage and we both liked the direction it was going in. The international network they could provide through sharing candidates, clients and fees also gave us the flexibility and further security in the recruitment industry.

How Antal International Network gives me Flexibility in my Family Life?

My daughter was less than a year old when we started the business, however this has not caused any issues in fact being able to work from home some days and make calls in the evening gives me the flexibility to work around any issues I may have.

The location of the office is local to us therefore the reduced time travelling each day allows us to increase productivity and time spent at the desk. Whilst a lot of extra hours are put in, for emergencies there is flexibility, which is perfect for a young family.

My Career Prior to Antal International Network

I had been an operations manager within the retail industry, having started out as a management trainee and worked my way up the career path my roles had been very varied over my previous 10 year career. My role had been very customer focused on the sales floor, operation in back of house roles ie HR, Logistics etc and had a high level of management responsibility.

Whilst the retail industry is very fast-paced and offers great rewards, it does not allow for a good work life balance or the opportunity to build your own business. My previous skills, as with many of the other franchisees in the Antal International Network have translated very easily through to the recruitment industry as has my general management experience.

I would really urge more females to consider running their own business, regardless of their family situation. It can seem very daunting, but a franchise model can take away a lot of the risk and provide more stability; through a proven business model, training and support. You may also find that you can work part time or flexibly. Antal International has given me the opportunity to earn a three figure salary through stimulating work, build a business and manage my work/life balance.

I would urge all you ladies to ‘GO FOR IT’!