Ashley launched his Really Awesome Coffee van in Newark in April 2021. After working in retail management for most of his working life, Ashley knew it was time for a change.

Here’s our catchup chat with him to find out how he found the onboarding process and how he’s finding running his new business.

Please tell us a bit about yourself and what you were doing prior to becoming a Really Awesome Franchisee?

I worked in retail for 22 years before deciding the time was right this year to start my own business.

My good friend Kevin Bone left the company we both worked for at the time 3 years ago to start his Really Awesome Coffee franchise in his home town of Gainsborough. We kept in touch and he always spoke highly of the franchise and the lifestyle it offered.

Why did you decide to run a business, and why Really Awesome Coffee specifically?

I had grown tired of working in retail, especially with it being a sector in constant decline. The hours, responsibilities and expectations were not great.

I love coffee! I love coffee shops and I have always enjoyed driving. I have lots of experience in customer service as well as stock and business management so with my friend also highly recommending Really Awesome Coffee I decided to get in touch with Kevin Haswell and make some enquiries.

Kevin is a lovely guy who is amazing at explaining the model in detail. We had a couple of lengthy conversations and I was sold.

Tell us a bit about your training at Head Office and your business launch.

I had lots of sessions with Greg where we went through a lot of planning before my time at Head Office. The Barista training with Laura was brilliant and very enjoyable. I spent lots of time with Vik going over the start up plans as well as meetings with the accountants and suppliers.

I had a full tour of the van and all of its functions. When we launched Vik (my Franchise Development Manager) was amazing. We had a good idea of which businesses we wanted to target and spend some time booking demonstrations. This was a little nerve racking but very enjoyable.

All the demos were very successful, customers were amazed by the van, loved the products and led to a very healthy starting round. I still have most of my original stops now

How have you found the ongoing training and support?

I speak to Vik every week. He is a great support for any reason. When he comes out for support visits he makes great suggestions for products and has helped me add in some sites which are helping me achieve my sales targets.

Andy(also a Franchise Development Manager) was also very helpful when he came out for a support visit and gave me some great ideas which I have implemented.

The team at Head Office are all fantastic. I know who to speak to when I need help with anything and they are all extremely polite and helpful.

What is the most invaluable piece of advice you could give someone looking to invest in their first franchise?

Try not to let yourself become overwhelmed with the amount of information and things to remember. Take everything one step at a time. Make lots of notes and reminders!

It’s very hard in the beginning but so so so worth it!!