I strongly believe that one of the highlights of the Extra Help calendar is our Annual AGM & Conference, a prime opportunity for all of our lovely franchisees to get together and build relationships; hear the latest news from Extra Help; receive tips and advice on how to grow their businesses and, of course, celebrate each other’s successes.

I’ve just returned from our 2019 Conference, which took place in Bristol and, in this week’s blog, I’d like to tell you all about the inspiring and extremely worthwhile time we spent together.
We began the day with a long, informal catch-up, giving everyone the opportunity to get to know our latest recruits, discuss their progress and gain valuable tips and advice from each other on how to manage their customer relationships.

Our first speaker was Ben Kench who, as I mentioned in my previous blog, is a sales and business growth coach and the creator of ‘The Business Booster Programme’. In this particular talk, Ben concentrated on goal setting and planning, emphasising the importance of setting yourself a daily, directional goal to avoid ‘drifting’. He also discussed the importance of thinking strategically and accurately measuring each step of your journey, in order to avoid repeating mistakes.

Ben believes that, ultimately, the only way to truly ‘stand out’ is to work ‘From The Heart’ and demonstrate it, as Heart energy, when openly displayed, is hugely persuasive.

After lunch, Mike Turner, a well-known Facebook marketing and advertising consultant, took to the stage, taking us on a fascinating trip down memory lane to outline the timeline of communication, which eventually lead to the creation of Facebook. After this, Mike provided us with an excellent social media masterclass, the objective of which was to help our franchisees to take control of their social media and harness the power of Facebook in order to enhance their businesses.

In the afternoon, we announced the winners of our Franchisee Awards. Extra Help has experienced a fantastic year of growth and I’m extremely proud of all of our franchisees, who are all winners in their own right.
Congratulations to the following franchisees, who performed exceptionally well this year and were, therefore, chosen to receive awards:

New Franchisee of the Year – Denise Cooper, Rickmansworth

Denise has done a fabulous job in taking over and growing the Rickmansworth franchise, in addition to working in a full-time job and providing virtual PA services for me! In the short time she has been running Rickmansworth, Denise has hit the ground running and grown her customer base extremely quickly and efficiently.

Best Network Support – Nealem Stephens, Maidenhead & Windsor

As owner of the Maidenhead & Windsor franchise, Nealem is generating healthy earnings of around £3,000 per month, despite her franchise being just over a year old. In addition to this, as our National Business Development Manager, Nealem provides valuable support to our other franchisees and is an incredible role model for them.

Best Franchise Progression – Nicky Joyce, Torbay

Nicky started her franchise eighteen months ago, whilst still working in a full-time job in a busy hospital. She was chosen to receive this award as, despite her incredibly time-consuming and stressful job, she managed to build her business to the point where she has been able to leave her job to concentrate on Extra Help full-time!

Continuous Franchise Growth – Cath Arnold & Carol Godding, Wirral

Cath and Carol are two friends who joined forces to start their Extra Help franchise back in 2016. In the three years their business has been running, it has experienced continuous growth, with its largest ever growth spurt in recent times. Cath and Carol are wonderful franchisees, who are always willing to help others and participate in franchisee events.

Franchisee of the Year – Michaela Nowick, Milton Keynes

This highly coveted award is well deserved by Michaela Nowick, our Milton Keynes franchisee, who has done outstandingly well during the sixteen months she’s been trading. Michaela’s franchise has experienced phenomenal growth, breaking all other records of Extra Help franchise growth within that timescale. Now earning over £5,500 per month, she has given up her full-time job and is able to rely on Extra Help as her source of income. Michaela is enthusiastic, energetic and always willing to help others, as well as being extremely passionate about her business.

We concluded with celebratory drinks and dinner, which gave us all a chance to chat and socialise in an informal atmosphere. For me, this is a highly essential part of the event, as it gives us all a chance to get to know each other, build face-to-face relationships and really helps to engender the caring, family spirit that sets Extra Help apart from other, similar franchise businesses.
Now that the Conference has been and gone, we’re all looking forward to setting our goals for the new year and ensuring that 2020 is the best year for Extra Help ever!

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Until next time,
CLAIRE ROBINSON