Support, networking… and celebration! How we empower people to leave employment and start their own consultancy

Joining ERA is a fantastic way to turbocharge your future prospects. You will be the owner and operator of your very own cost consultancy business, deploying all the skills and acumen acquired to date to help businesses uncover hidden profits as you share in the proceeds.

But no matter how experienced you may be, the decision to make the leap from employee to business owner can be daunting. We understand the two environments are different. And that’s where the structure of our franchise comes into its own.

Collaboration, not isolation

There are more than 750 consultants worldwide in ERA’s franchise network, and our systems and franchise model are focused on encouraging collaboration between them.

Franchisees build project teams based on their clients’ needs, made up of consultants from around the world who have diverse specialisms, experience and expertise. These teams work together to analyse, refine and uncover savings, which are shared 50/50 with the client in an attractive no-upfront-fee proposition.

This philosophy of shared knowhow maximises the results for each of your clients, and subsequently your earning potential from them – and gives you the confidence of being part of a team, as well as a business owner.

Development never stands still

The ERA Academy has an annual calendar of training sessions with events every week to allow franchisees to invest in themselves through continual learning, giving them the tools to enhance their own training.

Continual learning and continuous professional development are foundations of the ERA franchise model. Running your own business doesn’t mean losing that career structure – on the contrary, ERA enhances it because you can tailor your development to your needs, your skillset, and the ever-changing needs of your client base.

Global footprint brings global opportunities

The scale of the ERA network provides exciting opportunities beyond local or even national boundaries for UK franchisees. You may be working directly with clients who have overseas offices; or you may be called in to support overseas consultants who need UK-based support on their own projects.

More than 90% of our global projects are delivered by the work of multiple ERA consultants working together on a joint venture basis. You will be able to offer global best practice, but at a local level.

Fostering a team environment

As part of our wide-ranging programme of support for franchisees, we run regular events designed to promote the collaborative environment in which we all thrive.

That all-important bond and feeling of camaraderie between you and your fellow franchisees is nurtured by both business events and an active social calendar.

We host regular regional franchisee meetings, national and international conferences, bespoke networking events and additional training and mentoring opportunities to meet consultants’ needs. Every consultant is welcome to attend any of our international events.

Ask the Key Account Manager

One of our focused business events, our KAM sessions are targeted at supporting all franchisees who are within the first three years of their ERA journey.

A highly effective peer-to-peer training scheme, it’s designed to help franchisees troubleshoot issues as a group, share best practices, and understand what is happening in the wider marketplace.

Sessions are led by one key account manager who has enjoyed lots of recent success in signing up new clients. It enables new franchisees to learn from some of the best within the ERA network, discover what their effective sales process is, and understand which routes to markets they are leveraging.

Most importantly, they are able to gain countless hints and tips of how meaningful conversations are converted into profit-generating clients.

Thirsty Thursday

An example of the importance we place on social camaraderie within the network, this networking event is open to all UK-based ERA franchisees and is held on the last Thursday of every month. Similar to our KAM sessions, its purpose is to encourage collaboration and the sharing of best practices – perhaps while enjoying a well-earned drink or two!

The session is run on a matching platform that puts participants into 1-1 breakout rooms, which are timed to last for five minutes. This rapid catch-up allows fellow franchisees to update each other on current areas of focus, with any desired longer discussions leading to offline follow ups.

For franchisees, being able to hear from people in the same position as them – picking their brains about pressing issues or recent business wins – have led to some great conversations. One notable benefit has been the amount of resulting business collaborations between franchisees that may not have otherwise occurred without this regular channel of communication.

In joining ERA you immediately become part of a global network of franchisees that support and push one another to reach new levels. And it all starts from your very first day in business.