Simon Moody was already at a crossroads in his life when his wife’s love of reality show ‘Made in Chelsea’ suddenly led to him finding the perfect business opportunity in the Shuttercraft franchise.
“My wife was obsessed with the home interiors featured on the show and really wanted to look in to getting shutters,” said Simon.
“I then found someone online, who happened to be the Shuttercraft franchisee in Bristol, and he told me how he’d never been happier. I instantly wanted to know more.”
Four years before this, Simon gave up his 20-year career in teaching, deterred by the stress and burnout his older colleagues were experiencing and wanting to take control of his own destiny. He took a year out to focus on writing, which included freelancing for the BBC, and then took a job with Sky providing broadband technical support while looking for the right opportunity.
Having little to no experience of franchising, Simon carried out some research following his Discovery Call with Shuttercraft and concluded that they were a ‘safe’ option.
Simon commented: “Compared to a lot of other franchise opportunities out there, with Shuttercraft, there was no danger of wasting stock. You’d carry out a survey, take an order and deposit, order the products from S:CRAFT, fit them, get paid and then pay the invoice for the shutters. The more successful I was, the more successful they would be so it was a win-win and supportive set-up.”
A right-brain creative person, Simon was not particularly detail-driven and had limited experience with practical DIY. So why pursue a Shuttercraft franchise?
Simon said: “I just knew I wanted to get out of being employed and being tied to a desk, but I was terrified of working for myself, had no idea about setting up a business or how to fit shutters! But what appealed to me was the ability to take control of my own destiny and at my own pace in a growing market.”
Now six years in to his Shuttercraft journey, Simon is working with a part-time, self-employed fitter and completing around 120 installations a year across Somerset.
With the material and support provided by Head Office for marketing, he generates most of his customers through online PPC, a Check a Trade profile, local leaflet drops and magazine advertising. Customers range from professional couples in towns and cities to retirees living in the countryside, with many of them having just part of their home done and then returning to have more Shuttercraft products fitted when they realise how great they are.
His business is now giving him the life he wanted: “Building my Shuttercraft business was about being able to control how and when I worked and the ability to get the work/life balance I wanted” said Simon.
In 2016 Shuttercraft re-launched the franchise (established in 2012) and made a considerable financial investment into re-branding the business, implementing “next generation” IT systems and investing in key staff to take them to the next level.
They made this investment due to the extraordinary growth of the UK shutter market and felt that by investing now they would future proof the business. As a company they have grown by 30% each year, which is extraordinary since the UK shutter industry is still in its infancy.
As a Shuttercraft franchisee you will not be fitting shutters; your role is to effectively manage the business on a day to day basis, managing one to two fitters while you will focus on developing relationships in your local area.
Ideally you will already have some management and sales experience. However, Shuttercraft do offer full training and support to help franchisees develop their sales and marketing skills.
Good communication and interpersonal skills are essential and franchisees must be prepared to work hard, follow our system and be fully committed to getting the business off the ground in their assigned exclusive territory.
You will benefit by having the on-going support of a fantastic, industry leading brand, and a highly effective head office support team which includes:
Shutters are the fastest growing and most on-trend window coverings segment available today in the UK. In the U.S. one in every six windows is covered with a shutter whilst in the UK it is estimated that the plantation shutter market is now worth approximately £60-80m per annum.
