“We’re a local family-run business, but we also have the backing of a major international brand”

Ever wondered if you could turn something you love doing into a rewarding new business? That’s exactly what happened with Paul and Jo when they discovered the TREND Transformations franchise

For the newest TREND Transformations franchisees, who recently opened their showroom and workshop in Newcastle, a franchise was just another step in a long and successful career of business ownership, but one that was to prove a real game changer.

Paul founded his own car club company in 2007 where he headed up operations, and was joined by Jo who oversaw the business’ finances in 2012. The company was a big success, but they eventually felt it had run its course for them and when they received an offer of purchase from a much larger firm, they took the opportunity to move on and pursue a new dream.

A new career

Over the years, the couple had greatly enjoyed buying old houses and renovating them, a passion which would lead them to consider the home renovation industry as the direction for their new career.

“We really loved that process of taking something old and transforming it into something new and beautiful,” Jo said. “It really is an incredible feeling when you look at before and after photos and can see just how much of a difference that imagination, hard work and great products can make. So, when we were deciding what to do next, home renovation was the first industry we looked at.”

While TREND Transformations is the first franchise Paul and Jo have worked with, they were no strangers to the concept as a business model. Prior to running his own business, Paul had worked in a business support team for a local authority and had helped a number of people join franchises as a route into building their own businesses. With this background, it was easy for Paul to see that TREND Transformations had exactly the kind of proven model they were looking for, but also presented them with a unique opportunity to grow a rewarding business focused around their new passion.

“We didn’t really know about the ‘Top that Fits on Top overlay’ before we encountered TREND,” Jo continued. “We couldn’t see anyone else in our area who was offering anything like this, so we thought: aha! This is a great opportunity!”

A flying start

Even though they only opened a couple of months before, the Newcastle team have already got off to a flying start in their new business. They had two jobs almost immediately after opening in December 2022 and had almost completely filled their calendar for January 2023 by Christmas. Paul puts their success down to the ease and convenience they can offer customers – most installations can be completed in as little as one day, with very little mess and disruption – and the diversity of products and services they can offer.

“Even though it was the worktop overlays that initially really impressed us, we’re already seeing the benefits of being open to customers who want flooring, made-to-measure replacement kitchen doors or new sinks, taps and appliances,” Paul explained. “It’s not just big jobs that people come to us for. We’ve been doing especially well with larger kitchen makeovers lately.

“This kind of business model is also very robust and doesn’t really suffer from economic downturns. Whether people are doing up their homes to increase their sales value, or are making more of what they have because the housing market isn’t strong, there’s always a demand for the kind of work we can now do.”

Jo couldn’t agree more: “I think it is great that with TREND you’re getting that whole experience of offering multiple products. We can be a complete one-stop shop for customers who want a total kitchen transformation rather than them having to go to multiple suppliers for everything they need.”

A booming business

It isn’t just Paul and Jo making a name for themselves so quickly, business has been booming right across the TREND network, with sales and enquiries enjoying a huge increase year-on-year for some time now.

“We’re really positive about our future with TREND. We’ve had a really great experience and the support has been excellent – everybody is always so willing to help,” said Paul. “Because we have started our own business from scratch before, we are very aware of just how many advantages we have been given by being part of this franchise. We really have been given the best of both worlds. We’re a local family-run business, but we also have the backing of a major international brand. That gives our customers a great deal of peace of mind, and us too!”

Over the next year, Paul and Jo want to continue to build their reputation as a business which provides excellent customer care and establish themselves as a real household name in the local area.