Revive! franchisees provide SMART repair services to a wide range of trade and public customers

For Mike and Liz Haselden, Revive! provides them the opportunity to run their own business with their partner

Running your own business with your partner is something many couples dream of, but few can achieve. For Mike and Liz Haselden, Revive! has provided the opportunity to do just that.

Mike bought Revive! Chester in 2005. He’d heard about the franchise’s business potential from a friend who was already a Revive! franchisee and was looking for an opportunity to become his own boss and take control of his family’s future. In the early days, Liz worked part-time in a marketing role, helping Mike out in their home office with admin.

Thinking big

Soon the demand for Mike’s SMART repair service from car dealerships and the general public meant there weren’t enough hours in the day. Buoyed by his success, he realised that the way forward was to get more vans on the road and start employing technicians. That was when Liz stepped up her involvement.

She says: “My role with Revive! Chester had always been in a minor admin capacity, until Mike started to grow the company and ‘think big’. I’ve been able to act as a sounding board and play devil’s advocate quite often. Although the admin role is still required of me, there are now more demands from an accounting point of view, as well as purchasing, specifically where budget planning and strategic thinking are required.”

As a team, Mike and Liz share the task of making big financial decisions and setting goals.

Mike says: “We find that discussing important things like the three-year plan and staffing requirements makes the task more manageable and meaningful. We work well together and there’s a huge sense of satisfaction looking back on how far we’ve come.” The couple have won the Revive!

Franchisee of the Year award two years running. They employ six technicians and plan to expand their business even further by taking on the neighbouring territory of Wrexham and employing two more technicians.

Smart support

Revive!’s head office business support team works closely with franchisees to provide training, advice and mentoring. The comprehensive training programme is designed to meet the needs of the individual and the business at each stage, from start up right the way up to running a million-pound business.

With growth come new challenges and as his business grew Mike was invited to join the Revive! Accelerated Growth Programme, a mentoring and training initiative run by the head office support team to help Revive! franchisees grow and develop their businesses.

“This has been great for me, as you get to see how the larger franchisees are running their businesses and learn how they got there, and it gives you the extra push to keep moving forward,” Mike says.

Smart success

Over the years, Revive! have established an experienced team to support franchisees, as well as a leading-edge IT platform that has transformed the business. No wonder that in 2018 the company won the British Franchise Association HSBC award for franchisee support

At a glance Revive! Auto Innovations

Established: 2004
Number of franchised outlets: 60
Location of units: nationwide
Investment range: £32,000
Minimum capital required: £15,000
Contact: Nikki Haythorne. franchising@ revive-uk.com. 0800 046 8128