Investing in a Revive! franchise has helped this young couple balance work and family life

Dan and Nat Normanton have built a successful Revive! business around the needs of their young family

Dan Normanton and his wife Nat decided to start their own business so that Nat would not have to work full-time after having their first baby, but could help run the business from home.

At the time, Dan worked as a technician for another Revive! franchisee and with no previous business background the couple wanted the support a franchise would provide.

Family flexibility

Dan says: “Neither of us had run a business or gone to university. But we knew how much support we’d get from head office on the business side of things. The franchise has been a great support for us.

“It was the desire to stay at home and have the flexibility around the family that made us do it and we’ve seen that happen. Nat’s hours are flexible, so when they were young she could work when the kids were having a nap.

“We see the kids every morning and every evening. This is one of those businesses where you finish your day and go home. It’s not an easy balance to strike being parents, husband and wife and business owners too, but we’ve learned what works for us to make sure that work isn’t encroaching too much on our personal lives.”

Growing business

Dan and Nat have got four paint technicians and two alloy wheel technicians. “It wasn’t our intention to get this big,” Dan says. “We were going to be a small business - as long as we could pay the bills and the mortgage, we were happy with that. It’s just naturally evolved - the work has come in and we’ve grown and grown. “Revive! have a lot to do with that. We wouldn’t have pushed ourselves outside our comfort zone without encouragement from head office.”

Life changing

Thanks to their franchise, Dan and Nat were able to get a bigger house by the school they wanted their children to go to. Dan adds: “We go on the holidays we want to go on, we’ve got a nice car, we live in a nice house in a nice area - financially, we’re happy.

“The franchise has been brilliant for us. The support we’ve had has been really good throughout. Going in as two people in their twenties who had no idea what we were doing, we’ve come out as two people in our forties with a great business.

“The secret? Do your best every day. Go out there and try your hardest every day, consistently and reliably, and you’ve got a very good chance of being successful.”

Ongoing support

With growth comes new challenges, which is why the Revive! support team works closely with each franchisee on an ongoing basis to provide training, advice and mentoring, providing additional training as the business grows and develops.

Over the years Revive! has invested in building 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 (UK)

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