John Leith’s mind was made up - he wanted to work with pets. And OSCAR Pet Foods provided all the right ingredients
It took friends to point out self employment might give John Leith the personal rewards he was searching for.
“After 15 years on the road as a private hire driver, I retook my GCSE exams to make a career change into an office environment, which proved to be disappointing,” John explains.
“So I resigned from my job at the local council and started to make plans. In my spare time I’d been working on a property renovation but, reflecting on my passion for pets, I was inspired to investigate the options.
“I went online to discover franchising and OSCAR. There was no need to look any further because in OSCAR I recognised passion, commitment, dedication and a fantastic range of products.”
Finding Customers
John says he had a reasonably good understanding of his area, which covers many rural miles and remote places: “Previous experience helped me to find ways to cover the distance and locate lots of customers who would benefit from pet food home delivery.
“OSCAR telesales was a great help towards getting started, but it also prompted me to make the early decision to follow up with the recognised nutritional qualification, which is available to all franchisees. To give customers extra confidence through my knowledge of pet care would be a great asset to my business.”
John’s wife, Alison, works full-time, but also helps out with administration and marketing the business.
“We quickly discovered a high volume of country shows in our area, as well as specialised weekly markets, which attract a regular following of pet customers,” John says. “I appreciate any new business takes time to develop, but I’m confident of having all the right information and assistance from the OSCAR team to help me towards success.
“It’s reassuring to discuss ideas with head office and share points of view at regional meetings with fellow franchisees.”
Know Your Territory
John’s advice for anyone wishing to join the OSCAR network is to: “Know your territory and tailor your knowledge to suit your needs.”
He adds: “For me, with many isolated areas of distribution, I’m now considered to be a local pet food supplier because my customers have the reassurance of never running out of food - with the added benefit of free home delivery - and that means a lot.
“I think things happen for a reason. We already had three Labradors, but I was reassured when our adopted indoor cat and Jack Russell dog - now my OSCAR mascot - benefited from being fed OSCAR food.
“If asked how I feel my life has changed since setting up my own business, I would say it’s far more relaxed and I have freedom of choice to never stop planning new ways to achieve great things with OSCAR.”
