Hannah's Raison Home franchise business covers Berkshire & Hampshire. Hannah has extensive experience in the kitchen industry and is already moving forward with her clients as Raison Home – she has her first client installations happening in June!
Hannah, tell us a little about your background in the industry? We understand you are a kitchen design pro!
I spent 12 years in the travel industry managing teams in London, but after I had my son, we decided to move out of London, and I wanted to do something more creative. I started working with a kitchen showroom company and was promoted to manager very quickly, then store manager. I learnt how to design and consult with customers and managed a team of designers in Surrey. Within this role I developed a new team, learnt how to run the business effectively and oversaw all installations. After the birth of my daughter, I decided that I would like to work for myself. This felt like the natural next step.
When I was store manager, I had an hour commute in each direction and would often be working evenings or weekends, missing time with my children before bedtime. Now I can work around them and the balance has been great! If the kids have a sports day or a school fete, I can be there!
How did you find your first kitchen clients as Raison Home?
Raison Home UK advertised on social media, so I had some leads coming through while I was training! We were also encouraged to spread the word among friends and family to see if there was anyone that we could help with their home improvements. I am making B2B connections by joining networking groups which, as well as being great fun, also put me in front of some of the key industries that I would want to work with to help grow my business. This includes interior designers, architects, estate agents and trades, to name a few. My first client came from a Raison Home UK lead, and my second client was a friend. Raison Home is very supportive with back up.
My first few designs are now coming to fruition, with an installation booked in for June, and the next one being organised with the kitchen fitter.
Tell us a bit about your training with RH – what stood out for you, as someone with a background in the industry? What was the most useful?
What I love about the business model is that we visit the customer in their home, in the space that we are redesigning. We go to visit them with samples and chat through what they are looking for. This saves them a lot of time and gives us a much better idea of how the customer lives and their current style.
We can also show the customer their design in Virtual Reality which I hadn't experienced before. It's a real game changer!
I realised quickly during training that we have access to many different suppliers giving us the flexibility to really expand our offering. Raison Home negotiates great rates with our suppliers; however we can still use alternative suppliers if the customer has their heart set on something else. This flexibility is great for the customer aswell as the franchisees.
The training was tailored to each person, taking into account their past experience in the industry, although it was still refreshing to go over some familiar information again anyway.
What do you like most about being a franchisee business owner?
Most of my questions arose once I finished training and started working in my business, so it’s nice to have Mark and the team there to answer my questions quickly. We have weekly calls so there is always someone there to help and give advice. I have been really impressed by the level of support that I have received throughout my journey so far. We meet often for training sessions in different locations around the UK. We are meeting in Edinburgh for our next franchisee training session in June, so Edinburgh franchisee Sarah won’t have to travel far!
Starting my own franchise was really scary in the beginning, but I am really starting to see the full potential of my business and I'm very excited to see where it takes me!
Where would you like to take the business?
I have a year one goal, and I’m already above where I planned to be so it’s a great start! I’m confident about hitting my first-year target. In 5 years, I’d like to employ a designer or two to expand the business.
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