Why I upgraded my Auditel Business – Andy Buxton

Birmingham-based Andy Buxton joined Auditel as an ‘Associate Partner Business’ on the May/June 2024 induction programme, but within just six months of his venture commencing, was already looking at upgrading his Auditel franchise to ‘Full Partner Business’.

Flexible Business Models To Suit Varying Start-up Circumstances

Auditel provides a choice on investment models, an Associate Partner Business (APB) at £22,000, or a Full Partner Business (FPB) at £44,000.  The FPB model is effectively the ‘standard’ Auditel franchise, which most Partners either start with or upgrade to later.

The APB model was introduced in 2022 with the primary purpose of providing flexibility for those whose circumstances suited, such as people with other business activities seeking a ‘portfolio career’ to run their Auditel business part-time within, or those simply looking for a part-time business for work/life balance reasons.  Also, existing businesses that sit as complementary services to Auditel’s offering could leverage the Auditel network and resources better by running an Auditel franchise as a ‘bolt-on’ to their existing enterprise.

However, the APB model also allows a lower-priced entry into starting and Auditel business, with scope to upgrade to the FPB at a later stage.  So what’s the difference between the two models?  Auditel Commercial Director, Nick Tubb, explains “Essentially both models provide the same training, resources, support, tools and IP in general, but the difference is financial.  The Associate model means you can join for a lower fee, but you’ll pay a higher management fee by comparison to the Full Partner Business model.  Once you have some clients on board and some regular income streams into the business, you’ll be financially better off in the long-term by upgrading to the Full Partner model.  You pay the difference between the two, plus a 25% (of the difference between the APB and FPB models) upgrade premium, so to use the Associate model as a stepping stone will not be the cheaper option, but relative to the turnover of your business over say a 10-year term, it’s not a significant difference.”

Making The Initial Business Model Decision

For Andy, as with most who join Auditel, it wasn’t an easy decision over which model to take at the outset. “I was always looking at this a full-time focus, and I weighed up starting as an APB or FPB.  In the end, I simply felt more comfortable to ‘de-risk’ my initial decision.  I was excited by all I had discovered, and speaking to the key team and several existing Auditel franchisees during my exploration gave me the confidence to go ahead, but of course there are still ‘fears of the unknown’ and ‘what if’ thoughts, so in the end I chose the Associate model and was happy with my decision.”

Andy’s business kicked off with training over the May/June period as part of a large group of trainees within that particular cohort, and his initial engagement with potential clients started over the Summer. “I was busy from the outset, putting in the efforts required in marketing and prospecting engagement.  I picked up my first client, then another, and by October I was working with four clients, and had several other meetings in the diary, and proposals out for decision making.  Very quickly you’re juggling the marketing alongside learning and development, client management and project management. I recall Nick telling me in the exploration process about needing to ‘spin a lot of plates’ when growing the business, and he wasn’t wrong!”

Choosing When To Upgrade

Andy continues “As I entered the New Year, I took stock of my progress and compared the numbers for my monthly fees under the APB against if I had the FPB, and realised I was already at a point where I could save myself several hundred pounds per month if I upgraded. The APB, whilst less initial investment has a higher monthly fee as a percentage of turnover, compared to the FPB. Of course, upgrading to the FOB would require further investment but this time I have the security of knowing I have long-term clients, income streams and solid financial projections so it was an easy decision to ‘invest’ in the upgrade for long-term financial benefit.  My pipeline was and is still growing so it made sense to upgrade at the earliest opportunity.”

With bank funding available both for an initial investment, and in addition as needed, to fund upgrading too, Auditel Partners do have the scope to access resources, with most Auditel Partners opting for the services of NatWest.  Aaron Britton, NatWest Franchise Relationship Manager advises “We are keen to talk to businesses looking to set up an Auditel franchise. As it’s an established franchise brand, subject to the necessary checks, we could provide up to 70% of the total investment required.  We can also discuss additional funding for existing Auditel Associate Partner Business franchisees who are seeking to upgrade their franchise to the Full Partner model.”

 

A Great Outcome

Andy summarises “I’m very pleased to be upgrading my business.  I chose to ‘de-risk’ by investing less initially, acceptant that as my business builds successfully, it would cost me slightly more overall, but I have only chosen to upgrade because my business is going well.  I have added another new client this past month and have more new opportunities opening up too, so I’m well on course to beat my year one target by a considerable margin.  I’m still only nine months into my business, but I’m delighted with progress, and loving being part of the Auditel Business Community.  I’m learning so much about the word of carbon too, and as far as I’m concerned this will serve me very well for the rest of my working career.”

To find out more about starting an Auditel Franchise, as part of the Auditel Business Community, please make an enquiry, or, if you have enquired already, log into the Auditel Exploration Portal, or contact the Recruitment Team on recruitment@auditel.co.uk or 01962 893067

Auditel is expanding fast, and to meet client demand needs to keep growing it’s Partner/Member Firms within the Auditel Business Community with it’s wide-ranging talent pool of people with experience of all kinds of backgrounds and business sectors. To learn more about the exciting opportunities in Carbon and Procurement Solutions through the Auditel Business Community opportunities, enquire today.