Lorraine and Alan Beeby have headed up a Donut King franchise at Stocklands mall in Glendale, New South Wales for the past 14 years. 

The pair took the franchise route, and later opted for the Donut King brand because of the systems in place.

“The systems were trusted and proven and this made us very confident in the brand,” says Lorraine.

“Before this Alan was a self-employed electrician and I was a bookkeeper. We knew that it was very different to anything we’ve ever done but that was why we were attracted to the brand.” 

Given their backgrounds, it makes sense that Alan is responsible for maintaining the store and ensuring everything is in working order, meanwhile Lorraine takes care of administrative tasks.

“I make sure that the store is organised by doing the book work and rosters. Our goal is to have everything completed so that we have the time to focus on customers and meet their needs,” she explains.

A POSITIVE APPROACH TO BUSINESS

Despite facing their fair share of challenges over the years, Lorraine and Alan have a positive attitude, and believe every challenge can be resolved.

“Our biggest challenge as franchisees would definitely be ensuring customers return to our store during an economic downturn.

“Competitors pose another challenge, however there is always a will and a way through any situation,” adds Lorraine.

CONFIDENCE IN THE BRAND IS KEY

Take the time to research and understand the brand/s you’re interested in before you invest, advises Lorraine.

“Our main piece of advice is: don’t go into a franchise unless you are confident in the systems and management.

“Before we owned our Donut King store we were impressed with the systems and management so we knew that it was a good decision for us.”

It’s also important to remember that, despite a franchisee investing in a brand, a franchise is very much a joint venture.

“It’s a partnership, not only with other people including the franchisor, but with other brands at Retail Food Group (RFG).”

TRAINING

Donut King falls under the RFG umbrella, so when they first invested the pair were able to take advantage of the company’s training academy on the Gold Coast.

“We spent six weeks learning everything we needed to know – from the most basic skills to the most advanced to ensure that we could successfully run our franchise and be confident in what we were doing.”

Lorraine adds RFG’s ongoing support is extensive – whether it be liaising with their business development manager or calling head office directly.

“The good rapport with our business development manager (BDM) meant that we could always ask questions and have ongoing support whenever we needed. There has never been a problem when ringing head office too. All in all we’ve always had assistance and help for anything at all.”

FAMILY FIRST

Lorraine and Alan have reaped the rewards of the The Donut King business in more ways than one, and the couple is pleased they decided to invest all those years ago.  

“Our Donut King business has been really great for us as a family. Our daughter works with us and this has changed our family in a positive way. Family is what’s important and being able to share that in the business means a lot to us.

“Both Alan and I have never been disappointed in the decisions we’ve made and every opportunity has been a blessing,” says Lorraine.