After 15 years in financial services, Sydney-based lawyer Phil Barbara was ready to take on a new challenge: one that offered greater autonomy, ownership, and the opportunity to build something of his own. He saw franchising as the ideal path forward.

“I’d always wanted to run my own business and was drawn to the advantages of franchising. You have the support of an established brand and a stronger foundation for success,” Phil explains.

In his research, he came across the bedding retailer Bedshed, and liked what he saw. Intrigued by the business model, he started a deeper investigation. He looked at the fundamentals of the business, and Bedshed’s parent company, the ASX-listed Joyce Corporation. 

“As a franchisee you are going into business with a brand, and you want to be comfortable with their business strategy and their corporate perspective,” Phil says.

Robust research was the beginning of the process

When he enquired about a franchise, he became even more comfortable with what he uncovered. Phil was rigorous in his research; an approach matched by the team at Bedshed.

“The enquiry process is very lengthy, Bedshed is very particular about appointing franchisees,” he explains.

Phil underwent a series of interviews, went to the central office in Perth, and saw first-hand how the processes operated across stores and the warehouse.

He signed the paperwork, and then worked with Bedshed for nearly eight months to find the right location in the challenging Sydney market.

They settled on a site in HomeCo at Caringbah.

“We had to fitout the store, which only took four weeks, we had a great set of builders who delivered on time.

“Once the major build had been done in the first two weeks, we had staff join and help set up the bedding and furniture in the store. It was a training period for me and the staff, with reps coming in from different suppliers to share their brand knowledge and experience with us.”

Phil has four employees in-store, and has warehouse staff too. 

Running a small business with experienced staff

The professional financial services sector lends itself to managing a small business, he says. Most of his time now is devoted to running the business: dealing with staff, paying bills, orders and deliveries.

“I have very competent, sales-experienced staff and a fantastic store manager. At the moment I spend time at the warehouse for deliveries; I’m usually the back-up for the store,” he says.

Right now the reality of business ownership is a seven-day commitment.

“I knew it would be hard work from the start,” Phil says. 

“Bedshed want people who will drive sales. You can’t sit back and wait for people to come in store and pick up an item, you need to drive customers to purchase,” he points out.

Just weeks into his business, Phil is still focused on getting all the systems and processes running smoothly.

“I am still to ramp up our local area marketing!” he says. 

Big plans for the future include community engagement

Greater community involvement is also  part of the bigger plan, he says.

“Community is hugely important, particularly in the Shire; people like to stay local. So it’s good to chat with customers and we have community engagement on our radar,” Phil reveals.

He also plans to optimise the potential of the bedding retailer in initiatives like gaining NDIS accreditation.

“We’ve got a bunch of ideas we’re excited about!” Phil says.

Bedshed expert support is invaluable to a franchisee

Buying a franchise has proved to be the kickstart he was looking for.

“Bedshed has been fantastic. The New South Wales retail franchise manager, Lachlan Bristow, has been amazing from day one. He dedicated himself to getting the store up and running. And everyone up to the managing director Gavin Culmsee has been immensely supportive.

“If I’d done this on my own – I’d never have got here! The knowledge base in the team is extraordinary,” he adds.

Phil has benefited from the retailer’s experience all the way through, from learning about customers’ bed shopping habits to finding the right store site. 

He discovered the key to site selection was opposite to what he thought – being part of a homemaker centre with competitors close by is a benefit, not a disadvantage.

“I would never have known,” Phil says. “Bedshed has already helped me develop my thinking.”

He’s less than a month into his business, and has big plans for the future.

“I don’t rest on my laurels. From the beginning, I said to Bedshed, if I do this, this is store one, not my last store. I want to get this up and running, and I’m definitely looking at second and third stores.

“It becomes more profitable the more you scale, because your warehouse costs remain the same. I want to keep growing my Bedshed business from there,” Phil says.