Lorraine Garvie, co-founder and director of the D32 Business Network, takes the Franchise Business Q&A.

How long has the business been trading?

D32 began 10 years ago, and we just launched our franchising model three months ago, having had a license model on the Gold Coast for 18 months.

What does it cost to buy a franchise?

With all costs included, a franchise costs from $94,928, which includes $30K working capital.

Describe the core business?

D32 is a premium business network where business owners, leaders and experts in Australia and around the world form meaningful relationships every month through structured growth networking events and education workshops/webinars. Ultimately, we help business owners grow their businesses, networks, and selves.

D32 builds business communities. D32 was previously District32 – the word District represents local and the number 32 is the latitude through Perth – it stands for local businesses supporting local businesses. Our tagline is ‘The Power of Connection’ and we have facilitated over 3000 business networking events.

Who is a typical customer?

Our ideal customers are business owners who have a growth mindset and enjoy building long-term relationships. They are mostly service providers (85 per cent), trades (10 per cent) and manufacturing (5 per cent). They typically need help with lead generation, marketing, referrals, business acumen, leadership, mindset, partnerships, networking and commercialisation.

What makes your brand stand out from the competition?

D32 offers more revenue, growth, and connection opportunities, and we do it faster. How? Through our unique tiered interconnection model.

We offer a tiered flexible membership, and members move to new tiers as they grow. Members can connect with hundreds of business owners locally and nationally.

We offer industry category protection, so members can lock out the competition in Connect LOCAL and Connect PREMIUM.

Our pricing is competitive, and we provide unmatched business education and support, including weekly knowledge webinars.

D32 has a core focus on business networking and lead generation/opportunities; our mid-size and larger competitors’ primary focus is knowledge sharing.

Why is this a good business for a franchisee to buy into?

Franchisees can operate a very profitable turnkey business with minimal overheads and the ability to choose their own hours and place of work. Each territory is exclusive, and there is assistance from business and leadership coaches in each location.

Franchisees gain access to proven sales and marketing systems, a mobile app and fully automated CRM with complete marketing suite, full domain access for business management, comprehensive training for the owner and team, operational support and access to the D32 international network.

Which element of franchisee support is the most well received?

Our marketing support, training and the tech stack have proved most useful for our franchisee.

How many hours a week does a franchisee typically work?

Between 30 and 40 hours.

What drives your growth strategy?

Location, driven through franchising.

What are your expansion plans for the next five years?

The target is 20 franchise partners in Australia, and expansion to the UK and India.

What is one exciting innovation/ development you have planned?

We are working on AI matching using our member mobile app.