Graeme Saward is a qualified builder with a passion for constructing energy efficient homes, so he and his wife Julie were sold when they came across Green Homes Australia (GHA).
The husband and wife team invested in their North West Tasmania franchise in June last year, and couldn’t be happier.
“This was the opportunity we were looking for. We wanted a business model where we could build energy efficient homes,” says Julie.
“This is also a niche market. There are no other builders in the area that are building homes like we do – they are affordable, comfortable and energy efficient and are available at a standard price.”
DUE DILLIGENCE
The pair came across the brand by chance – via a simple online search, and proceeded to make contact with head office staff to find out more.
“We had many phone calls with GHA’s national operations manager, David Berryman to find out more about the franchise and what GHA could offer,” Julie says.
“We had our accountant and solicitor review the contracts and provide feedback. We also had Warren Moore of Warren Moore Consulting create a business plan for us, and he said that the franchise was suited to the business we wanted to pursue.”
Julie is confident in the steps she and Graeme took to research GHA prior to investing.
“We wouldn’t do anything differently in terms of due diligence. We believe we thoroughly researched every aspect of the franchise before we purchased it.
“Having our accountants, solicitors and business consultant read over proposals and contracts was beneficial as it provided us with a third party opinion,” she adds.
CHALLENGES
Brand awareness is the biggest challenge for both the GHA brand and the Saward’s North West Tasmania franchise, as the business only began to franchise in March 2013.
“We as a collective group are in launch phase and building brand awareness across the country. The biggest challenge for GHA North West Tasmania is trying to get our brand known in our area,” Julie explains.
“Our competitors are also a challenge for us. These builders have been in our area for years and are well established, therefore we have to introduce a new option to residents.”
ADVICE
Prior to investing in the brand Julie and Graeme flew to the GHA head office to meet with its director, Mick Fabar and the national operations manager, David Berryman – a move she highly recommends.
“We were able to build rapport with the directors and the team that was behind us to make GHA North West Tasmania successful.
“It is important to build rapport and a positive team environment. If you don’t have the rapport with the people you are working with then it is not going to work.”
THE FUTURE
The Saward’s have signed their first contract to build a green home in North West Tasmania and hope to sign off many more.
“We had a goal in our business plan to build a certain number of homes per year and we are well on track to achieve that goal this year.
“We very much look forward to the years to come and to see what we can achieve with the business. We’re happy that we’ve found an opportunity to build energy efficient homes, something we have wanted to do for quite a long time,” Julie says.