How to Make a Career Change With a Windscreen Repair Franchise

Elliott Fudge, writer

Published at 22/08/2021, Updated on 04/05/2022 , Reading time: 5 min

How to Make a Career Change With a Windscreen Repair Franchise — Photo © How-to-Make-a-Career-Change-With-a-Windscreen-Repair-Franchise.jpg

After spending so much time at home, more people than ever are deciding that now is the perfect time to make a career change. If you’re one of them, you might find that working as a franchisee for a windscreen repair franchise is the perfect role for you. Here’s everything you’ll need to make a career change with a windshield repair business

According to recent research by Aviva, around 60% of workers are considering making a career change due to the pandemic [Aviva]. If you’ve been thinking about making your own changes, then you’re not alone. Working long hours with little satisfaction or reward is difficult, which is why more people than ever are turning to franchising.

As a franchisee, you’ll be your own boss, have plenty of job satisfaction and reward, and enjoy access to industry-leading expertise and training to help you along the way. And, in an industry as profitable and busy as the windscreen repair sector, you can expect to earn good profits throughout your journey. If all that sounds interesting, here’s what you need to know about making a career change.

Why start a windscreen repair franchise?

As part of a windscreen repair franchise, you can expect to cash in on many of the advantages that working in the windshield repair sector brings.

You will be your own boss: As you’ll be running your own repair business, you won’t need to be working to anybody else's needs.
Working patterns: You’ll have the freedom to choose what kinds of working patterns you adhere to. If you’d rather work flexibly, or in a more hands-on role, you can do exactly that.
Job diversity: Every day will be different. From back-office tasks to working with customers directly, no day will ever be the same.
Future-proof revenue: There will always be demand for windscreen repairs. Of the near 40 million cars in the UK [Statista], there will always be some vehicles in need of repair, so you can expect to have a relatively future-proofed income.

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Making a career change with a windscreen repair franchise

There are a few key steps to making your dream career change a reality, so here are some tips on what you need to do.

1. Get qualified

Most franchises don’t need you to have had specific industry experience prior to starting your business. Nor will you be required to have pre-existing qualifications, as most franchises will support you through this process. But before you start your window repair franchise, you will most likely need some kind of qualification or specialist training.

In most cases, this will be an NVQ windscreen repair qualification, provided by, sometimes even funded by, your franchisor. You might choose to get qualified at level 2, level 3, or even supervision level, but it’s important you have a practical understanding of the repairs your business will be carrying out.

Of all the tasks that befall the new franchisor, perhaps none is as important as the role of training. If the brand is the heart of any great franchise, training is the physical conditioning that keeps that heart beating strongly and consistently. – Mark Siebert, Entrepreneur.

2. Choose which franchise you want to work with

Many of the biggest operators in the windshield industry are franchises, making franchising one of the best ways to get to the heart of this sector. But, not all franchises are the same, meaning you’ll need to do some research on which opportunities are right for you.

Some questions you should ask yourself are:

What support and training is on offer?
How flexibly will I be able to work?
Can I afford the franchise?
What are the unique selling points of each franchise?

There are many things to consider before making your final decision, but after asking yourselves these kinds of questions, you should be in a better place to decide which franchises are the right and wrong options for you.

3. Produce a business plan

Business plans are documents that outline the specifics of your business, how to intend to grow it, and how you will run it. You’ll need to include some key details about your business, while also highlighting some of the strengths and weaknesses of others.

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4. Sign your franchise agreement

A franchise agreement is a legally binding document, outlining both you and your franchisors commitments to running your new venture. As a legal document, it’s important you understand the intricacies and details that this document outlines. Failure to keep your side of the agreement can see your franchise closed, so there are some important things to note about this agreement.

5. Market your business

Your franchisor will likely already have a tried-and-tested marketing strategy, so you may or may not have a lot of say over this, but marketing can make the difference between a profitable business and a struggling one.

Engage with your franchisor’s strategy and make suggestions of your own. Nobody knows your customers like you do, so if there’s something you think can be done differently, you should feel free to point it out.

Start a windscreen repair franchise

Starting a new business is never easy and if the above tips seem like a lot to go through - don’t panic. Being a part of a franchise means that you'll have support, feedback and encouragement at every step of the process, whereas other business owners may have to go it alone. If you want a supportive, profitable and exciting business, franchising is the way to go.

If windscreen repair isn’t the right option for you, you may be interested in the steps you’ll need to take in order to open a car repair garage. Or, to see franchising opportunities in other sectors, check out the UK franchise directory.