When Ben first enquired about a Hometyre franchise late in 2013, he did so having been turned down by a similar franchise model.

Ben had recently been made redundant as a baggage handler at Gatwick airport and decided he no longer wished to be an employee but instead to carve out a future for his family by himself. Without experience however, he recognised that he needed the support and training provided by a franchise model.

Ben has a disability. At a very young age he contracted viral meningitis and consequently lost around 85% of his hearing. Wearing two quite large hearing aids can give rise to a degree of unfortunate discrimination however and this certainly appeared to be the case elsewhere.

When Ben came to visit us for the first time, he arrived well suited and booted and armed with thoughtful questions and considerations. Occasionally he struggled to hear certain things but would carefully lip read and, if need be, ask us to repeat. He had a nervous cough and certainly appeared to carry the demeanour of someone at a job interview rather than looking to purchase a business opportunity.

Nevertheless, there was something about Ben that caught our attention. He was keen and very clearly conscientious and had a young wife and child to look after. He showed determination.

Ben joined the franchise network during January 2014. Early days saw him make a few ‘schoolboy’ errors in terms of his operational activities but he demonstrated very quickly that he would learn from a mistake and never make it again. His work ethic and ability to provide an exceptional level of service soon won over an increasing number of clients across his area.

Now, some 4 years later and having overcome a number of challenges on the way, Ben often performs within the top five of the network in terms of sales values and margin. He’s busy every day and enjoys a massive repeating customer base – testament to skills he’d always possessed but never had the right platform to express until he found Hometyre. A glowing success both for himself and for the Hometyre brand.