The transition from military to civilian careers can seem daunting, but with the right support structure, training and business development, making the move from Forces to Franchising needn’t be.

Former Engineering Officer, Flight Lieutenant Paul Fabian, spent thirteen years in the Forces before taking voluntary redundancy from the RAF. Keen to be independent and to use the skills he had gained, Paul identified the perfect opportunity in ChipsAway, the UK’s original and market leading automotive paintwork repair franchise.

Starting as a ‘man and a van’ franchise in 1999 Paul says, “I could see the potential of the franchise from the outset. I visualised that from initially being an owner operator, I would eventually develop my business and make a lot of money – and that’s exactly what I’ve done!”

Today, Paul heads up a highly successful business, with two thriving ChipsAway CarCare Centres (fixed base workshops) on adjacent territories, a fleet of mobile units and a team of six employees. Out of uniform for 16 years, he finds ‘the planning side of things’ similar to being in the Forces: “The realisation that spending ten minutes at the start of each day planning and briefing staff can save you hours of wasted time later on, is very much an old RAF habit!”

His salary, however, is ‘vastly different’ to what he used to take home: “I now earn at least six times more than I did in the RAF – even allowing for indexation – and my business keeps going from strength to strength! This year was my busiest yet, and I’m looking forward to an increase in turnover again in 2013.

“ChipsAway is a great franchise,” Paul confirms. “The support from head office is fantastic and I love being my own boss – having the independence to decide which way I want to take the business. If I want to earn more, I can set my own targets and work to achieve them, rather than waiting for someone to promote me, or if I want to take eight or ten weeks holiday in a year, I can, knowing the business carries on without me!

“I have no regrets whatsoever about becoming a ChipsAway franchisee,” he concludes. “If you’re prepared to work hard, you really can achieve amazing results.”