OSCAR franchisee Steve James successfully mixes business with pleasure
A new home in South Wales and a new OSCAR franchise was destined for Steve James, after he gained experience working for his parents’ OSCAR business in Berkshire.
Steve says: “My background has always been connected to the cycling arena, having spent some time working for a retailer while maintaining my semi-professional international cycling interests.
“On moving to Wales to be with my partner, I had to consider my career options - either find a job outside my comfort zone or go with my instincts and build my own OSCAR franchise.”
Scope for flexibility
According to Steve, trying to mix business with pleasure was always a challenge, but having worked for his parents in their OSCAR business he could see, if managed properly, there was flexibility for him to do both.
“I’m very ambitious and positive and while I knew the basics of running an OSCAR business, I was still expected to attend the full training programme, enabling me to understand the complete process,” Steve says.
“I know I can always call upon my parents for help, but to have back-up support from the OSCAR support team, who are experts in business, gives me self assurance.”
Steve adds: “My passion will ensure I continue to enjoy what I do and I committed to furthering my education by enrolling on a nationally recognised nutritional course provided by OSCAR.
“It has expanded my knowledge and, with the added confidence, I’m able to offer a reliable and in-depth response to problems that need resolving.
“This qualification has given credibility to my service and, in an area that covers town and country with a mixture of working dogs and family pets, with people who are unaware of what to feed their dogs when considering breed or lifestyle, I’m in a much better place to offer advice.”
Communication is key
Good communication is key within any business, especially a franchise, and OSCAR provides a number of opportunities for franchisees to communicate and obtain up-to-date information.
“Regional meetings are one of the forums and they’re a great place to exchange experiences,” Steve says. “They also keep me in touch with product news and new ideas, which are always of great value.
“I like to think I’m more than just a pet food delivery business - I’m there to support, care and help my customers to enjoy, respect and gain everything good from my service.”
