Petpals franchise in resale success story

47-year-old Monique Nixon had been a client of Petpals Southampton, owned by Victoria McGuire, for eight years when she heard that due to impending retirement Victoria was selling the business.

The franchise had been providing a dog walking, dog boarding, cat and small pet visiting service since 2008.

After researching the business and talking to other franchisees, Monique gave up her job as a personnel assistant to purchase Petpals Southampton.

“Although it was a big step leaving my job, I knew I was doing the right thing,” Monique says.

“It allowed me to realise a personal ambition of working with animals, plus I could see it was a fantastic opportunity for a significant career and lifestyle change into a job I’m passionate about.”

Monique describes the difference between buying a resale franchise territory and starting up her own pet care business as “huge”.

She adds: “Firstly, Petpals Southampton already has a full list of customers and a great reputation, which is obviously a pretty good start.

“Secondly, I’ve got the very experienced team at Petpals head office right there beside me to answer all my questions and offer me support. From day one they’ve been great, responding to all my enquiries and concerns and keeping me fully informed on the process and timescales.

“They’ve also helped over 50 other franchisees to build their businesses, so they must be doing something right. In early October I spent three days with them at head office, which was really useful too.”

According to Monique, one of the other benefits of buying into a franchise such as Petpals is the unofficial support you receive from other franchisees.

“We have our own private digital platform where I know I can ask questions and one of them will always know the answer,” she says.

“I can also read about other people’s experiences and best practice. You can’t buy that kind of advice and I know I’m going to find it extremely useful, especially in the early days as I find my feet.”