It’s a huge step for any startup: collecting the keys to your first business premises. Seven years ago, Blackburn entrepreneur Richard Few was nervously doing just that; just six months after launching Sales Geek, his innovative business support franchise company, in his family back bedroom.
As many will know, that first big step into official business premises balances excitement and optimism with very real pressure to find monthly rent, rates and viability. Richard’s first steps took him to a small unit on Halls Arms Business Park, Knowle Green near Preston.
Requiring a leap of faith from the whole family, it worked. Just seven years on, Richard is celebrating going from lone “Geek” to heading over 30 UK-wide franchises, an international headquarters, an expanding network in America, and two new Sales Geek franchises in India. Proudly true to his North West business roots, he hopes his story of belief and ethos that successful business can incorporate a sense of fun, will inspire potential entrepreneurs at similar decision points.
“Sales had always been my dream job, and while I’d enjoyed an international career, I had a gnawing dream to set up for myself- just like many other creatives, dreamers- and geeks,”
says Richard.
“I’d been searching for the product I assumed I’d need to launch a business, until a friend pointed out, that with my passion and experience in sales, I was the product!”
Zealous about reclaiming sales from being a dirty word, Richard had already spent much of his spare time researching sales, before that epiphany pushed him into founding Sales Geek at home. Just six months later, his approach, introducing a new attitude to sales with integrity, supporting businesses to connect the right products and services with the right customers, had pushed that bedroom office to his limits.
“Although it looked like Sales Geek had legs, it was a huge step,”
Richard recalls.
“Most small businesses fail because they’re started by innovators and creators who don’t have a business background or skills. I had that advantage, and my whole USP was to help others in similar positions. However, with budgets tight after I gave up secure employment to go for it, the £300 a month unit rent was a huge commitment, putting family finances at risk. I certainly couldn’t have done it without the belief and support of my wife and family.”
Now Richard heads a fast-expanding network of locally-based Sales Geeks, providing “real person” part-time sales directors, coachers, training tools and support to businesses from startup upwards. The multi-award-winning franchise model, across the UK and beyond, has won plaudits for helping hundreds of businesses thrive, bringing significant knock-on benefits for local job opportunities, suppliers, and the community.
While the team at Sales Geek’s “posh” headquarters in Blackburn’s Cathedral Square certainly wouldn’t fit into that first Knowle Green unit, their location epitomizes Richard’s connection to where it all began:
“Every Sales Geek hub is designed to sit at the heart of their community, so Geek Central was always going to remain in my home town,”
he confirms,
“Attracting business focus to the North-West, and hopefully inspiring the next generation to embrace their passions, be brave, and free their inner geek!”
www.salesgeek.co.uk