We hope it never happens to you, but if it does, these real-life stories of FASTSIGNS UK franchisees show how even the toughest setbacks can lead to powerful comebacks.
After all the news of redundancies lately, are you concerned your “safe” job isn’t as safe as you thought it was? If so, you’re not alone.
The thought of losing your job is probably one of your nightmare scenarios, even if you’re thinking about changing your career in the future. After all, having a steady income is the cornerstone of your and your family’s security, and those bills are relentless, no matter what happens. Even if you’ve got enough squirrelled away for a rainy day, it can still leave you facing a great deal of uncertainty, wondering what’s next and how to move forward.
But it doesn’t have to be the catastrophe you worry it might be. In fact, it could just be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for, like it was for so many of our most successful franchisees here at FASTSIGNS.
How did they turn a crisis into a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? By choosing to invest in themselves. Using the time and resources achieved through the redundancy process, they took control of their future and built a business of their own.
Easy to say, not always so easy to achieve. This is where FASTSIGNS comes in. Franchising with a well-established brand like ours offers you a way to enjoy all the freedom of being your own boss, but with a trusted brand behind you, not to mention all the support and structure that comes with it. As we’ve been around for over 40 years, instead of starting all over again from scratch, you’ll be stepping into a proven system which has already worked for more than 800 people around the world.
Whether you have experience in signage or you’re ambitious to move into something new in a resilient industry, our comprehensive training and mentoring are designed to help you succeed.
Some real-life examples of people who have turned crisis into opportunity
Take the story of Simon and Friederike Slee, who were, until recently, the owners of FASTSIGNS Hammersmith. In 2010, Simon was made redundant after many years working as an investment banker. Instead of trying to return to the corporate world, he and his wife, Friederike, a landscape architect, decided to channel his redundancy package into a business of their own.
If you’ve been reading our blogs for a little while now, you will certainly have seen their names before, and for good reason. They’re one of our biggest success stories, having grown their business from £354,958 in 2010 to a staggering £1,219,568 by 2024, before deciding to sell their business and return to Simon’s family home in Australia, to be with his parents.
Deciding to become our partner was a move which definitely paid off for Simon and Friederike, but we appreciate that the thought of starting your own business may still be a daunting one, even if you’re not going it alone. This is especially true when it may not just be you who will live with the decision, but your family, too.
However, for many FASTSIGNS franchisees, such as Chris & Andy Simpson from FASTSIGNS Leeds, whose centre has just celebrated 30 years in business, making that leap became the first step not just in creating a thriving business, but also a shared family legacy.
When Chris decided to take voluntary redundancy from a senior IT role more than three decades ago, he was looking for a new challenge and a more balanced way of life. What started as a bold move into a new industry has become a family success story to this day, with his son, Andy, joining him at the helm.
Together, Chris and Andy have built one of the most successful centres in the FASTSIGNS UK network, which has consistently set sales records and earned the prestigious Awards for outstanding performance. Over the years, both Andy’s wife, Diane, and Chris’s wife, Catherine, have played active roles in the business, making FASTSIGNS Leeds a true family enterprise in every sense.
These are just two of dozens of stories from within FASTSIGN’s global network, but they’re great examples of people who didn’t see redundancy as the end, but rather as the beginning of an exciting new chapter. With the right franchise, what looked like a crisis became an opportunity that changed everything.
So, if redundancy is on your mind, or even if you’re simply ready for something new, maybe it’s time to stop worrying about what’s out of your control and start shaping the future you want. It might just be the start of the life you’ve always dreamed about.
Get in touch to learn more about how a FASTSIGNS franchise can help you shape your future.
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