With over 16 million registered eBay users in the UK alone, Bidding Buzz delivers training to create a successful, automated eBay business.
The internet franchise gives franchisees the ability to market various eBay education programmes and participate in a company that makes over £27k a month.
Bidding Buzz franchisee Mark Curtis-Wood talks about how his venture is going.
BusinessWings: What did you do before you bought your own franchise?
Mark Curtis-Wood: I spent the last 20 years in sales, ran my own business and was also a business coach. I feel my background experience in business advice was an added bonus when looking for a franchise.
BW: How did you go about looking for the ideal franchise? How did you decide which industry to go into?
I feel it's important to find an opportunity that corresponds to your needs, not the other way around
MCW: Initially I looked around on the internet at a couple of different options to find the ideal opportunity, and I also looked in a few magazines. I found the whole process relatively easy and the resources were informative. I think for many prospective franchise buyers there are easy pathways when buying a franchise.
Bidding Buzz effectively helps people create a lifestyle income for themselves – we’re selling home study courses that guarantee people more time and money. I enjoy helping and communicating with people and this is an industry that incorporated this.
BW: What was your main requirement when buying a franchise?
MCW: I think for me, the key aspect when buying a franchise was to make sure I found a proven formula and one that worked. Also, having a structure to work in was really important to me.
BW: How long did you take to find your franchise opportunity? Was it easy to find a franchise within your price range?
MCW: It only took a short space of time, once I saw Bidding Buzz I realised that was the right franchise for me – I literally made up my mind in a few minutes.
Another great thing about the franchise was it matched my price range – I feel it’s important to find an opportunity that corresponds to your needs, not the other way around.
BW: What motivated you to buy a franchise?
MCW: I think my main motivation was ensuring I could get a quick return on my investment. When I looked at different franchise opportunities I wasn’t looking at how much I was investing, but how quickly I could get the return back – that was important to me. Bidding Buzz was a proven formula, I realised I could get a return on investment in months, rather then wait years.
BW: What is your day-to-day routine?
MCW: A daily routine for me is really flexible, because I spend most of the day just chatting to people. It’s feels good to actually get paid for just having conversations with people.
BW: Do you think this franchise fits in well with your lifestyle?
MCW: Well, Bidding Buzz is a lifestyle business so it fits in perfectly – it gives me the flexibility to be able to take the kids to school, for example, and I also have the opportunity to get really stuck into work.
Overall being a franchisee makes sense at this stage of my life – I’m 42 and feel that I’ve found a job that fits in with my lifestyle.
BW: What advice would you give to entrepreneurs interested in buying a franchise?
MCW: I’d say to anyone looking for a franchise, make sure it’s a proven formula. It’s also a good idea to check the actual owner is still involved in the business – this was critical for me, it helped me learn from people that were really familiar with the business.
