Dream Doors North Wiltshire franchisee, Ian Sturton, opened his showroom in Wootton Basset last week. The Royal town's deputy mayor, Councillor Ian Ferries, and his wife, Judy, were there to cut the ribbon, while celebrated town crier, Owen Collier, was on hand to ring in the news. Dream Doors' founder and managing director, Troy Tappenden – who formed the kitchen makeover company in Hampshire back in 1999 – was the first to congratulate Ian, handing over a bottle of champagne to celebrate his brand's latest showroom opening.

“This is another very proud moment for me,” said Troy. “It's a fantastic showroom in a great location, and I know Ian will be one of our most successful franchisees. He knows what he's doing, has had a great start already and, with support from my team and his own staff, those sales will continue to flood in.”

It's taken Ian, already an experienced retailer, seven busy months to finally get his showroom ready for launch. And, if he follows a typical Dream Doors franchisee's growth path, his turnover will increase fourfold from now on. “We've averaged sales of £25,000 a month since we started, and everything has worked out very well,” he said. “We're well ahead of our business plan, with at least £60,000 of sales to come in. It's been great and, if I'm honest, it's been crazy at times as well!

“Luckily we found Darren who has come on board as an installation controller. He has huge experience in kitchens, whereas my background is in business and retail, so Darren makes sure we're delivering on all the promises we've made to our customers.”

Like most Dream Doors franchisees, Ian had no previous kitchen industry experience. Award-winning training is delivered from the outset, including peer-to-peer mentoring from existing franchisees. And Ian's franchise manager, Bryn Jones, was quick to praise him for embracing all of the support at his disposal: “Ian took full advantage of our training programme, making himself available from the turn of the year. By the time he completed his week's induction course at head office in February, he'd already had five visits from myself and Andy Hart, our company sales trainer. He'd also spent three days with existing franchisees in Oxford, Thatcham and Woking.

“It's been a pleasure working with Ian and seeing his business grow,” he added. “I'm happy to see another showroom open around here as, of course, that now means most of the consumer demand in the south is being satisfied.”

Dream Doors is recruiting new franchisees nationwide, and there are also some existing and profitable franchise resales available in Bath, Essex, East Sussex and Kent. Franchisees don't need any practical expertise as sub-contracted teams or employed fitters handle the installations. The company will be on stand L60 at the National Franchise Exhibition this Friday and Saturday to meet interested parties.