Hi, I’m Sharon from Woodchurch, Wirral and have been running my Trophy Wirral franchise for almost three years, covering Wirral, Chester and part of North Wales.

Before Trophy I worked for almost sixteen years in a Further Education College firstly as a Librarian and before being made redundant worked part of my week in Human Resources and the rest of the week worked as P.A to the Clerk to the governors. I can’t say I felt I had achieved my lifelong ambition and everyday used to pass a quote on the wall ‘If you do a job that you love, you will never have to do a day’s work in your life’. I read this and dreamed of having my own business and working with animals.

When I was made redundant in March 2014 I knew this was the chance I had been waiting for and decided a franchise would be the best way forward seeing I was in my early fifties and no longer a youngster! I researched pet food and other pet franchises taking advice from the BFA and going to see a few before deciding that Trophy was the one for me due to the superior products and support systems in place. I like the fact that the business is my own but support is there whenever I need it.

A few weeks into the business Jake my border collie came to live with us as his previous owners could no longer keep him and this meant I could meet lots of dog owners through training classes and local dog walking groups. Jake is on Trophy Premium Duck & Vegetables and the number of people who comment on his beautiful shiny coat means talking about Trophy couldn’t be easier.

Although not having any direct sales experience this didn’t matter as just by enjoying meeting people and following the methods shown in the Trophy training I gained just under 100 customers in my first year. I was so pleased to win ‘Best New Franchisee’ in 2014 after 7 months in the business. I ensure I always give excellent customer service and I offer both a loyalty and a referral scheme which mean many of my customers now come through referrals.

I do put in the hours needed to keep the business growing which means working some evenings and weekends but I actually do not feel as if I am actually working as I enjoy what I am doing. It also means I can take the odd days off at short notice to see my daughter when she has a 24 hour layover to Manchester (She works for Emirates and lives in Dubai), which I couldn’t do when I worked for the College.

I still have a way to go but my business is building up nicely and I am getting new customers all the time. I am happier than I’ve ever been and have a much better quality of life.