SA franchise Brands welcomes Grant Smee, Franchisor of Only Rentals.
What has been paramount to Only Rentals’ success?
Only Rentals success is primarily due to the high caliber of our Franchisees as well as the high quality and focused service we provide in the niche Residential Rental market. We work closely with our Franchisees to identify the challenges and opportunities they have in their specific market. We are a brand focused on the quality of our people, partners and properties while ensuring we are innovative and dynamic to differentiate ourselves in a market where it is difficult to do so.
What challenges do you face at present?
Outside of the everyday challenges faced by most South African entrepreneurs, the challenges presented in our market are stock shortages as well as the ever-changing legal landscape around property law, industry compliance and residential rentals.
With a network of more than 18 franchises nationwide, how has your franchise model worked in favour of the group?
We have aligned our Group with some of the best and most innovative service providers to our industry, which gives our Franchisees a competitive edge in their respective markets.
What are some of the attributes required from franchisees?
Our Franchisees must be entrepreneurial, energetic, adaptable and approachable. They must have a love of the property market, working with people and finding them homes. Most importantly franchisees must be business minded, financially savvy and driven to succeed.
How would you describe the overall relationship between the group and its franchisees?
We have an excellent working relationship with our Franchisees, with open lines of communication and constant contact for development, idea sharing and advice. Our franchisees are our business partners with whom we want to develop long-term successful relationships.
What kind of training and support can franchisees expect?
Our training and support is not limited to a number of days at the beginning of the journey with us. We realise we operate in a fast moving and changing market, and therefore align our training and support with the needs of our Franchisees.
Which factors are paramount for sustained future growth within the group with specific reference to its present and future franchisees?
The concentration of our Franchisees on the area of expertise being Residential Rentals, with a focus on providing our Clients, both Landlords and Tenants, value at each stage of our interaction when they make use of our services, is vital to our growth.
Where to from here and into the future?
We have experienced a period of strong growth as a group of 18 Franchises over the last 18 months, and have recently sold 2 further franchise areas. Our intention is to grow the national footprint to 40 Franchises by the end of 2016. During this period of expansion we will continue to focus on the development and growth of our existing franchisees’ businesses.
