Twenty years on and still going strong.

This year we are celebrating 20 years since we signed up our first franchisee.  Twenty years!!  (We have been in business for 25 years, franchising for 20 years)

I don’t know if that time has gone fast or slow, but it has certainly been a ride that’s for sure.

I heard Jeremy from City Cave talk about their group and it so resonated with me that I wanted to share it with you here because I believe it is applicable to Gutter-Vac so I’m going to do a little R&D on what Jeremy said (that is rip off and deliver!! ).  You can always learn something from a millennial right?

He spoke that he was proud of the group.  That they were a proud franchise.

Now proud and pride are two different things.  Pride is something you hold for yourself, it is based on ego and about yourself.   Whereas proud is about others.  Feeling proud of what others have accomplished, who others are, who they are together.

Gutter-Vac is a proud group.  We are proud of who we are as a collective.  As the franchisor, I’m not proud of what I have achieved, because it wasn’t just me.  I’m proud of our team and how they have helped me to grow the business and support the franchisees.  I’m proud of the brand we have established, the business we have created to help people to be their own boss and make a living – and a life – for themselves and their family.

Most of all, I’m proud of the franchisees.  Going into business is a big leap of faith and courage.  It may be simple, but that doesn’t mean it is easy.  They have put in the work, not just serviced their customers, but really looked after them.  They have made the brand the brand it is today.  I am proud that they have gained confidence and realised their true potentials.

I’m just proud.

If you asked me today if it was all worth it, I’d say yes, because having the opportunity to sit at the awards dinner last week at our annual conference, seeing the franchisees laughing, chatting, living their lives in beautiful Fiji, celebrating the success of their peers, made me proud.  It was worth it just for that feeling.

So, I may be getting older now, but I’m looking forward to being proud more and seeing just where Gutter-Vac will be in 20 years, because if the last 20 years is anything to go by, then man, I can’t wait to see it in 20 years from now!