So firstly, how much is it to invest in a Cook Stars franchise?

£6,995 (+VAT)

Is that everything, or are there other costs?

Maybe / maybe not!  There are some requirements we have not added into the franchise ‘package’ pricing because some people will already have them in place. 

We didn’t want to raise the price for everyone because some people won't need these things.  You may already have what's needed ie. a DBS, PLI and a food hygiene certificate and safe-guarding certificate (these are free with the insurance). If you do need all these you’re looking at around £300.

Everyone also pays £10 p/m (+VAT) into a central advertising pot.  This means collectively the team can afford larger scales marketing that would be too costly individually. 

How quickly can I recoup that investment?

This is a tough one to answer because I don’t know you, your work ethic or what your goals and plans are for your franchise.  It basically boils down to how hard you want to work, how much time you will devote to it and what your ambitions are.

I want to give you some figures to work with though, and so I can tell you that one of our team had recouped the initial investment within 4 months.  She made a PROFIT of over £8,000 in her first 4 month.  For a new business that is incredible!  It's not uncommon that start ups don't make a profit for 2/3 years!  This is the beauty of a franchise - but we’ll talk about that another time. 

This franchisee had never run a business before (she was a teacher before) so did not have some unattainable level of business acumen – she simply just worked our franchise system and did it well!  She that took everything we taught her and executed it all beautifully!

Do I need to pay the initial investment upfront?

After you’ve made the decision to become a franchisee (this can take a while for some people, it’s a big decision after all) you will pay a 10% deposit and then receive the agreement and the area map. 

Then at least 4 weeks before you’re due to start training you will pay the remainder.  We don’t offer repayment plans. We do however work with 2 providers who love our trusted business model who you can speak to about getting a business loan if you don’t have the investment upfront. 

One lender offers a government backed Start Up Loan (impressively low interest rate) and the other is NatWest. Awesome, reliable lenders - and we’ve never had anyone turned away.

Are there ongoing fees?

Yes there are.  We give you 3 months after your training to get going before you have to pay anything to us. We do this very simply because we want you to be in a good financial position before you have to pay any further money out. 

It’s important to us that you are happy with Cook Stars, so it’s a little way to help you out whilst you’re getting to grips with everything. There is a lot to learn at first and we want you to feel relaxed whilst you’re learning the ropes and building your franchise in those important initial months. By the time you come to paying ‘management fees’ as their called, you should be well under way to getting established in your area and have services up and running. 

After those ‘free’ 3 months, like most franchises there is a fee. Ours is a flat fee of £210p/m (+ VAT).  I’d like to tell you a bit of a story about this.  We used to run our management fees on a percentage basis (and actually many franchises do this), but then we changed it. Why? Because our team were paying us 10% (with a minimum monthly payment £200 +VAT) and some were paying us an awful LOT....and it made me feel icky.  Hear me out, I’m not entirely mad....

We had a particular month when we had franchisees paying fees of just shy of £700 a month - and it didn’t feel right.  I know this makes me sound like the most stupid business woman ever! Yes, financially I have done myself up like a kipper here…..but it was a very deliberate decision with good rationale. There is method to my madness I promise….!

I don’t believe ‘business’ should be ugly.  I work a bit unconventionally perhaps, which has always worked in my favour and I’m not going to change that.  I don’t care how the big boys do things, or what a business specialist would advise, what my competitors are doing AND I don’t think money should always come first.  Yes I want to make money (I’m not Mother Teresa or anything!) but receiving such large fees wasn’t sitting comfortably with me. 

I did have a moment of thinking YES, seeing these figures mean we have mastered our craft and also taught those franchisees well (like proud parents we were!)….BUT what it also meant was if those franchisees were bringing in £6-7k a month - they too had also nailed what they were doing.  I didn’t feel right capitalising on that AND from the teams point of view I also didn’t want to get to a point where any resentment might develop.

Here’s the thing - Cook Stars is a brand that I’ve been building for over 7 years.  It's got my name plastered all over it!  It’s not just business, it's personal.  In terms of our reputation and my personal integrity, I want to be proud of what we offer and what we charge for our services at head office.  When the balance felt off  I changed it immediately.  I got a bit of backlash for it!   A business mentor told me I was plain wrong (and nuts!) and someone else thought I had lost the plot, BUT if my name is on something it needs to feel right.... and accounting spreadsheets have nothing to do with that!  

At the end of the day building a great brand is ultimately the most important thing to me.  A good business should be playing the long game and it is WAY more important to me that we do things the right way and for the right reasons, and have a team of franchisees that feel valued and cared for.  I went off on one there - shorter answer, yes there are fees!!  

When people join Cook Stars, they know if they put the work in-they will do well. It’s beautifully simple and linear.  There is great money to be made if people want to put some work in, and listen to our advice. 

Yes, we do of course charge for what we provide - and rightly so (it’s awesome and we over deliver massively and we’ll happily tell you all about it!).  I am extremely proud of what we offer and the fee we charge. It’s amazing value. 

On a final note....
I know from when we chat to people that the initial investment seems a lot.  It's not btw, shop around you'll see for yourself!  But I want to share what an investment means.  Apologies if this is glaringly obvious, and I really hope I don't sound in condescending.

The initial fee to buy a franchise is not just a ‘cost’, it is an ‘investment’ and there is an important distinction. 

A ‘cost’ is something that simply goes out and doesn’t give back (if you’re a parent think of your kids bleeding you dry as an example!).  Whereas an investment is where you pay for something that does give you something back in return.  In very simple terms, when you invest in a franchise, the idea is that it then makes you more money than you have spent. 

Significantly more if you put the work in!

I really hope this article helps you understand about the money side. It’s a dry subject I know, but an important one all the same.  

Talking about how you can make money with Cook Stars is infinitely more fun and the really exciting part!  So next week we’ll look at this so you can learn a bit more about how you can make what you want of this opportunity.

Until then, have a great weekend!

Cathy

(Cooks Stars Founder)

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