Penning a deal with Netstationers means I will be able to retire at fifty – Ross Edmonds
For 27 year old Ross Edmonds, a seasoned stationery seller, falling in love was paramount in his decision to become a Netstationers franchisee two years ago. Since joining the UK’s number one commodity goods supplier and becoming involved in this £6 billion industry he hasn’t looked back.
Ross said: “It all started when I went on holiday and met and fell in love with the woman who is now my wife. When we returned to the UK I realised I wanted to be closer to her in Worthing which meant I needed to relocate from London.”
After spending three years working in the office supplies industry Ross started to feel his passion and ambition was not being matched and felt that the time was to set up his own stationery business. It was clear that the two best options were to either start a business from scratch by himself or to become a franchisee with Netstationers.
“I was familiar with Netstationers as I had come across the company on several occasions and had always been impressed by how professionally they conducted themselves. I was sceptical to begin with as to how it would work, but decided to arrange a meeting with their team to discuss it further.”
It was following this meeting that Ross realised the opportunity that becoming a Netstationers franchisee would give him, and the decision was simple.
“The technology provided by Netstationers is a key differentiator as there simply isn’t anything else like it on the market. They were the first company to take stationery ordering online, and since then have always seemed to be one step ahead of the rest of the market. I also have the knowledge that when I need to go into a big pitch I have the full backing of the management in head office who are happy to attend with me or provide the use of one of their team.”
Ross signed up to start his Netstationers business in February 2007 and utilised all of the support on offer while he got up to speed. “Having been in the business for a few years myself I didn’t require much training, apart from on how to get the best out of the technology, but I was impressed by the extensive training and support programme offered to franchisees. It gave me confidence that I had the backup behind me should I need it, which was important as I knew I would be investing a substantial amount of money. I wanted to know I wouldn’t just be abandoned once the cheque was signed. This certainly wasn’t the case with Netstationers,” explained Ross.
After launching, the hard work came, and with it, a confidence in his own ability. “It wasn’t until I started working on my own that I realised how good I was at selling stationery. I was so determined to ensure that the business was a success and that it didn’t fail I went after every piece of business I could get my hands on.”
The launch was so successful that, after three short months, Ross realised that he needed some extra support to continue the momentum he had built so approached two friends from within the industry. After speaking to Ross, they could see the potential in the business and the opportunity it provided them to go after the big accounts, so they quickly joined.
“One of the main advantages of being a Netstationers franchisee is all of the back office support we receive. They look after all of the stock, take all of the worry out of credit control and leave us to get on with the job of securing business and looking after the customer. With the backup and support received, I could open a million pound contract tomorrow; a feat I just knew I couldn’t have done on my own. Once you have had a taste of winning a large deal you always want more, and the ability to be able to target much larger accounts from day one is an enticing one,” explains Ross.
The success that Ross achieved in his first year was even better than he had hoped for, breaking the £1 million barrier and receiving the prestigious Netstationers ‘Partner of the Year’ award. Looking to the future, Ross has set a target of achieving a turnover of £2 million within three years, and he is also looking to increase his talented team.
“When I look back, taking that jump from being employed to actually owning your own business was quite a daunting one, not least because of the financial implications. That said, it has provided me with a level of job satisfaction, pride and respect from my family I just couldn’t have achieved working for someone else.”
Ross continues: “The future looks very bright for Netstationers and this new role I have created for myself is made all the more enjoyable by the fact that I love what I do and can happily see myself doing this for the next 15 to 20 years. If all goes to plan I should be able to retire to play golf by the time I am 50.”
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