Revive! Life after the Army for Jay Belam

Following 12 years of Army life as a Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineer (REME) and then as part of the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, Jay Belam wanted a new challenge.

Jay's military career was all planned out neatly ahead of him but spending the rest of his working life travelling along a predictable path was not appealing. The time was right to shake things up.

Jay had no previous business experience so it was sensible to look into the franchising route. Jay undertook considerable franchise research, which inevitably with his REME background and of cars led him to the Revive! Franchise opportunity in 2011. The Franchise territory in Guildford for Revive! is now one of the top performing territories.

"I knew I didn't want to work for anyone else and had always fancied being my own boss but didn't have the knowledge or experience to set up on my own from scratch, so it made complete sense to follow a proven franchise business model."

During his time with the Army, Jay served in both Bosnia and Afghanistan. He believes his military background and discipline has given him the confidence for all scenarios which been a great asset for life outside the armed forces. Said Jay: "The environment in the army was much harder than anything I have to deal with running my own franchise business. I learned how to communicate with people at all levels which makes it easy for me to go into big dealerships and interact with customers.

"Painting cars in the rain, wind and snow is nothing compared to Afghanistan!"

However, self employment does come with challenges. One of Jay's biggest challenges has been employing people and knowing how to manage employees in a civilian working environment. He explained: "I learned very early on that no everybody in the world wants to be treated like a soldier! I had a very military mind-set. I had to realise that whilst even the worst soldiers are extremely disciplined, civilians react completely differently. It took me a while to adapt and change my approach."

Jay's new outlook has reaped great rewards. Now with a fleet of five vans and a workshop where vehicles from busy trade customers are repaired. Jay is achieving what he set out to do. Turnover has grown significantly year on year and he has signed another five year franchise agreement with Revive!.

"The Revive! Franchise Head Office could see before I could that my business had taken off so well I needed to expand to keep up the momentum. They guided me step by step through the whole process of financing a new van and recruiting Adam my first employee. Their franchise support and confidence in me gave me the impetus I need to take such a big step - and I am really glad I did."

More expansion is on the horizon for Revive! Guildford. Within five years Jay aims to double the size of his Franchise territory to 10 vans. "Three or four months ago I realised that had got to the point that I'm no longer just an ex-army bloke who paints cars - I've got a franchise business that's going places. That really gave me a confidence boost and spurred me on to adding my fifth van.

"Taking on a franchise has definitely been the right thing for me. Without a doubt the backup and ongoing business support I have received from Revive! head office has enabled me to achieve significant growth and see a very bright future."

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