Ep64 Rebecca O’Brien, PACK & SEND Multi-Store franchise owner journey

Rebecca O’Brien started working at 14 with Bunnings and moved into their leadership team opening stores across the country. Now a mum with three young kids, three businesses, and three dogs! Rebecca and her partner  are going full tilt in life and business, and are also close on their third PACK & SEND store on top of the others and the restaurant they also own.   Rebecca loved her time with Bunnings which was truly career defining in experience and even sending her through University. After wanting a change in direction after 14 years at Bunnings, Rebecca jumped into consulting to retail and restaurants to help with range and merchandising.   After children (twins) and working in their restaurant, Rebecca was looking to get back in to the workforce in ‘anything but hospitality’. The lack of flexibility in the industry and a desire to have a better lifestyle saw a broad criteria for a business search.   PACK & SEND was basically found by accident, and led to deep research into the logistics industry broadly before jumping in. A bit over 2 years into ownership, and a third store is clearly on the agenda!   Rebecca also has some insights on what she sees in her experience as the key to success in a PACK & SEND business.   0:00 Intro 0:27 Rebecca’s two franchise locations are a little way apart and her view on that 1:17 One main career prior to PACK & SEND, started at Bunnings when 14 years old 2:15 Career path through Bunnings 3:13 What it’s like setting up a new Bunnings store 5:01 Responding to a major competitor 7:04 After 14 years at Bunnings making the decision to leave and consulting to a restaurant 9:00 Retail consulting on merchandising and ranges 10:15 Helping partner in another restaurant while thinking about what next 10:40 Looking to get back into the workforce after kids, starting to think about life without hospitality industry’s inflexibility 11:29 Looking for a business in ‘anything but hospitality’ 13:13 Narrowing down a business and was not interested in a franchise initially 14:17 Discovered PACK & SEND basically by accident and understanding broader logistics industry 15:29 Impression of franchising very early on and not thought in depth about benefits and details 16:11 Looks at it as a true ‘network’ working with each other, not just a franchise brand 17:53 Why working together is so important to Rebecca 19:34 Process of enquiring and her research into the brand and visiting other stores before buying into the brand 20:58 The decision to proceed with buying a PACK & SEND 23:09 “We’re in a really high growth area” 24:04 Bought a 2nd location after 6 months which is a retail shopfront 25:57 What Rebecca’s day looks like and her decision to hire more staff to ensure she has a life 27:33 What Rebecca sees as the secrets to success in a PACK & SEND 28:25 Huge job moving military tanks to France and he she figured out how 29:53 Be honest with people and don’t pretend to know everything which is all how you build connections 31:13 Wrap up   Podcast Produced by: www.magneticbusinessmedia.com.au   Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website): www.franchisebuyer.com.au Listen or Watch on; Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2hdwurns Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/mr3xsst7 Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/7rpfej85 YouTube:  https://youtu.be/otQbcDntOyA