Marc McLaughlin’s story

Why did you choose a Your Move Franchise?

I had run a software consultancy and I was looking to start a business doing something different. When I saw that Your Move had won an award for being best Franchisor in the Which Franchise? magazine I thought, “how hard can it be to sell a house?” and that’s what got me into it. I considered setting up on my own but wasn’t confident enough in my experience to do that and, as it happens, it’s quite hard ….! However when I started up close to home, where I knew the market and the people, with Your Move behind me, it started to take off.
 

How has the business developed?

One of the most important developments was when we started doing Lettings as well as Sales because the reliability of the lettings income is very valuable. The lettings side of our business was made even stronger when we acquired and merged another lettings agent into our Your Move business. It would have been way too daunting to do that without Your Move’s guidance and support – Your Move made it so much easier because they knew what to do and what not to do.
Adding Financial Services too was a success; it’s a logical add on to selling houses; we have minimum liability, we take advantage of Your Move’s infrastructure and it gives us a healthy income stream.

When all is said and done though, nothing beats the feeling of walking out of somebody’s house with a contract to sell it. It’s the elixir of life.
 

What benefits does Your Move bring?

Marketing would be absolutely number one I think; having materials and campaigns ready to go. Your Move’s marketing technology is really good too. Your Move is progressive.

The network support is good too. To be a standalone business owner can be lonely – being part of a network of other branches is one of the reasons I wanted to start this business. For me the safety that comes with being part of a team in an organisation that keeps us safe is right is up there as a benefit. That’s particularly true for Lettings – from the infrastructure to fund acquisitions to the support in running an increasingly regulated business. In fact, the access into all the different revenue streams facilitated by Your Move is important as it makes the potential deal sizes all the bigger.

What excites you about the future?

Maximising all the income streams for sure; lettings, financial services, conveyancing and new homes – if Your Move can get the leads and guide us in the right direction – make it easy to access, that’s a big part of the value proposition. As is the funding opportunity for acquisitions and even helping me to have a sensible exit strategy for the day I want to retire.
 

Finally then, can you sum up being a Your Move Franchise?

Being a franchise has given me the confidence in estate agency to succeed; I’m not alone - there’s a whole back up team at Your Move trying to figure out ways to make it easier and better and faster and more profitable.