Joel Libava
(Sponsored)
Sean and Michelle Sinclair are the founders of Shelly’s Tea Room. This is their story.
Oh wait.
I’m assuming you know about this exciting, new franchise opportunity.
If you don’t, watch this:
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My Interview With The Founders Of Shelly’s Tea Room
Me: Why did you decide to offer Shelly’s Tea Room as a franchise business?
Sean and Michelle Sinclair: It was always our intention to bring a slice of England to every community across the USA and through franchising we felt would be the perfect route to market for us through people with similar values to us who have dreamt of owning their own business.
Me: Can you share your backgrounds with my readers?
Sean and Michelle: Prior to opening our first Tea rooms in England in 2007 I had spent 17 years running large Car Dealerships, this experience of operating in a highly competitive industry with a customer first culture was the perfect foundation for our Tea Rooms, Michelle graduated college with a catering degree then pursued a career in sales prior to the birth of our first child.
Me: Why do customers like Shelly’s tea Room? What do they tell you?
Sean and Michelle: There are many things people love about Shelly`s, we are so very different to everything else out there, the moment you enter they feel relaxed and leave even more so as well as fully indulged, we really are the polar opposite to the national chains of sports bars and pizza joints out there where you have to read the name on the menu to realize which one you are in. Most important of all though is the authenticity they feel they are truly enjoying a slice of England in their own community, from the language used to the menu everything deliver this authenticity to them.
A Special Franchise Concept
(The founders: Michelle and Sean Sinclair)
Me: What sets Shelly’s Tea Room apart from other franchises in the food and beverage sector? What makes your business special?
Sean and Michelle: A number of things, the atmosphere is one of relaxation, tranquility and indulgence so unlike anything else out there, then you have the authentic English menus using our authentic recipes we used back in England, it is this authenticity that stands out amongst the plethora of chain eating options, you then have the great returns, low staff levels and no unsociable hours that combine to make this the perfect franchise opportunity.
Me: What kind of people would make ideal franchisees?
Sean and Michelle: The first thing to say is that you do not need experience of a tea rooms as we provide full training and ongoing support alongside our operations manual that has our 17 years of experience of running premium tea rooms documented to help answer ongoing questions, they will be passionate about bringing a new concept to their community they will believe in giving back to their community and want to bring a fresh new indulgent experience to their community.
Me: How do you plan to support your franchisees?
Sean and Michelle: Regarding support for our franchisees, this is our baby, our concept from inception we have lived this business for over 20 years so we are fully vested in ensuring its continued success which can only happen if our franchisees are fully supported, this will be different for each franchisee as their requirements will differ however no matter what we will always be there to provide all the assistance we can.
Me: What is your vision for the future of your franchise company, and how do you plan to achieve sustained growth and expansion in this space?
Sean and Michelle: We are not doing this because we need the money, so our motivators are continued sustainable growth with like minded partners ensuring that each and every one can receive the support necessary, that said we do want scale and believe that once awareness is created of our offering the growth will come, we are part of a $76 billion dollar sector however within this we our unopposed in term of competition, we are so very different that this is our differentiator and the reason people love to come to us, however this lack of direct competition does not mean that we can relax and rest on our laurels as we need to ensure we are maintaining this, that we are bringing new, fresh authentic recipes and ideas to our Tea Rooms.
Me: What else should aspiring franchisees of Shelly’s Tea Room know about the business and your company?
Sean and Michelle: Not to be scared of entering the unknown, you are not in this on your own, that is the beauty of the franchise model you have the support and education where needed and once you open and see the fantastic reaction from 8 year old girls celebrating their birthday to 90 year old grandmother celebrating hers and everything in between it is the reaction from our guests that provides us with the satisfaction they will strive for, also ensures they come time and again.
One more thing, Joel: It is also important that you will be dealing directly with the founders of Shelly’s Tea Room, who have been in the trenches, understand the good and hard time, not salesman focusing solely on getting your deposit…instead of determining not whether or not you’re the right fit for this opportunity.
Thank you for answering my questions about your franchise opportunity!
To see if you’d be a good fit for a Shelly’s Tea Room franchise in your local area, fill out their franchising information form here.
(Top image courtesy of Yelp)
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