Join a 25-year-old trusted brand, perfect for Service-leavers

Off By Ed Hanna

25% or more of Neighbourly’s new franchisees are Veterans.

Launched in 1999, Dream Doors is the UK’s largest kitchen facelift retailer. A multi-award winner with almost 100 showrooms nationwide, it is also a full member of the British Franchise Association. What’s more, Dream Doors is also a part of Neighbourly, the world’s largest parent company of home services brands with over 5,000 franchisees globally. And a significant number of those are Veterans.

Earn £150,000-plus a year, in your next career move
Dream Doors is a perfect opportunity for Service-leavers to harness their skills in a lucrative business of their own. The company’s franchisees hit the ground running and can quickly generate a six-figure annual income. Top franchisees earn over £200,000 a year. They work close to home, and often with family. And they provide a service that is in high demand, being both economical and environmentally friendly.

Like most great ideas, the Dream Doors concept is a simple one. Instead of ripping out kitchen units and carcasses which, in most cases, are built to last, the company swaps what can be seen – the kitchen doors, drawers, worksurfaces and sinks. This fast and cost-effective transformation provides what looks like a brand-new kitchen for significantly less time, money, stress and waste.

Dream Doors is a people business, so its franchisees need to be able to lead a team and enjoy helping customers. No two days are the same and predominantly involve time visiting customers and overseeing projects. Dream Doors helps its franchisees to recruit local trades, typically on a sub-contracted basis, who do the actual kitchen fitting themselves. Naturally, there will be challenges – often in managing deliveries and the fitouts – but there are also fantastic rewards, both financially and personally. And it’s those variables that make this the ideal opportunity for Veterans who are not quite ready for daytime TV, endless golf or gardening!

Why become a Dream Doors franchisee?
Dream Doors is on target to reach 100 franchisees this year and, says director of franchise recruitment, Alex Waite, there are certain areas of the UK in which he is focusing his search.

“We have a few territories left across the UK, particularly in the East, including Norfolk, East Anglia and Essex. And there are lots of prime locations still available in the North, North Wales and in Scotland,” he says. “Our business attracts people from all over, though, and as we’re at pains to point out, rarely from the kitchen sector.

We’ve found that ex-Forces personnel maximise the opportunities within a franchise network. They are used to hard work and working within a system. They’re also of an age where they still have so much to give and, understandably, in many cases, have so much more to earn. Dream Doors can top that pension up significantly, as well as offering a dynamic working environment for Veterans who want to take control of their career.”