Leicester, United Kingdom (PressExposure) February 28, 2010 -- Hi, my name is Sarah and I am the Franchise Coordinator for CityLocal. I joined CityLocal in late 2007 and was immediately intrigued by the entire operation as soon as I walked into Head Office. I had not come across any franchises like CityLocal until this point. I was obviously aware that there were business directories out there however the fact that many of these local businesses advertising in CityLocal could now be found on the first page of Google was astonishing.
As far as I knew, Google was the most popular search engine in the world so how were these businesses being found so high on the search engines? I quickly learned that the directors of the company knew exactly what they were doing and had built an internet business model based on their knowledge of search engine optimisation and business experience. This was evident in their training of new franchisees, marketing material and constant online development.
Prior to working for City Local, I had studied Media at degree level and had always wanted to get into marketing in some way or another although it had not occurred to me that online marketing was an avenue I could go down. I came to understand that all companies, small or large, were now spending huge chunks of their advertising budget online.
I have been working at Head Office for just over 2 years now and have learned so much. It is very important to enjoy what you do, only then can you be good at what you do. My role as a Franchise Coordinator allows me to speak with people who are looking for a lifestyle change as buying a franchise will undoubtedly change their life.
I speak to people from all walks of life that are searching for the right internet franchise for them whether they have been made redundant, are looking for an additional revenue earner, wanting a career change or chasing their dreams of being their own boss. These people are interesting and have a varied background so it is a challenge to figure out if our franchise is suitable for them. This is my role, to go through our enquiries and find out who would be an asset to our network by getting to know them and understanding what they want out of life.
It is fortunate for me to be around people I respect and can continually learn from. Working with the directors of the company who have been so successful in the past with previous business ventures will clearly give me an advantage in anything I do here onwards. They manage to remain innovative in the fast paced, internet market that is online advertising which is particularly tricky if you are not specialists in what you do.
They always have time for their franchisees and see them as their very own think tank as it is the franchisees that bring forward interesting ideas that will enhance the brand according to what they have seen a demand for in their local business community.
Overall my experience at City Local has been very positive especially seeing how the franchise has evolved and is now on target for national coverage in the next few years.