Aspirational Investments
Aspirational Investments operate a number of mobile phone franchises under the banner of O2. Each of the four franchises owned by the company sells O2 merchandise including contract and 'pay as you go' phones along with other associated ancillary items.
When did you start up?
We became a registered company in February 2007 and started trading in April/May of that year.
How has your business grown since you first started it?
We initially started with our first store in South Shields and within a year had opened two more. We now employ 34, mainly full time staff, across four branches. Under O2 guidelines we are only able to purchase the five franchises so we are looking to take on a fifth before the end of 2008.
Best points about owning a business?
The sense of personal achievement is great. We are both very proud of how far we have come over a relatively short space of time.
Our most recent purchase - the O2 store in Ashington - has been bought free hold so instead of just owning the lease, we now actually own the bricks and mortar. That is something which O2 have never previously done before but as we have such a strong track record, they were willing to give it to us as they know we will put everything into making the business a success.
Where do you see yourself in two years time?
We will hopefully have purchased our fifth franchise by the end of this year so as a result we will be taking on more staff. We have just recently employed a training and development manager, Lee Carrick, whose role is to ensure that our staff receive all the coaching and support they need. This is something we hope to develop and work on in the forseeable future.
Beyond that I think we might decide as a business to branch off into other areas. Property development is something we are both interested in so maybe we will look to do something in that field.
A highlight from your experiences?
There have been many but two that stand out are opening the fourth branch and the feeling we experienced when we purchased the first store in South Shields.
Twenty four hours before we were due to open, the ceiling fell down. It could have been a disaster but everyone pulled together and worked around the clock to make sure we stayed on schedule. There was a great sense of team spirit and I felt very proud of everyone involved.
