Warren Mills

After 28 years working in a variety of management positions with the Post Office and subsequently Telecom (NZ), Warren Mills took voluntary redundancy from a senior management position.

He experimented with a variety of positions, mostly in the financial sector, before coming up with the idea of helping small business owners with their basic book-keeping and tax returns - what he calls - shoe-box accounting.

Initially working from home, as his client base grew, Warren took on his first premises, and then his first staff. The business was so successful he decided to franchise the concept.

In 1999 he set up s.b.a. (small business accounting), and within 8 years he had 32 franchises throughout New Zealand, and two in Australia.

He started receiving offers to buy the business from various financial institutes, but held out for quite some time, feeling that he hadn't done as much as he would have liked with the business. He felt there were huge possibilities for the franchise in Australia, and had even made a few trips to the UK to test the waters there.

However, health issues forced a re-think. And in 2007, Warren sold the business to a mortgage broking franchise.

Warren has set up a new company - Franchise Focus - and builds on his now vast knowledge of the franchise industry and works as a mentor to "emerging" franchise systems. He not only helps them turn their business model into a success story, but also with recruiting great franchisees.

Warren also assists potential franchisees source the exact right franchise for their skills and background, through his "matchmaking" service.

Check out Warrens questionnaire - Do you have what it takes to be a franchisee?