
Franchisee in the Spotlight
Stockcheck Franchisee David Cunningham – Devon & Somerset
Stockcheck Franchisee
David has now been a franchisee with Stockcheck for over 16 years and has lost track of the number of businesses he has helped grow and flourish. Like all of our franchisees, David has lots of real world experience which he enjoys using as a stocktaker, a career which allows him to stay connected with industry we all love, without the long hours!
In his own words David says.
“Having been a chef, manager and area manager for all of my working life before joining Stockcheck – I have a wealth of experience that I am keen to share and use to help others in all levels of the hospitality trade.”
Before Stockcheck, David’s career included catering in the Armed Forces, a variety of Cheffing roles on the South Coast and a stint working in London. However it was the 25 years he spent managing restaurants, pubs and hotels with his wife that taught him the most.
It’s the coupling of this experience, with Stockcheck’s market leading stocktaking software and systems, that leads to success. The software provides a detailed insight into how a business is performing, and David’s experience then unlocks, analyses and turns the information into a plan that will help drive growth and longevity. It’s easy to understand why David has a client list of longstanding, satisfied customers, with successful businesses.
Here are some comments from his customers
“‘it wasn’t until we decided to start using David for external stocktakes, that we knew what a good stock result looked like”
‘the ideas, tips tricks and professional advice really have opened our eyes and it’s great seeing the results from our action plans every month!”
“When David arrives he gets us all upbeat and positive!”
Looking back over his time with Stockcheck, it’s obvious that his choice to become a franchisee was a good one. However at the time it was not an easy choice, as the father of 4 children and having been made redundant from a role as Area Manager for a large Pub Group, both a secure income and good work life balance were exceptionally important to David.
Each person has their own decisions to make, but in David’s view, whilst it was daunting starting again,
“For a small investment; the opportunity to ‘be your own boss’ – a job where you get out as much as you put in and get to use your skills to help others, is a great opportunity.”
He needed a flying start to his new business, and he got this with the support of the Stockcheck Head Office team and having “been in their shoes” he was easily able to talk to owners, managers and chefs, and explain how he could help them. Soon David had a full diary of both own sourced Private clients, and National Account work supplied by Head Office, and he’s never looked back!
Away from work, the 4 children are now accompanied by partners and grandchildren, and he’s happy to say that he’s able to regularly get together a family “4 ball” at the local golf course. He’s also able to indulge his passion for good wine and food, and tries to see at least 2 shows a year – Les Miserables on the West End and Coldplay live at Wembley being recent highlights.
As a final through David tries to follow the advice of the Greek philosopher Epictetus
“We need to regularly stop and take stock; to sit down and determine within ourselves which things are worth valuing and which things are not; which risks are worth the cost and which are not. Even the most confusing or hurtful aspects of life can be made more tolerable by clear seeing and by choice.”
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