When I speak to people about the Countrywide Signs franchise, there are always a few things they want to work through before they commit. One of the most common is the cost of the van.

We all know how expensive vehicles are becoming these days, so I completely understand why it gives people pause when they’re already weighing up everything else that comes with starting out on their own.

However, this really isn’t the hurdle it needs to be, and it’s definitely not a reason to talk yourself out of a genuinely good opportunity. It’s a lot more manageable than you might think – especially now.

Countrywide Signs have brought in a finance specialist, Gary, whose entire role is to help you track down the right funding for a vehicle and get your application over the line. He’s already done precisely that for their newest franchisee, and they’re confident enough in him that they’ve built his fee into the franchise fee itself – so his help now comes to you at no extra cost.

Gary’s well worth talking to, and not only because his help and advice are free. He’s spent his career helping hundreds of franchisees and franchisors find the funding they need for all manner of things, so he knows this landscape inside out. In fact, I’ve worked with him before and he already has a reputation as the go-to guy for funding among my colleagues, so I couldn’t be happier that he’s going to be helping out at Countrywide Signs.

Most people simply don’t realise how many ways there are to fund a vehicle, or a new business more generally, and half an hour with someone who does this for a living tends to turn up options you’d never have found on your own.

Starting up your own business is hard. There are plenty of obstacles and challenges which need to be overcome, and a good franchise is there to clear as many of them as it can before you ever reach them.

Consider this one more off the list

So why don’t we talk about it some more? Whether it’s the van, funding in general, or something else altogether that’s giving you second thoughts, I’d far rather we put it on the table and work out how solvable it really is than have it hold you back when it doesn’t have to.