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The Finn Review - Issue 4

Interview with Mr Rentals co-founder, Glen Hickman

Glen and Kerrianne Hickman founded Mr Rentals in the early 1990's from Bribie Island, about an hour north of Brisbane. They chose to expand their business through franchising and granted their first franchise in 2002. Since then, growth has been phenomenal and soon they will open their 50th franchise across Australia and New Zealand. Glen's vision is to have 1000 franchises around the world - and most who have met him believe he'll achieve his goal.

The Hickmans are true entrepreneurs. They believe in the their franchise system, their franchisees, and themselves. The formula for success is part of the culture they live by. Some experts have even branded Mr Rentals 'the best business model' they've ever seen - Glen Hickman wouldn't disagree! He was kind enough to speak with me recently.

SF: G'day Glen, you are approaching your 50th franchise across Australia and New Zealand - how far can you go?
GH: Our research shows we should be able to support around 65 franchises here in Australia. In New Zealand there are no more Mr Rentals franchises available! We've got 15 operating over there and that's it. So all together we're looking at about 80.

SF: As you've grown, what are the major lessons you've learnt regarding franchisee selection?
GH: The lessons I've learnt are just because they've got the money doesn't mean they'll be a good franchisee. I think there were things that we let slip through in the early days that we won't let slip through again. In the future we'll be looking very hard at the passion people have for our business model and the commitment they're willing to put into it.

SF: Why do you single out passion and commitment?
GH: We obviously started with one Mr Rentals store and Kerrianne and I ran that ourselves in the beginning. Looking back, these were the things that helped make us successful. If you don't have commitment you shouldn't be in business. You need to be committed to the successful outcomes that your aiming for.

SF: How many people do you employ at your National Support Office?
GH: We've got a few divisions now. Franchising, software, and finance. Across the board we've got around 20 people looking after things.

SF: I understand you refer to the traditional franchise BDM as 'Franchise Coach' - what's the difference?
GH: Yes. The coaches closely monitor our KPI's, and coach the franchisees on improving the behaviours that influence each of these KPI's. Our coaches have to be empathetic, and they have to be able to listen. Obviously great people skills are very important. They need to be able to coach and train people, and still be strong enough to ensure franchisees are accountable to themselves and their goals. Coaches need to highlight areas to focus on and follow-up to ensure things are being done to continue to improve.

SF: What role have you taken in the business over the last 12 months or so?
GH: Over the past year I've concentrated on improving the systems at our National Support Office. I have also worked hard on securing a finance stream that enables our franchisees to finance their equipment as they grow. Moving forward, I'll focus heavily on the stategic direction of the network. My role will be that of leader. The one that creates enthusiasm and has the passion for where we are going and then communicates that back through to our franchisees.

SF: You co-founded the business with your wife, Kerrianne. What involvement does Kerrianne have in Mr Rentals?
GH: Kerrianne is a major part of this business. Has been and always will be. We've worked together very closely right from the beginning as we developed the business model. She's also had a major influence on the franchising side of things.

SF: Who do you admire most in the franchising industry in Australia?
GH: There's lots of organisations out there that have done incredibly well. I don't have intimate knowledge of their businesses, but the likes of John O'Brien at PoolWerx seems to have built a fantastic system around a fairly basic product. Even people in the food industry, the likes of Tom Potter from Eagle Boys - you've got to admire that guy. He's in a really tough industry, he's taken on the big boys and made it happen for himself and his franchisees.

SF: You're a great visionary with a great attitude towards success. What sort of self-development have you taken yourself through over the years?
GH: I've read lots of books and been to lots of seminars! I started off reading books such as The Giant Within by Anthony Robbins. Robert Kiyosaki's books are particular relevant to our type of business especially considering he talks a lot about income producing assets. John McGrath owns a real estate company in Sydney and I've enjoyed his books as well. I'm reading a book at the moment called Scroo The Rules by Graham Turner who started Flight Centre. Seminars are good too. I made a promise to myself years ago that for every seminar I go to or book I read I'm going to take at least one good thing out of each of them and put it into action. Knowledge is useless unless you use it.

SF: What is driving the growth of Mr Rentals? What makes it so attractive to potential franchisees?
GH: Our business model has recurring revenue. You make a sale once and you get paid over and over and over for that. The culminating effect of recurring revenue obviously is that it gets bigger and bigger and bigger. In other words franchisees can get rewarded very well in this business. It takes a while because you've got to build up your equipment out in the marketplace. I think what people see is that Mr Rentals is a simple business. It has the magic of recurring revenue and they can see as time goes on that the revenue will allow them to have trained staff running their business as effectively as if they were running it themselves. I think they can see a time down the track where there is the ultimate lifestyle reward in the combination of income and time.

SF: What are the most common traits of your top-performing franchisees?
GH: Commitment, passion, and an attitude of they'll make it work no matter what.

SF: Conversely, what are the most common traits of your under-performing franchisees?
GH: The exact opposite. A 'hands-out' expectation that, rather than making things happen, they expect someone to make it happen for them.

SF: Do you plan to take your franchise overseas?
GH: Yeah, we're keen on growing to 1000 franchises around the world - I can see that clearly in my mind. We'll probably tackle countries with cultures and legal systems similar to ours here in Australia. Places like Canada, the United States, and the UK fit into that mould. Asia is a bit scary but we'll find a solution there if we need to.