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PwC Franchisee of the Year from Worldwide Online Printing
Queensland Franchisee takes the award
A Queensland franchisee from Australia's fastest-growing print and design franchise, Worldwide Online Printing, was awarded Australian Franchisee of the Year 2007 at the PricewaterhouseCoopers Excellence in Franchising Awards held in Melbourne on October 13.
Andrew Robertson, who owns and runs Worldwide Online Printing centres in Spring Hill and Rowes Arcade in Brisbane, was also awarded the QLD/NT State Franchisee of the Year 2007 last month.
"I'm getting my feet back on the ground now, but I really felt lost for words when my name was called out!" Robertson said about winning the award.
Held at the 2007 National Franchise and Small Business Convention (NFC07), in conjunction with Franchise Appreciation Week and cooperation with the Franchise Council of Australia (FCA), the awards recognise innovation and excellence in Australian franchising.
Since purchasing the Worldwide Spring Hill franchise in September 2003 with no previous printing experience, Robertson and his team have increased the annual turnover more than four-fold in four years.
Worldwide Online Printing uses a centralised print manufacturing process where each of its 79 individual design and print centres only produces smaller digital print jobs, leaving the large offset and digital volumes for its specialised print factories. This reduces franchisee investment on equipment, while ensuring that even franchisees inexperienced in print, like Robertson, can shine.
"Worldwide's system allowed an industry novice with no technical proficiency in printing succeed in a highly technical industry," said Robertson in his acceptance speech on Saturday evening.
"Worldwide Online Printing is a fantastic organisation to be a part of. It's a rising star. This award is also a testament to the franchisor team, on a state and national level, and the system
itself at Worldwide."
"Worldwide allows me to have input - they listen," he added later."The training offerings are also excellent and getting better all the time. Plus, they invest heavily in technology and infrastructure, particularly in the production areas of the business."
One of Robertson's secrets to success, he maintains, is to focus on creating a strong team environment and a positive work culture, by investing in, recognizing, rewarding and training team members, while celebrating the team's achievements as a whole. His approach has resulted in low staff turnover and increased employee numbers at his centres from three to fourteen.
Thanking his staff members during his speech, he said, "I pay tribute to my team of outstanding people, many of whom have been with me from the beginning. Their loyalty, persistence and focus on solutions, and their refusal to be budged from that focus, has made everything else possible."
Another of his methods for success is to make sure that the big picture isn't obscured by details. "I set aside time to work on the businesses without interruptions," he said. "Getting perspective is very important."
"I think almost all the achievements in my life have been part of a goal that I have set and then gone about achieving. The exact timing may have varied but the achievement itself has usually been something I've been working towards - sometimes for years!"
It's been a busy year for Robertson - he and his wife Karen had a baby girl in March, just a few months before purchasing his second Worldwide centre in Rowes Arcade, Brisbane CBD, in July.
Picture: Andrew Robertson (PwC Franchisee of the Year 2007) at the Excellence in Franchising Awards.
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