After working from the back seat of a car through winter and summer and not paying himself a salary for the first nine months, Rahul Daga’s revenue has increased by 75% from the last financial year.
Rahul started with the Snap family in 2004, working as a Sales Consultant for two franchises, Blacktown and Seven Hills in Western Sydney.
“I was working alternate days with each centre and helping them with sales and marketing activities,” he says. “I realised that I could do this for myself, as I had a strong belief in my capabilities, knowledge and good printing industry experience. When an opportunity came along to take up a mobile franchise, I jumped at it.”
Rahul has always been passionate about printing. He studied printing technology in India and the UK and visited the Drupa exhibition in Germany – the printing industry’s Mecca.
“The Drupa exhibition opened my eyes to tremendous opportunities in the printing industry. I began my career in production and worked my way to customer service and sales to get closer to my dream of starting my own business,” he says.
Without the capital he needed for equipment, premises and employee wages, Rahul took the plunge to go mobile. There were huge challenges to overcome, with no customers and no physical address.
“For most of the first two years, I mainly conducted the business through knocking on doors as most people weren’t aware that there was a Snap franchise in the area. As I didn’t have a physical property or address, it took numerous follow-up phone calls and appointments to reach a stage where I could earn enough to pay myself a salary each month.”
Rahul says he always considered Raeleen Hooper at Snap Franchising Ltd (SFL) as his mentor.
“One of Raeleen’s suggestions was to instil in my prospect’s mind that ‘We are trying to be proactive, so we come to visit you in your office or we can meet up in a coffee shop informally'”, Rahul says. “This worked 8 out of 10 times as it saved clients trekking to a shop and leaving the comfort of their office. “By meeting them in an atmosphere in which they felt at ease, also helped me understand my prospects and their budgets so that I could suggest appropriate options tailored specifically to their needs”.
Reaching his current revenue has been a big achievement and is heartening for Rahul, who has also been juggling his time while he completes an MBA. He agrees with the experts that sales-related activities need to be the first focus of any business, and then the rest can happen.
“I think my biggest achievements are still to come,” says Rahul. “I always tell myself in tough times that if one door closes, four more open. So keep your eyes open to see the opportunities and never give up.”
Rahul now owns the Snap Centre in Kingsgrove NSW.