Diya Javiya, franchise owner, Bedshed, Jindalee in Brisbane, takes us on a quick tour of her lovely new store, and tells us a little about her story and experiences in corporate life prior to deciding that she wanted a business of her own.

Diya's Story (In Text)

"Before Bedshed, I worked as an accountant for the last 15 years of my life, the last eight years in Australia, and the rest of the time I was in London, I was at the peak of my career.

So then I thought, okay, it's time. Maybe I want to do something for myself, work for myself.

And eventually I'll find that balance between work and family. And I can equally be with my kids, with my family, and also be enjoying what I like. Having a job and getting that 9-5 shift wasn't allowing me to do anything more than what I wanted to do.

Even though I was enjoying my work, I thought, okay, I need a change now, a change in my career.

I'm a people person. I love talking to people.

Bedding is something I could really work with because bedding, I think, is very personal for people. Buying a mattress or buying furniture, it's going to stay with them for at least ten years of their life.

What attracted me towards Bedshed getting a franchise was basically the culture that they have. That was my first thing, that the culture they carry with the franchisees. And obviously, being an accountant, I have to make sure it's a profitable business for me.

It has been amazing, I must say. I'm really happy with where we are and what we're doing. Yes. Initially, the first two weeks has been all about setting up and getting everything ready.

I have a wonderful team, and we all were in this together from day one. We all were hands on, getting the furniture ready and getting the store ready.

And I'm really happy and very pleased with my decision. I think the most enjoyable thing I have to say is when I see the customers walk out happy for what they've bought and what I have been able to deliver them, that just makes me really happy.

When I see the customer saying, oh, thank you, we're so glad we got this. And it just makes me feel happy that I was able to help them and help them make a decision.

So I just love talking to people and, yeah, I'm happy when they're happy.

It's very important to understand what (the) franchisor is going to deliver to you, what culture they have in their own company.

And obviously the numbers, because Bedshed has been so transparent, giving us the P&L’s of other franchisees, it just gives us an understanding of where we're going to be five years down the line or ten years down the line."