Jake Wild knows what he wants and he isn’t afraid to go for it.

Growing up in a small country town in Central Victoria, Jake remembers holidaying in QLD and loving it. He decided then that he would live on the Gold Coast one day.

Working as a cabinet maker for a few years among other jobs, he received a redundancy. That was a Thursday and by Sunday, he lived on the Gold Coast.

The right place, at the right time.

When Jake first arrived in QLD, he applied for any and every job. This is when he came across Mark Watkins, Franchisor of Lounge Repair Guys.

Mark recalls first meeting Jake.

“I had advertised on Gumtree looking for a driver. Jake responded quickly but we had decided to sell the truck. I liked the sound of him so I told him to come and work for me at Lounge Repair Guys.”

Jake says, “I never, ever thought I'd do this sort of work in my life. Mark gave me a go and I really enjoyed it. I saw the potential. We were driving between jobs one day and the idea to buy a franchise came up and it felt right. So I ended up buying one (the first Lounge Repair Guys franchise) within months of meeting Mark.”

Jake knew this would be a game changer for him. “It was just a matter of the right place, right time, right everything. So I went all in.”

It was the right decision for his family too. Jake works hard but still has quality time to spend with wife Schantelle, son Chance (11) and daughter Isabella (9). 

Jake went on to buy his second Lounge Repair Guys Franchise within the next 12 months and now has 3 employees with another due to start.

The right formula

There are a few key elements to which Jake attributes his success. But the most important is finding the right people, much like Mark did with him.

In hiring one of his own staff members Jake recalls feeling the same sense of certainty as he felt buying into the franchise. 

“I met one employee, and I immediately knew he had goals. He wanted to start a family and buy a house. He wanted to succeed. He was perfect.”

Both Jake and Mark share the same basic, but powerful theory when it comes to finding the right teammates. 

Jake says, “The work ethic is everything. If you work hard you will succeed.”

Mark agrees, “We want people who join for a natural reason. We don’t go for a hard sale. They have to fit. If they have a good work ethic, they don’t mind hard work and they are eager to learn then we’re onto something. 

They also need to be good with tools and not be colour blind!”

The right support

Mark has been an enormous mentor for Jake since joining Lounge Repair Guys.

Jake recalls, “I remember leaning on Mark, asking for advice. Now I’ve learned so much I’m even helping other people.”

Mark and Jake even bounce ideas off each other now. 

As Jake says “We have new products all the time, but Mark and I can call each other and ask for advice. And we are always there for other franchisees and staff. We have an open door or rather, an open phone policy if they’re in different states”.

As for training, franchisees mostly learn on the spot. Once they are onboarded, they go for a discovery day usually with Jake, where they’ll tail him on jobs and learn in real time. Mark is further building the online resource side of Lounge Repair Guys which will only enrich the offering further.

The right vision for the future

Mark believes so much in his business that he puts skin in the game when bringing on board new franchisees. 

He says, “I know and I trust our business so much that we want to finance a portion to demonstrate our confidence.” But he confirms that he only onboards the right people. It isn’t about the money they put forward.

According to Mark, Jake is the model franchisee. Someone with a brilliant work ethic who saw what they liked, worked hard and chased dreams until he caught them.

As Jake says, “No effort, no success.”

With such a great mutual respect and mateship as Mark and Jake have, who knows what the future holds?

More on The Lounge Repair Guys HERE