The Social Group is looking for committed individuals who will bring our already successful brand to a wider population.

The Social Group was begun in 1997 by Andrew B. Haglington B.A. (Hons). Parent company Social Group Enterprises Ltd. was registered in the UK in 2003. Directors are husband and wife team Andrew B. Haglington B.A. (Hons) and Catherine J. Haglington.

The Social Group currently operates in five UK geographical areas - Cornwall, Devon South, Devon North, Somerset, and Bristol & Bath.

The same format can be just as successful all over the country. Every month we get enquiries from people in London, Kent, Essex, Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Newcastle, etc. all hoping to join a branch of the Social Group.

We are now looking for people to help us expand our winning brand into other parts of the UK. We franchise to individuals, couples, or friends.

This is a people business. One of the most important qualities you need is the ability to connect with people. It should go without saying that it is important that people like you. If you are approachable, people will want to join in with the social functions and activities of your Social Group franchise.

As a Social Group franchisee, you will run your own business under our guidance and supervision, in the same way we have already established, with our ongoing training, support, and assistance. We will show you how to do everything and teach you all you need to know to be able to run a successful Social Group.

An event organiser background is not necessary, nor is a large amount of capital - although you will be asked to make a personal investment in the business, a very modest and affordable £4000 + VAT to start with.

The Franchise Fee includes the design, development and first year of hosting of your own state-of-the-art web site and dedicated email address, purchase and lease of a dedicated low cost 0845 telephone number, a detailed and informative Data CD, help with advertising and marketing, the Social Group brand name, the benefit of our many years of experience, lots of back-up with assistance in getting your business off the ground, and with full training provided and ongoing support.

To become a successful Social Group franchisee, you need to take on board everything we have learned since we first started The Social Group in 1997. That’s why we insist all franchisees learn the basics of how to run a successful Social Group when they start. We’ll train you to do what works best, you’ll learn all our systems, and you will learn every role you will need. At the outset, you will also need to pay a £500 training deposit, which is returnable once the training is completed and we are satisfied you have taken on board the basics of admin, accounts, taking payments, booking events, enquiries, newsletter magazines, event programmes, new member welcome packs, establishing credibility and trust, sales, marketing, development, hosting events, and all the rest.

In subsequent years, there will also be a small annual franchise fee to pay, which will also include the annual cost of hosting your web site on the internet.

If you would like to run London Social Group, Kent Social Group, Essex Social Group, Cardiff Social Group, Birmingham Social Group, Manchester Social Group, Sheffield Social Group, Newcastle Social Group, etc. we look forward to hearing from you soon!

WORLDWIDE FRANCHISES
Franchises territories in other countries outside the UK are also available. Please enquire.

WHAT SORT OF PEOPLE WOULD THIS SUIT?
Please remember - it’s not just party, party, party! (Honest!)

A Social Group franchise would suit people with a smart presentable image and a modern outlook, who get on well with others. We are looking for people with the highest ethical standards, who will work hard to enhance the reputation of The Social Group and who will not bring us into disrepute. We are looking for people with suitable managerial and personal skills, who are prepared to put in the time and effort to really make their Social Group franchise work. You should have a good attitude, with an energetic and hands-on approach to any task that needs doing.

You will find Directors Andrew and Catherine at Social Group Head Office to be approachable and helpful. In return, we are looking for people who are prepared to listen to help and advice, and who are willing and able to learn all there is to learn.

The new Social Group could be run by one person, probably with family or staff to help them. Or it could be two people, possibly a couple. Or it could be three or four people who are looking to set up in business together, each just needing to raise a share of the franchise fee to get started, intending to work as a team together.

One organiser needs to be a people person, who enjoys going out to social events, meals, parties, etc. One organiser needs to be computer-literate, and able to type and enter up details for the magazine. One organiser needs to be able to tackle admin and accounts. Of use would be having a creative flair, enthusiasm, imagination, and a sense of fun.

You don’t need to be able to build web sites, as this is set up so it is easy to use and straightforward, but you will need to be able to answer emails and use a computer.

As a Social Group franchisee, you will become an entrepreneur with your own business to run. While this is all about providing good times for people and social occasions where people can make friends and enjoy themselves, you will be running a business with all that entails - including sales, marketing, accounts, and making a profit so that you can cover your operating costs and can pay yourself and your staff wages.

Office premises are not essential - you can easily operate this business from your home, especially if that suits you better. You do not need a large amount of capital to invest and can get your Social Group franchise off the ground for very little. All you really need to get started is a spare room, a computer, a telephone, an answer machine, storage space, office stationery, a digital camera, and transport so that you can travel to events.

You will also play an important role in your local community as an important social life service provider. You will make an impact on people’s lives.

A franchise means that you own and run your own business, with your Social Group organised in exactly the same way as has been established with Devon Social Group, with the same rules, the same terms and conditions, the same type of events, the same price structure, and so on. In other words, you run the new Social Group as a copycat of the original.

Social Group Head Office will offer guidance on how every franchised Social Group should be run. All franchisees will have a voice, and a good degree of creative freedom - but while this is your own business, it does have to be run in accordance with the same operating guidelines as has already been established. It must be understood from the outset that you cannot turn this business into something different.

Organisers of all Social Groups arrange and offer their members...

(1) SOCIAL EVENTS
Social events include restaurant meals, parties, dinner dances, balls, themed evenings, fancy dress, quizzes, games, treasure hunts, murder mystery, behind the scenes tours, live entertainment, theatre, cinema, singles speed dating, pub nights, bar crawls, clubbing, and nightlife.

(2) SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
Social activities include skittles, ten pin bowling, quasar, canoeing, archery, clay shooting, quad biking, go-karting, table tennis, horse riding, abseiling, paintball, surfing, gliding, coasteering, skiing, and a programme of walks.

(3) HOLIDAYS
Organisers of individual Social Groups do not get involved in organising holidays or anything with overnight accommodation. All holidays are arranged centrally for members in all areas by Social Group Enterprises Ltd.

This means that organisers of Social Group franchises can offer their members a range of enjoyable holidays without having to become experts on complicated travel industry regulations and without having to invest a lot of money in bonding.

You do not need to take part in everything yourself. You will make sensible judgements on which events you need to be at and you will be able to work everything around your own life. Exactly what you choose to run, in keeping with the general guidelines, will be very much up to you. It will help if you like eating and drinking, as that does tend to be a big part of the job when hosting events at restaurants. Also, you do need to be prepared to get up and have a dance at parties and be a good sport and join in where you are able.

THE LEARNING CURVE - TRAINING & SUPPORT
You don’t need any particular experience to run a Social Group franchise, as you have our many years of experience to rely on. Obviously if you have people skills, and a good standard of written English, plus computer skills, sales experience, marketing knowledge, and a good outlook on life, all of this will stand you in good stead - but most of what you need can be passed on during training.

Full training is given at the outset, plus ongoing support and assistance afterwards. To begin with, you will make the time to learn how to put the events programme together and how to run the business successfully. You will be shown how to put together the events pages of an issue of Social Group Magazine - standard pages for the magazine will be written, designed, and supplied for you by ourselves, and you can edit, adapt and include these as you wish. You will be taught how to plan out your own programme of social events, find suitable venues, make the arrangements with managers, and set up booking contracts. You will be made aware of ways of finding suitable entertainment. You will be advised how to market the new Social Group to maximum effect for the minimum cost.

You will be advised on initial marketing strategies. You will be trained to host events, look after people, make people welcome, and give the right impression. You will be shown how to register new members, keep members details, sort out the day-to-day admin, set up business bank accounts, deal with customers money, claim expenses, keep booking records, be able to use the custom-made stationery, keep the accounts, and run the Social Group properly and successfully. You will be instructed how to speak to enquiries and how to offer a professional service. You will be helped to understand the necessity and reasoning behind all of the membership terms and conditions. You will be made aware of how not to fall foul of a variety of complicated government guidelines and trading laws

We will offer you lots of help and assistance in order to help you avoid problems, get your new business off the ground, and be a success as soon as possible.

We will work with you to design and publish your own issues of Social Group Magazine. We offer lots of help with this. We will help you put together the majority of your first edition for you in order to help you get the new business underway and off to a good start. For future issues, most of the cover, standard pages and features can be supplied, making things much easier for you. All you will need to do is type out your events pages using our templates, plus the odd page of text - yes, you can write about anything that interests you - after all, you will be the editor of your very own magazine!

BUYING EXPERTISE
One of the most important aspects of purchasing a franchise is our enormous expertise, as market leaders in this field. We make no claim to be perfect, but the Social Group is as it is now after many years of trial and error, in making mistakes and finding solutions.

Everyone should be aware that the events programme offered to members also has to be manageable for organisers - as much as you want to do the best you can for everyone, organisers cannot work every single day and be at everyone’s beck and call 24 hours. We will show you how to manage things to make this possible, in a way that works best for your customers and for you.

ENJOY YOUR WORK
Owning a Social Group franchise gives you a rewarding lifestyle, in which you can keep your own hours and make a success out of your own personality. Anyone who is positive, outgoing, upbeat, creative, sociable and fun is going to love doing this. Enthusiasm, determination and perseverance will soon see your own Social Group blossom and take on a life of it’s own! Anyone who puts some effort into this is going to get a lot out of it!

Once you are established and have all aspects of your Social Group running properly and to the required standards, you will find you have a lot of freedom to bring in your own ideas. In fact, we will welcome regular feedback and suggestions from you, and the whole idea is to work together as part of a dedicated team, so that we give all our customers the very best social life we can put together for everyone.

Next we will look at your application and assess if you have potential. Assuming you meet our selection criteria, we will arrange to meet with you and following this, if both parties still wish to proceed, you will sign the franchise contract, pay the £4,000 + VAT franchise fee, and pay the £500 training deposit.

We will get the training underway as soon as is mutually convenient. The training period will depend on the individual. If you grasp things quickly, this will obviously not take so long.

You will also have the option of accepting an invitation to Devon attend sample events run for members of Devon Social Group and hosted by founders Andrew and Catherine Haglington.

Once we are satisfied that you are capable of starting up and operating a Social Group franchise, you will be refunded your training deposit and given the green light to begin. If you make yourself immediately available, you could get started within as little as just a few weeks of you first making contact.

We look forward to hearing from you.

TELEPHONE FROM OTHER COUNTRIES OUTSIDE THE UK :
International Dialling Code +1822 810120