X-Press Legal Services
A Day In The Life Of A Franchisee
Each of the X-Press Legal Franchisees has a very different, varied day. Here Karen Underwood, franchisee for Oxford, South Oxford, Vale of White Horse, Reading and West Berkshire explains what a typical working day looks liked for her.
"The first job of the day is to get my two sons, plus various bits of sports kit, musical instruments and books bags into to the car so that we can get to school before 8.20am.
If I’m lucky I manage to go for a quick run with one of the other mums and then use her house to change, so that I am in business attire for the working day.
At 9.30am I am off to my first appointment at one of my councils, even though my territory covers five councils I wouldn’t attempt to book appointments with them all in one day. Every council works in a different way so the procedure of searching varies according to which one I am visiting. For example, at Reading council I have to visit Land Charges before going over to the public reception where I see a member of staff to get the information needed, but at South Oxfordshire I have an appointment to use a computer terminal and can obtain all the information here as well as print out the Land Charges registrations.
Once my appointments are completed I head back home to the office to input the data that I obtained while at the various councils. The bespoke system that we use generates the finial report and allows you to track the progress of the various searches you are doing.
As every search is different it is impossible for me to calculate how quickly each search would take to complete, unfortunately some will have a lot of information to type up or may have other details that need following up. Sometimes you just get a feeling that something isn’t right and you need to double or triple check something. At X-Press Legal Services we believe the most important thing is to send out a search that is of the highest quality even if that takes time.
Whilst back in the office there are at least a dozen or so other things that need doing, such as booking my next appointment at the council, following up on requests for building regulations and speaking to clients.
Currently we are arranging a local seminar for conveyancers and solicitors so I have been sending out invitations and following these up. Marketing and building your business is a consent process and involves speaking to both prospective clients and current clients on an ongoing basis.
I priorities and do the things that can only be achieved during the normal business day hours and not when I’m in the office later on in the evening. Although this is a full time job it is one that can be tailored around family life, I will often work late into the evening typing up searches or preparing for upcoming appointments. This allows me to go and watch my eldest son play in sports matches or do the usual job of being a taxi to various activities after school, while also being there at the end to pick my children up.
There are new orders constantly coming in that need to be entered onto the system, add on items that will have to be ordered online and of course not forgetting the usual business administration such as sending out invoices. Some of this will not be a daily activity but it all has to be done at some point. I leave my accounting until the weekend when I know I can concentrate without any interruptions but that is a personal preference; others will do a little each day.
The last job of the day is to make sure I have all the details needed for the next day’s appointment in my briefcase and put the briefcase in the hallway along with all the various bits of sports kit, book bags and anything else needed for the next day ready for that 7.45am madness when we are all trying to get out of the house without me having to yell too much!!"
