X-Press Legal Services
Karen Underwood
Before joining X-Press Legal Services, Karen had enjoyed an extremely varied and very unusual career. It encompassed training as a ballet dancer and then joining the family’s funeral business. She was the youngest person in the area working in this field and the first female to do so.
As a child Karen loved to dance and won a scholarship to study classical ballet at Elmhurst Ballet School in Surrey, where she trained from age 11 to 18. Then she chose to work in musical theatre, travelling extensively for three years until she felt she needed to settle down and get a “proper” job.
Discussing the possibilities with her father, he suggested she could join the family business. Unsure, Karen decided to give it six months’ trial but in fact, she stayed 16 years, working her way up from general ‘dogsbody’, qualifying as a funeral director on the way, until she became managing partner when her father retired.
When the family decided to sell up, Karen became a full time Mum until December 2007, when she thought she should start working again. She wanted to have her own business.
With no real intent to pursue the idea immediately and no thought about becoming a franchisee, Karen was flipping through a newspaper when she saw an article about X-Press and the Gloucester franchisee, Penny Brierley. Penny, an opthalmic optician, is now X-Press’s “Franchisee of the Year” and has a business that became so successful her husband Graham gave up his job to join her.
Karen said: “Penny’s story inspired me. I liked the concept of franchising and recognised the value of the X-Press franchise and the importance they place on high quality standards. Having previously worked in a family firm, I felt that franchising - at its best - is similar. You can have your own business but with back up.”
She continued: “I wanted to be my own boss but starting from scratch is daunting and I didn’t feel sufficiently confident about taking such a big step. Once I’d read about Penny and the benefits of franchising, I decided to research the concept thoroughly.”
The nature of X-Press’s business appealed to Karen. Karen explained: “In a word, it’s professional. I also felt that quality of work counted with X-Press, something I was used to with my previous business.“Once I met the Listers I knew instantly that I could work with them. It was like being back in my old family firm.”
Karen’s franchise got off to an excellent start in February 2007 and all is going according to plan. Now she aims to be less ‘hands on’ so that she can concentrate more on developing the business. She is being helped to achieve her ambition by her husband who provides backroom support after working in his “day job” and, later this year, Karen’s mother will also join the franchise.
Karen has a number of interests and hobbies. She used to row with Oxford Rowing Club and appeared in the last episode of Morse as a rower. Coincidentally, her father appeared in the first one.
