A family feel for Welkom's newest franchise

The Cash Converters Welkom Team

A family that works together grows together, believes the Kruger family of Welkom. They opened the city’s first Cash Converters franchise in early December 2017 and are thrilled that within these first weeks, they are already doing a roaring trade.

“We have lived in Welkom for 17 years and we believe local knowledge gives us a great boost,” says store manager Jaco Kruger 34. “We have our networks to draw on, for example. As well as our business connections, I am very involved in action cricket.

“Local knowledge also helps with factors like choosing a prime site. We are in the Giel de Wet building, making us very visible. It is central, easily accessible and has a lot of parking. It also means that if we are giving directions, we can simply say we are next to Vrystaat Vleis and everybody in town immediately knows that landmark.”

Jaco runs the business in partnership with his parents. His father, Johan, financed the projects and his mother Erika manages the accounts and administration. Jaco’s own career portfolio has taught him to value good marketing, good customer relations and staff management. As a result, he can be found front of house, managing day-to-day operations and running the store’s marketing.

“Because we are new to running our own business, we could see franchising has greater advantages for us than starting a new business from scratch,” says Jaco. “We believe franchising will give us great support and allow us to benefit from the knowledge and expertise of an established brand. A good franchise network comes with a lot of benefits and support to enable a franchisee to learn, grow and be successful.”

The Kruger family’s Welkom franchise has already created nine jobs. Jaco hopes to create more as the business grows and he intends to empower staff members through ongoing training. He also plans to give back to community organisations by donating surplus stock such as toys.

Johan, Erika and Jaco Kruger

The Cash Converters franchising model includes a three-for-one income stream – dealing in second-hand goods, pawnbroking and micro loans. This structure offers newcomers such as the Kruger family the opportunity to build a strong, expanding business quickly, believes Group Chief Executive Officer Richard Mukheibir. The well-developed franchisee support offered by the company’s model also helps steer them away from common pitfalls for start-up businesses.

“We are delighted that the Kruger family has decided to become part of the Cash Converters family,” he says. “Each of us has benefited from family support and we know and appreciate its value. That is why we make strong efforts to create an environment that is supportive as well as professional to ensure that our systems support and ongoing training enable new business owners like the Kruger’s to grow their existing business skills and investment.”