Paul Latham from Diamond Logistics Derby has won an Institute of Couriers Award for his excellence in the courier industry.
Creating jobs and delivering a service to businesses in derby.
He is recognised for bringing the military skills to bear on the civilian industry and promoting the ease of which logistics can be transferred between the two. Creating commercial success in a new Derby Business.
Delighted to find that the Derby postcode was available he went ahead to step from army and join our industry. With help from the head office team he was able to get his business up and running within a couple of months, taking on the franchise in December 2013 he was trading immediately by the time he officially left the services in March 2014. He had already secured his business premises and, in February had employed a business development specialist (also with a military background) who had lined up two major customers even before the business had its first vehicle and opened the depot doors.
The Derby franchise has now been operating 6months and business is good. He had a three year plan to grow the turnover to £1 million but he’s now revising that timescale to achieve the milestone within two years. “It’s superb being my own boss” he says “but knowing that I’m part of a dynamic and fast growing network is a great motivator and tremendously exciting.“
Paul has adapted incredibly well to civilian life – showing how a franchisee model can ease the transition from the forces to self-employment in a profitable and growing business in just 6 months. Creating jobs and delivering a service to businesses in Derby.
Paul Latham joined the Army when he was 19 and served a 24 year term, including tours of duty in Kuwait, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. He became a driver by trade, rose through the ranks and by the time he finished his non-commission he was one of only 21 Master Drivers, supervising driver training and road safety plans for 72 units.
Nearing the end of his time in the Forces, Paul was looking for his next challenge and wanted to use the skills he had developed in his time in the army, including planning, project management, logistics, communication, training and development and, of course, driving! The prospect of franchising in the logistics industry appealed to Paul as he “wanted to work for himself” so a franchise in logistics seemed to fit the bill. He looked around at the various options open to him and identified three potential franchise packages that were of initial interest.
Are you interested in a Diamond Logistics franchise? Like Paul you can join us and be apart of our rapidly expanding franchise network. Visit the website for more information.
