Solihull, a Haunted Hotel, and Why Sharing Really Is Winning
Author: Cat Robson-Scarborough, Franchise & Operations Director, Your Man With A Van Ltd
I’ll be honest — the hotel nearly derailed the whole thing before it started.
Two nights in Solihull, in a place that looked like it had been designed specifically to film The Shining. I was fully ready to embrace it as “quirky.” Then the doors started banging at 2am and I decided quirky wasn’t the right word anymore.
But that’s the thing about getting yourself out of the office and into a room with other people building businesses — even the rough bits end up being part of the story.
I was in Solihull for a training and exploration day with Your Man With A Van, specifically for entrepreneurs who are in the process of scaling.
There’s plenty of pie for everyone
Here’s something I’ve always believed, and days like this remind me why: when business owners actually talk to each other — properly, not just the polished LinkedIn version — it’s a completely different conversation.
Stories come out. The ones that don’t make it into the case studies. The decisions that worked, the ones that didn’t, and the stuff you wish someone had told you earlier. That’s where the real value is.
What made this particular day even better was finding out that Terence Nicholson and Liam Dotson from Lawnscience were in the room too. Another family-focused franchise, grown with the same kind of intention we’ve put into Your Man With A Van. We just clicked — that easy conversation you get with people who are building things for the right reasons.
It always puzzles me when people are cagey about sharing. There is more than enough room in this market for good businesses to grow alongside each other. Terence and Liam completely get that, and we’re absolutely going to stay in touch as both franchises keep growing.
The guy who builds digital twins
My table partner for the day was Nasar Ahmad, and his business stopped me in my tracks.
He creates digital twins — essentially AI versions of people, built from their voice, their way of speaking, their expertise — to help with content creation at speed. It’s the kind of thing that sounds almost sci-fi until he explains it, and then it just makes complete sense.
Which did, naturally, lead to the question that’s probably in your head right now too.
Those photos from the day — is that me, or my AI clone?
I’m going to let you decide.
What this means for Your Man With A Van
We run 65 branches across the UK on a no-commission model — our franchisees keep what they earn, full stop. That means the people in our network aren’t passengers. They’re business owners, and we treat them like it.
Days like Solihull are part of how we back that up. Getting the right people in the room, sharing the right conversations, building something that’s genuinely bigger than the sum of its parts.
That’s what good franchising looks like, in my view. Not a transaction. Not a territory and a van and good luck. A network of people who are actually in it together.
Interested in being part of it?
If you’re thinking about running your own franchise — in removals, in logistics, or just want to know more about how our model works — come and have a conversation with us.
Find out more about franchising with Your Man With A Van →
Or drop me a line directly: [email protected]
Your Man With A Van Ltd is headquartered in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, and operates a 74-branch removal and man-with-a-van franchise network across the UK. Elite Franchise Top 100 recognised.
