What a Day at Atomicon Taught Us About Being Better Franchisors
I’ll be honest with you. I’m not always sold on big conferences.
Too often they’re a day out of the business, a room full of buzzwords, and a tote bag you’ll never use. So when I headed to Newcastle for Atomicon (one of the UK’s biggest annual business events) I went with genuinely no expectations.
What I came home with was a notepad full of actions, a face full of glitter, and a renewed belief that staying curious is one of the best things we can do for our franchisees.
The bit that matters most to us as franchisors
Here’s the thing about running a franchise. When Dan and I are learning something new, really learning it, rolling up our sleeves and taking notes, that knowledge doesn’t just stay with us. It goes straight to our 65+ branch owners.
That’s how we think about it. Our branches are out there running their businesses every day, moving people, building relationships in their communities. The last thing we want is for them to be left behind in a fast-changing world while we sit still. So we go, we listen, we bring it back.
At Atomicon, that meant two proper hands-on workshops. Laptops out. Real actions.
AI is already changing how your customers find you
The first session was with Amanda Webb of Spiderworking, who has 15+ years deep in Google Analytics and really knows her stuff. The focus? How AI tools like ChatGPT are changing the way people search and visit websites.
This is genuinely important for our branches right now. If customers are starting their “man with a van” search via an AI tool rather than typing into Google, the rules of being found have shifted. Amanda’s session was exactly the kind of practical, no-nonsense content I love. Yes, I was one of those people with a laptop out following along in real time.
LinkedIn: more than just a profile
Next up was Gus Bhandal, who ran a brilliant session on LinkedIn strategy. Light-hearted, properly informative, and full of actions for us as directors and for our branch owners building their local presence online.
Gus also runs a LinkedIn community called The Squeeze and, very generously, invited me along to his evening mixer. Brilliant energy, lovely people, and exactly the kind of conversation you don’t get from sitting at your desk.
The people make it
Conferences live or die by the humans in the room, and this one had brilliant ones. Lisa Dalgleish, the self-proclaimed Mother of Merch (rightfully so). Kerry Farr from Mejoolies, who makes genuinely delicious things and has a beautiful brand story to match. Claire Clark from Juniper Bloom Social Media, who very generously accepted my madness into the fold. Kelly Worrall, quietly smashing it with AI tools in the background. And Hannah Hearne, who I’d already met at the Woman Who Awards and just happened to bump into mid-workshop. Dedicated business owners really are a small circle.
Oh, and Helen Wilson covered my face in glitter whilst telling me about her business. Honestly, 10/10 experience.
Why we do this
In between sessions, I was already passing things back, updating our branch owners with what was coming their way, what to expect, what to act on. That’s the whole point.
Dan and I will be at Atomicon next year for the full event. Because keeping our branches ahead of the game isn’t something we do occasionally. It’s part of the job.
If you want to know more about how we support our franchise network, or you’re thinking about becoming a branch owner yourself, we’d love to chat.
Cat
Cat Robson-Scarborough, Co-Founder of Your Man With A Van Franchise