Meet Our Franchisees – Scott Gambell

Today, we’re talking to Scott – the owner and operator of The Leather Doctor Newcastle North in New South Wales. We sat down and had a chat to him about why he joined the business and what he loves about running his own business. Here’s what he had to say:

What was it that attracted you to join the Leather Doctor business?

It was a coincidence, as I was driving home from my previous job thinking about a career change…I saw a Leather Doctor van in front of me and had a light bulb moment.

Hmmm… I thought… ‘I wonder what he does’?… So I gave him a call and next thing we are on the side of the road talking about his job.

This led to me to do some homework on The Leather Doctor and I thought ‘I can do this job’ as I have a similar trade background in Auto & Marine upholstery many moons ago. After many months of doing my sums and discussing it with my wife, I decided to take the plunge.

What did you do prior to becoming a leather dr?

I have had a few different careers – my last job was in business development and I also have a trade background in auto and marine upholstery.

What territory do you operate?

I am the Leather Doctor for Newcastle North in New South Wales. I manage the Newcastle, Port Stephens and the Hunter Valley area.

What have you been able to achieve via your time as A Leather Doctor?

I have been lucky enough to achieve several goals as a Leather Doctor. Job satisfaction is first to come mind and with hard work I have managed to put on a contractor to look after the Hunter Valley region, this allowed me time to put back in to building the business closer to home.

I have also invested in a small workshop which has allowed me to set up a dedicated workshop to produce better results and free up my home garage.

What advice would you give to someone looking to purchase a franchise/operate a franchise?

• Do your homework understand your expenses
• Ask the neighbouring franchise if you could catch up and ask them the hard questions
• Get a good accountant
• If you can, get help from a partner or a trusted person to look after your bookings so you’re not on the phone all day

What’s the most interesting job you’ve worked on to date?

Not sure where to start with this one… I have done some really interesting jobs, met interesting people and been to interesting places.

Two stand outs are:

1. Helping an elderly lady that was struggling to get out of a lift chair due to a broken frame. Seeing the delight on her face when it was repaired was fantastic!
2. The other was one of my first major restoration jobs with a large lounge suite, requiring multiple internal and external repairs. The customer was delighted and it led to plenty of work through word of mouth as a result

What do you love most about being a Leather Doctor?

• The ability to put smiles on customers faces when they think that their furniture is ruined or just exceeded there expectations
• Being able to plan my working week around our busy family life so that we have a reasonable work life balance
• Controlling my own destiny
• Winning over customers dogs when they say that this dog is scared of strangers
• Regular customers that like to fatten me up with homemade cookies and coffee

Tell us one interesting fact about yourself?

I was once asked by an Olympic Archer to take up professional Archery as I found it easy to hit bullseye consistently at a work function.

Describe your ideal weekend?

My ideal weekend starts by having the ability to make it a long weekend, followed by heading out for an early morning fishing trip with my son on our boat. Catching up with friends and family for a BBQ feast and a few drinks with good company and music,  followed by a relaxing Sunday at the beach with my family and a bit of surfing.

If you live in the Newcastle, Port Stephens or Hunter Valley areas, and need Scott’s help to restore, repair or clean your leather furniture or accessories, please contact him on:

The Leather Doctor Newcastle North

P: 0473 833 677

E: scott.gambell@theleatherdoctor.net.au