Appetite for Business

Assess: 6.5/20. Appetite for Business has a demonstrable consultancy and training business, but the reviewed sources do not establish a franchise ownership opportunity. Credit is limited to evidence about the core business and partial operating independence and differentiation. Consultancy success cannot substantiate franchisee economics.

• A1, proven and profitable core model: Partially, 2.5/5. The official site describes Microsoft 365, Copilot, SharePoint, security and training services, with customer stories and an established delivery team. Business Scotland reports more than £1m turnover in a historical founder profile. This supports a trading proposition, but turnover, active company registration and client productivity savings do not establish current representative net profit or a tested franchise unit.

• A2, operation without daily founder involvement: Partially, 2.5/5. The official story and careers pages describe experienced senior specialists and show developer and business-support roles. This provides evidence of delivery beyond Sheryl Newman personally. She remains the founder and CEO, and no successful 30-day period without her daily involvement, delegated operating test or equivalent result was publicly verified.

• A3, understands ideal franchisee: No public verification, 0/3. The site defines its SME and internal-team customers and the attitude and ability sought in employees. Neither is an ideal franchise-owner profile. Required ownership experience, capital, responsibilities and selection criteria were not established.

• A4, realistic franchisee economics: No public verification, 0/4. No identifiable franchise fee, total setup budget, continuing owner charges, territory economics or franchisee trading results were found. Consultancy revenue, technology ROI and customer savings are different measures and cannot demonstrate that a franchise owner can make money following this model.

• A5, meaningful franchise differentiation: Partially, 1.5/3. The core business explains a people-focused Microsoft adoption, implementation and support proposition with accredited expertise. This makes its customer-service positioning understandable. Without an ownership offer, it does not fully explain why a prospective franchisee should choose this opportunity over other investments.

The immediate issue is franchise identity and evidence, rather than a demonstrated failure of the consultancy. Establish whether an ownership model actually exists before treating the business as ready for franchise expansion.

Build: 0/20. Public sources provide extensive evidence of customer training and consultancy delivery. They do not identify a franchise operating package. The five questions require infrastructure that independent franchise owners can use, so client learning programmes and employee development are not substitutes.

• B1, documented operational playbook: No public verification, 0/5. A Chamber report describes ISO 9001 recertification and internal quality processes. It does not establish an operating manual licensed to franchisees, covering the commercial and delivery responsibilities of an independent owner. This is an evidence distinction, not a claim that the consultancy has no procedures.

• B2, structured owner onboarding and training: No public verification, 0/4. The Microsoft 365 Skills page describes customised client workshops, learning paths and accredited consultants. Careers material describes employee learning. No franchise-owner induction, training sequence, launch preparation or owner sign-off process was verified.

• B3, documented brand experience: No public verification, 0/4. The official story sets out company values and its approach to customers. No franchise brand standards, owner-facing service specifications or documented controls for consistent delivery by independently owned businesses were established.

• B4, central access to tools and systems: No public verification, 0/3. The public resources and course catalogue serve customers and learners. They do not verify a central franchise-owner hub containing licensed operating tools, templates and systems. Familiarity with SharePoint or Teams does not prove a franchise portal is provided.

• B5, launch without constant founder questions: No public verification, 0/4. An experienced consultancy team is visible, but no owner-launch programme, franchise support responsibility or independently launched franchise business was identified. Employee delivery capacity alone does not demonstrate that a new owner can launch this model with structured support.

If franchising is intended, verify the owner operating package and the people responsible for supporting it. The score records unavailable franchise evidence, not a judgement on the quality of customer training.

Launch: 0/20. The current website has a clear route for buying consultancy and training. It does not present a verified route into franchise ownership. An ordinary customer discovery call cannot be treated as franchise qualification or acceptance.

• L1, clear franchise proposition: No public verification, 0/5. The homepage explains how organisations can use Microsoft technology more effectively. It does not identify an ownership package, licence, owner duties, investment or the benefits of joining a franchise network.

• L2, messaging for suitable applicants: No public verification, 0/4. Service pages address SMEs and internal teams; the careers page seeks employees with suitable attitude and ability. Neither establishes recruitment messaging for independent business owners investing in a franchise.

• L3, clear ownership enquiry journey: No public verification, 0/4. The contact page offers a customer discussion and asks for name, work email and the business problem. Its FAQs describe consultation followed by recommendations and a proposal. No franchise-specific enquiry form, information pack or ownership next steps were verified. No form was submitted.

• L4, structured pre-acceptance discovery: No public verification, 0/4. The advertised customer discovery discussion concerns technology needs, project scope and potential services. It does not verify franchisee qualification, financial assessment, owner validation, territory review or a structured process before granting a franchise.

• L5, opportunity go-to-market plan: No public verification, 0/3. Public news, industry recognition and client resources promote the consultancy. No defined campaign, launch announcement or channel plan for taking an identifiable franchise opportunity to market was established.

Verify the existence and terms of an ownership offer before recommending recruitment promotion. The company's customer journey can be useful commercially without answering these franchise-launch questions.

Grow: 0/20. No current franchise recruitment engine was publicly verified. The business has visible client activity, employment recruitment and founder industry involvement, but these relate to different audiences and cannot establish ownership enquiry performance.

• G1, consistent monthly ownership enquiries: No public verification, 0/5. No current franchise recruitment offer or dated monthly series of ownership enquiries was identified. Historical customer growth, office expansion and turnover are not evidence of monthly franchise demand.

• G2, sources and best prospects tracked: No public verification, 0/4. No franchise applicant source-attribution process, qualified-owner reporting or comparison of recruitment channels was found. The existence of a website form, analytics technology or Microsoft expertise would not establish this measurement.

• G3, ownership conversion rate: No public verification, 0/4. No franchise enquiry and appointment counts, defined stages, period or conversion rate were published in the reviewed material. Customer project conversions and employee hiring would not answer this question.

• G4, next territories identified: No public verification, 0/3. The consultancy describes UK and global customers. Historical expansion at Aberdeen Innovation Park concerns its own premises. Neither identifies the next franchise territories, allocation priorities or independent-owner expansion plan.

• G5, recruitment beyond the founder: No public verification, 0/4. A staff team and Sheryl Newman's external industry appointments are documented. No delegated franchise recruitment role, ownership admissions function or repeatable applicant process was established. This does not imply that she handles every customer conversation.

First resolve whether the business is offering franchises. Only then can ownership pipeline, conversion and recruitment capacity be assessed meaningfully. No private recruitment performance is assumed.

Amplify: 0/20. The consultancy has its own website, case studies and contact routes, but no verified network of franchise owners to which local customer-growth support can be attributed. Its technology services for clients are not themselves a franchise marketing package.

• AM1, local customer enquiry support: No public verification, 0/5. Public material explains how Appetite serves organisations using Microsoft tools. No local lead-generation service, campaign support or customer acquisition allocation for franchisees was identified.

• AM2, every owner's local online presence: No public verification, 0/4. A national consultancy site and Aberdeen address are visible. No identifiable franchise-owner roster, territory pages or local owner websites were verified. Customer case-study locations and global delivery countries are not franchise locations.

• AM3, continuing local marketing plan: No public verification, 0/4. The public resource library and company news do not establish an owner-specific local marketing plan after launch, with responsibilities, activity and review. Client technology adoption plans answer a different need.

• AM4, individual owner enquiries and performance: No public verification, 0/3. Customer productivity and delivery results do not establish franchisee-level customer enquiry tracking, pipeline attribution or trading performance. No owner reporting system or defined local measures were identified.

• AM5, customer acquisition beyond personal networks: No public verification, 0/4. Appetite itself markets services through an established website, case studies and public content. The sources do not show how an independent franchisee receives or operates those acquisition channels, or whether owners can win clients without predominantly relying on personal referrals or the founder.

The company may have effective direct customer acquisition. This score concerns the unverified provision to franchisees and should not be read as a finding that the consultancy cannot attract customers.