Maddyson - Proprietor Furniture & Homewares West Gosford NSW Domayne, Australia

Years of experience
5 years

Tell us about your career journey?

I started in my career within the Bedding Proprietor at Harvey Norman Caringbah as a casual while I studied at University.  I really wasn’t enjoying my Uni course. One day I was talking to the Franchisee about it and she explained to me about the Franchisee program and I knew that was the career I wanted. 

I started working for the Harvey Norman Caringbah Bedding Franchisee full time as the Customer Service Manager. When the Franchisee took on a franchise at the Domayne Alexandria complex, I went with her as a Franchisee in Training, and worked as the 2IC in Homewares. As a team we have moved again to Domayne the Belrose Franchise where I worked as the Customer Service Manager.  I was very fortunate to then get the opportunity of a lifetime to run my own Furniture Franchise @ Domayne West Gosford - where I am currently still working.

What support have you had in your career development?

I get a real sense of family because everyone supports each other. From the moment I had my sights set on becoming a Franchisee, I have always felt supported. I have gained priceless knowledge from working alongside my boss who has been a Franchisee for over 20 years. She has been like my ‘work mum’ and has encouraged me to learn as much as I can about retail and the business, inspiring me to study via correspondence.

I have attended Franchisee in Training (FIT) conferences which were absolutely fantastic – they covered everything from interviews and creating team environments to understanding the management reports and getting the most out of your business.

The Support Office team has always been there to answer any questions, and guide me in the right direction.

I was even given the opportunity to understand the back end by working in the Support Office which definitely made me appreciate all the hard work they do to help out us at the front end!

At 23, I feel really fortunate to be given an opportunity to have a career with a successful brand and lucky to be surrounded by people that believe in me and want me to succeed.

What have been some of the highlights of your career to date?

One of my favourite parts of my job is that every day is different. The world of retail is constantly evolving and changing to suit the demographic which is really exciting. Although working for Domayne is hard work – it is very rewarding. Only a small percentage of people can honestly say they enjoy going to work every day, but when you enjoy what you do and are surrounded by a team of friends it’s hard not to love it!

I have had some incredibly memorable moments over the years from attending Trade Nights and the Domayne Summer Launch event, to filling in at Support Office but by far the highlight of my career was when I was told I was to takeover my own Franchise.