Quickfire Questions with Charles Gulland, Founder of Franchise Business, Wigwam Holidays

Founder of the UK’s leading glamping franchise business, Charles Gulland, explains what it’s like juggling family life with owning and running the successful business Wigwam® Holidays.

What are your strengths and personal attributes?

Being single-minded and giving attention to detail.

Do you have a typical day at work?

In the beginning, with having a young family, as well as a new business to run, the days were long and eventful. As managing director, my day consists of anything from visiting the workshop, where our Wigwam® Cabins are created, to attending agricultural shows and sorting out a speech for a conference. There is no such thing as a typical day.

See also: Research project to model franchise business - WigWam® Holidays

What has been your biggest sacrifice in setting up the business?

Time away from my family.

….And the biggest ‘plus’?

One of the biggest pluses is knowing that Wigwam® Holidays is now one of the UK’s leading glamping brands. From having one site to now having over 80 ‘on the books’ certainly shows progress.

Who or what is your greatest inspiration?

Apart from my wife and children, I am a keen marathon runner. And one of my key inspirations comes from Scott Jurek and his renowned book, Eat and Run. This book is not just for runners, it’s also about the power of iron will and the importance of thinking of our food as fuel.

If you were on a desert island, what three items would you take with you?

A Wigwam® Cabin, my family and my running shoes.

Do you have any funny stories to tell?

Far too many!

What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful rural business owner?

Patience, the ability to solve problems and resilience.

And finally, which would you choose from the following ‘either/or’ questions?

• Cats or dogs? Dogs (and we have a cat)
• Tea or coffee? Coffee
• Lark or owl? Both
• Summer or winter? Living in Scotland, I have to say both as we have such lovely long daylight hours in the summer and really notice the dark northern skies in winter

To hear more from Charles, click here.

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