Posted:13-January-2021
Terry builds his Oven Wizards business on trust
I had been employed since leaving school and never worked for myself. After 15 years with my last company, I felt I needed a change before I retire. I wanted something I could do myself without having to employ anyone else until I decided I wanted to grow the business. I also wanted the option of not growing it beyond just me and a van.
I looked into food, fitness and cleaning opportunities as I believed them to be three areas of good growth potential. Food and fitness meant in general having property and this was expensive. I looked closely at domestic cleaning as this was growing fast due to the commitments on people's time. Looking at local cleaning companies, I found none of them included oven cleaning. This prompted me to look in depth at oven cleaning companies. It also married up with my ambition to work as one man with a van.
I chose Oven Wizards after researching the main competitors. Having met Mark and John, business owners and directors of Oven Wizards, I felt the bigger territories they were offering gave me potential, should I choose to grow the business beyond a single van. However, the main reason was I felt comfortable handing my money to them both. Trust is something I require when working with anyone and I felt I could trust them. Their outlook and plans for their own business impressed me and as such the decision was made.
I did have some reservations: would I get enough orders to make a good living and I was going back to a physical job after being in management roles for many years. These were soon dispelled as the bookings started to come in from day one. The physical side was not an issue as I keep myself quite fit and found I could manage this with no issues.
I had my first training, the business development session, in my own home with John on day one and both John and Mark on day two.
This was on marketing, running your own business i.e. profit and loss and other important business issues. I then had on the job training with a senior technician and an Oven Wizards’ franchisee. I carried out oven cleaning under supervision for nearly two weeks.
The on-going support is available from Mark and John. They are always available on the phone to help with all issues, practical, marketing, business development etc. Mark and John also call on a regular basis to see how I am getting on.
In addition, we have a franchisee forum which is online and is very useful if you have any questions or any success stories to share.
The advantages for me are that I can now manage my own time and, as such, family issues etc. can be worked in to my diary as and when required. I particularly enjoy the fact I meet different people every day and they are always happy to see me. I also get real satisfaction seeing the transformation of the ovens I clean.
Since my launch in February 2014 I have carried out hundreds of cleans, well above my original expectation.
To attract business, I have used most of the things we covered in the business development session. I now understand what works for me in my area, so I tend to concentrate on about half a dozen things I know work.
I wanted a job I could do on my own but also had potential to grow enough to employ more people, should I choose to. It had the potential to give me a business that could be run when I retired, giving me earnings to support my pension. It gave me flexibility to choose my own working hours. I chose Oven Wizards as it was a trusted brand with people I felt I could trust.
Interested and want to know more about Oven Wizards?
The Oven Wizards basic profile outlines aspects of their franchise opportunity
