Profiting from a management-based cleaning franchise

Leaving a secure job in employment is a huge and tricky decision to make. How do you ensure that you avoid making the same mistakes that so many other business owners have made before you? When running a management business, it can be tricky to manage and not work directly within the business.

In this exclusive article, Total Clean, a leading commercial cleaning franchise in the UK, gives us a unique inside look at this lucrative industry. Having operated in both the commercial cleaning sector and in running a management business for almost 30 years, they have a wealth of experience in refining and honing their business model to be ready for franchisees. This exclusive article from Total Clean will outline everything you need to run a successful management-style business and explain how to avoid the common pitfalls.

Good franchises weather the economic storm

When launching any business, whether starting from scratch or investing in a franchise, you must ensure that the business is recession-proof and not based on a fad industry that will die out in a few years.

Research trends and dips in your chosen sector to help you determine how viable the business will be in both good and bad economic conditions and whether there is a demand for your product or service in the local area.

A key question to ask yourself when doing your due diligence is: are you able to develop new products or services to ensure that existing customers keep coming back to you and to help you attract new customers? Continuous development of the business will ensure that you stay ahead of your competitors and help you to remain profitable, despite dips and falls in the sector or economy.

Cleaning services: Always in demand

Cleaning is a service that will always be required, whatever the economic conditions.

Offices, hospitals, dentists, doctors, schools, retail outlets and a range of other premises will always need cleaning services to ensure that they comply with regulations and present a good impression to their end users and clients.

Any good franchisor within the cleaning sector, like Total Clean, will provide a wide range of services to ensure that they can target a wide variety of customers. For example, we consistently adapt and change our business to suit the market and, over the years, we have developed our own range of products.

Management versus Jack of all Trades, Master of None

This is one of the biggest mistakes new business owners make; they try to run every aspect of the business themselves.

By trying to take care of everything single-handedly, business owners can seriously hamper the development of their business and their chances of success.

In the beginning, you might not be able to afford to have full-time staff working with you in-house but as soon as you can get staff in to help you, the faster your business will grow. Delegation allows you to boost the amount of work you can do and, therefore, increase the number of customers you can serve. Having staff to delegate to will help you to focus on growing your business to its full potential.

Successful Franchisors stay ahead of the pack

Clear systems and processes are some of the most overlooked aspects of running a business but they are essential to you staying on track with development and growth.

Additionally, they are essential should you fall ill or be unable to operate the business because they will mean that someone else can easily step in and have an idea of what they are aiming towards. Having strong processes in place will also help to give staff clear guidelines to help them meet targets.

Relevant technology is essential in business development so remember to ask franchisors where they stand with this. For example, at Total Clean, we have management and CRM systems in places to help our Franchise Partners stay on track with their sales. Our systems help Franchise Partners to hit their targets and utilise forecasting tools to help grow their businesses. Technology is a critical aspect of running a business effectively and efficiently.

Summary

From the above, you will understand the questions you need to ask yourself AND the franchisors that you are researching. Ensuring that the franchise you invest in is ethical is a given but understanding the trends and pitfalls of an industry is essential too.

Should you have any questions about this article or wish to find out more about the Total Clean franchise opportunity, please click here.

To look at other management franchises, click here or, alternatively, to consider other cleaning franchise opportunities, please click here.