Name: Richard Mathers / David Turner
Location: Surrey
Franchise: Cleanhome Gatwick

Tell us a bit about yourself and what you were doing prior to buying your Cleanhome franchise business?
We had worked in the customer service side of the airline industry for most of our working lives. We were both looking for a new challenge with a view to making career changes. We had young families and wanted to be more in control of our time and work / life balance.

Why did you go down the franchise route? What made you choose the domestic cleaning industry? And why a Cleanhome franchise?
We started Cleanhome Gatwick whilst we were both still working for an airline. Because there were two of us, we were in a position to start the business at the same time because there was always one of us around to manage the day to day operation.

Cleanhome allows us to utilise our previous management and customer services skills which are very transferrable to this business, as much of what we do is about dealing with people. These were skills that we had honed over many years in our previous roles.

We wanted to be responsible for our own futures rather than be reliant on income from a large corporate organisation. We did not particularly choose cleaning as an industry specifically as it was more about finding a business that we had the skills to operate already. We live near Gatwick so chose this franchise because we are close to all our clients and cleaners geographically.

How did you raise the finance?
We raised the finance to start Cleanhome Gatwick from our own personal savings.

What training and support did you receive initially and ongoing?
We were trained by the Cleanhome management team in all aspects of running the business. This involved role-play, shadowing client and cleaner interviews, using the operations system and other business management procedures. We felt that our hand was being held throughout the set-up process and in the early days of starting the business. We attend regular training sessions each year to keep up-dated on any changes to law and developments within the business. The management team remain on hand at all times even 5 years down the line and have a wealth of experience in order to continue to direct and guide us where we feel we need it.

What is a typical day for you as a Cleanhome franchisee?
A typical day does not exist in many ways as you are free to manage your time and the business to fit around your own life. Some days will be spent in the office doing admin functions, answering the phone and connecting clients and cleaners. Other days will be spent meeting new clients and cleaners in their homes and other days when all is up to date we may do very little work at all. The beauty in this business is that we are in control of what we do and when we do it.

What challenges have you faced?
Like any business there will be challenges, but they are seldom big issues. By being organised, honest, professional and approachable, the challenges one faces can be easily dealt with. If the business is run effectively and if you maintain good relationships / communication with both client and cleaner, one is generally able to overcome the day to day issues that any customer driven business faces.

Has becoming a Cleanhome franchisee changed your life, if so how?
Being a franchisee has changed the way we view how we earn an income. We are now more in control of our own futures and how we spend and organise our time. Since starting Cleanhome Gatwick, we have started another business. We would perhaps not have done this had we not got involved in Cleanhome. We had gained a huge amount of confidence from starting the franchise and this made us hungry to take on another venture. Starting your own business can seem very scary when you have not done it before. The management team were so supportive that they removed this fear and indeed helped us to realise that we could be successful working for ourselves.

What is the most invaluable piece of advice you could give someone looking to buy their first franchise?
Be prepared to work hard whilst you are building your business. Always be honest and reliable in all your dealings with clients and cleaners. Build strong relationships and however difficult a situation may be to deal with, never run away from it as the problem will become bigger. Face it head on, do all you can to resolve it, learn from it and then move on.

In your opinion, what makes a successful franchisee?
Be resilient, organised, a good judge of people, be prepared to work hard.

Have determination and be able to admit and then learn from your mistakes.

When a business model has been proven to work and you have been given the tools to run your franchise, follow the training manual and don’t assume you know better than the tried and tested ways to operate.

What are your plans for the future?
We have grown our franchise to the level that we are happy with at this stage. It affords us a good income and our operating costs are low. We will continue to maintain this position for the foreseeable future and manage the business ourselves. In such time as we decide to employ a manager we will then simply grow the business in order to finance that cost. This will allow us to step away from the day to day operation management but still enjoy the income that the business currently provides.

Would you do it again?
Having achieved a good level of success from our franchise, we have gone on to start another business. We would do the same over again without question as it has proven to be the right decision for us over and over in so many ways.