Nationally known, locally owned

We wanted to share the benefits of being a national brand to partner up with, with the opportunity to invest at a local level. A franchise truly does help to give back to your community.

Our brands open doors

ServiceMaster Clean is not only established nationally, but globally too. Customers are much more likely to choose a service from a name that they recognise, over a name that is unfamiliar.

Local business, local employees

Employees may be more inclined to work for you knowing that the business is locally owned, but is backed by a global brand, such as ServiceMaster Clean. Often employees worry that their employer may be ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ and see comfort in a well-recognised brand like us, with some legacy.

It’s always good to employ locally too to give back to the local community.

Here today, here tomorrow

Not all local businesses cut the mustard. According to the British Franchise Association, failure rates are as high as 91 percent for non-franchised small businesses in the 1st year of trading. A proven business model, established brand and support from a world-renowned franchisor can help you to be here today and here tomorrow, so that your community can get used to seeing you!

Adding to your community

Your local community can rest assured that the new addition to the community (your ServiceMaster Clean franchise) will be fully supported by a globally known franchisor.

A franchise can give you a platform to help you to invest in your local community, as well as yourself, with the support of a nationally known brand behind you.

In our case, we are a global brand, offering a proven business model, to give you the recipe of success for starting your business locally. Call 0116 275 9005 to start your journey today.

Proud founding members of the bfa

The British Franchise Association has been responsible for setting high quality standards for UK franchising since 1977 and through this process, the industry has grown to provide fantastic opportunities to UK businesses and people eager to invest with franchise brands, such as those belonging to ServiceMaster, amongst others.

Joining the bfa is no mean feat. In order for our brand ServiceMaster Clean to receive the prestigious ‘member status’, we had to apply to demonstrate that it meets the four key criteria: that the businesses are viable, franchisable, ethical and fully disclosed.

Of course, our application was successful, as such, our brand ServiceMaster Clean, was not only awarded full member status, but become one of the founding members also.

Considerable resources and unwavering commitment from the whole team at ServiceMaster Clean means that we have sustained our membership with the bfa over the last 23 years. Our continued commitment ensures that our brand adds value to the franchise industry, through offering fair and profitable franchise opportunities to our franchise owners.

We have further invested in to the bfa by enrolling members of our support team on to the industry recognised, Qualified Franchise Professional course to help them to learn sound theory, to complement our company knowledge and engage in best practice with other franchisors and franchisees.

As we continue to develop our brand, we will do so in line with the bfa code of ethics, helping to ensure that the franchise sector remains a great place to invest.

If you’d like to find out more about how being a bfa member benefits our franchise owners, give us a call on 0116 275 9005 today.

The first steps to buying a franchise

A franchise is a great route to take if you want to be in business for yourself, but not by yourself. A franchise offers the benefit of an established brand, a proven business model and support in the areas where you need it.

There are almost 1,000 franchise systems in the UK to choose from and with that in mind, we’ve put together a few pointers to help you on your way.

Why are you looking at a franchise?

It’s important to know what your ‘why’ is. Why do you want to go in to business?

Here are some common why’s;

  • ‘I want to be my own boss’
  • ‘I’ve noticed a gap in the market’
  • ‘I can do it better than they do it’
  • ‘I want a better lifestyle for my family’
  • ‘I want to invest my redundancy/inheritance’

Once you know why, it’s easier to find something suitable.

What are your options?

Your options are generally narrowed down by the available territory, cost of franchise, commitment required and credentials needed to join. Taking all of those in to account, you’ll still be left with many options, you just need to choose the one most suited to your ‘why’.

Research  

Online research is a good place to start. Take a look on franchise directories, read published franchise articles, check associations such as the BFA(British Franchise Association), visit franchisor websites and follow social media channels for a broad and varied spectrum of opportunities.

For offline research, speak to franchisees, ask for advice from respected sources and where possible, utilise the services of the franchise opportunity for a real insight in to the business.

Enquire & Engage

Once you have narrowed down your search, enquire with the franchise brands that you feel most suit your ‘why’. Here’s your opportunity to continue with deeper research and to form a relationship with the franchisor.

ServiceMaster Clean Franchise are committed to helping you with your research to ensure that any decision made to join any of our franchise opportunities, is the right one.

Planning and goal setting in business

Planning and setting goals are very much part of your whole journey with ServiceMaster Clean franchise. We encourage and work with you to put plans in place and implement them, so that you can achieve your goals in business.

Here’s what you need to know;

Business planning

Before joining the franchise, you will be asked to create a business plan, and within that, you will need to share your goals for the business over its first few years and up to the end of the franchise agreement (5 years).

A business plan is also an element of what is required when applying for business finance, so do remember to make sure that it is as clear to follow for someone else as it is for you.

Goal setting

Goals in business could be related to anything, such as, a number of customers, revenue milestone or growth of the business by a certain amount, by a certain date.

When setting goals, it is useful to use the popular acronym ‘SMART’. Possibly the most common version that is used is, S for specific, M for measurable, A for achievable, R for relevant and T for time-bound.

Motivation

It is important to remember that not everyone can be as motivated as you are because after all, it is your business.

Having a goal to work towards creates motivation not only for yourself, but for your team members too. A communal (or company) goal can help to motivate everyone, as the whole team contribute towards it, especially if there is a reward at the end of the tunnel.

Measure of success

Without setting goals in the first place, you would find it difficult to measure success. Achieving a goal is a strong measurement of success and often delivers a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction, both of which are extremely healthy in business.

For further information on the initial ServiceMaster Clean business plan or to discuss our common goals as a franchise network, get in touch today.

Virtual Discovery Sessions

A discovery day is an important part of the journey that you will find yourself on, when looking to partner up with a franchise. Traditionally, you would be invited to the central office, to meet with the key members of the team who would support you in your new venture.

However, due to the unprecedented situation that COVID-19 has brought upon us, we have had to look closely at how we can ensure that we don’t remove discovery days from the process entirely, but make them work just as well remotely, without the need for a physical visit.

We are pleased to be able to offer virtual discovery sessions to those who are interested in finding more about our brand. Here’s how they benefit everyone involved:

No travel

A virtual discovery session removes the need to travel to see us. So, no time spent in the car or on public transport and no costs involved in coming to see us

Reduced commitment

Travelling hundreds of miles to see us is understandably a large commitment, especially if you are not totally sold on the idea. By removing the miles between us, we feel that it’s much less of a commitment to join and decide whether the opportunity is for you or not. Nothing lost, but potentially a whole lot gained!

Added flexibility

From our point of view, because they take less time (we don’t make them as long because virtual boredom is a thing!), we can fit more in and thus hold them more often, so that more individuals have an opportunity to join.

More participants

Because of the reduced commitment, no need to travel and added flexibility, our virtual discovery sessions do get a really good turnout (although numbers are limited). It is always beneficial to hear from others about what they are looking for in a franchise and to listen to their questions being answered, as you may never have thought of asking them yourself!

If you would like to secure a place on our next Virtual Discovery Session, get in touch with a member of the team today!