Franchise case studies
Tom Frame
ServiceMaster Clean Contract Services East Strathclyde and Glasgow
Before I bought the franchise I worked in the Electronics Industry for 20 years in the Central Belt of Scotland. With the demise of the once booming electronic industry I found myself redundant along with a large proportion of the industry sector in this area.
I decided as age was not exactly on my side, nor opportunities in this sector, it was time for a new direction and perhaps even to strike out on my own.
After a lot of research on the web and by talking to Business Gateway I concluded that franchising was the safest route when starting up on your own. Statistics tell us that 90% of small business start-ups fail in the first 12 months, whilst 90% of franchisees are successful in the same period.
After deciding on the cleaning sector, as it was pretty much recession proof and safe from advancing technologies, I looked at several companies who had opportunities in my area.
ServiceMaster Clean were able to meet my criteria, whist the start up costs were within my range.
The criteria I set out were:
- A business that was recession proof
- A business that was technology proof
- A business that did not need premises, at least at the start
- A business that could grow organically year on year
- A business that would continue to run whilst I was on holiday
- A business that one day, hopefully, will run without me.
As well as start-up costs being a major consideration, the comparatively modest royalty fees that ServiceMaster Clean charge on a monthly basis attracted me.
This franchise has done what it set out to do regarding the criteria I set out at the beginning. It has not been easy, but there again no one said it would be. It is quite satisfying to see the business grown significantly over the last 4 years. Year 4 saw a 40% increase in turnover from year 3, not many businesses’ could boast this.
Being your own boss is quite satisfying, but as they say, the buck stops here, however the credit for building a successful business is also attributed to yourself.
Tony Quinn
ServiceMaster Clean Contract Services Stoke
I bought my ServiceMaster Clean Contract Services franchise in January 1997 and after some training, advice and network support I started trading in February 1997. By following the systems that I had been advised and trained to follow by ServiceMaster, I gained and started my first cleaning contracts in April. (After 10 years I still service these contracts). I now employ almost 200 staff and have a turnover in excess of £1,000,000.
I bought the franchise after researching other franchised operations in a variety of service industries. The ServiceMaster Clean Contract Services franchise appealed to me because of the relatively low cost of purchase and the opportunity to gain and maintain a regular customer base. Although, as in all businesses, it can be hard work, the rewards can compensate for this in seeing my business grow and develop and the opportunities it has created for the employment of others in assisting me to run the business effectively.
Key to the success of the company is operations manager, Gemma. After a successful career in recruitment, Gemma started working for CS Stoke in 2009 and was able to transfer skills from her previous role to help build the business to where it is today.
“I enjoy being involved with all areas of the business, although sales and operations is where I excel. I’m proud of the business’ success and Tony values the effort I put into my role as operations manager,” said Gemma.
“Gemma’s contribution to the business has been enormous. She has helped build our client portfolio and does a lot of work within operations to ensure the business is running smoothly,” added Tony.
Having successfully mastered the realms of franchising and winning the ServiceMaster Marion E. Wade Award in 2015, the best advice Tony and Gemma have to give to anyone looking to invest in a franchise is: “Make use of the network you have, build relationships and communicate with them for help and advice. That’s the advantage of having a franchise network, so make use of it.”
Find out what it’s like to be a ServiceMaster Clean franchisee…
