Buying a domestic cleaning franchise
Friday, May 15th, 2009
When looking into buying a domestic cleaning franchise you are already top of the game. The UK domestic cleaning industry is huge and offers up fantastic opportunities for those looking to buy into this hugely popular sector of the UK franchise industry. With literally dozens of domestic cleaning franchises available you can be sure
there is not shortage to choose from however as with all franchises the right research must be done to ensure the opportunity is the right one for you.
Before going in too heavily with research the best advice I can give is to first look at the available choices. Buying franchise magazines and looking through Internet franchise directories, of which there are many, can give you a good idea of what is on offer. From green cleaning through to commercial cleaning franchises and industrial cleaning franchises you will find that the choices on offer are varied and numerous. Your first step should be to pick a half dozen or so and put some requests in to the franchisor for the free franchise packs they post out. Once you have these you can begin to read up on the full package they have to offer and start making a short list of those which look to be of interest.
On having your short list the time has come to research each one to ensure it is not only a viable opportunity but one which will work in your local area and has a good franchise management team behind it. Your first step should be to ask the franchisor for a list of existing franchisees and start to contact a random sample of them. Asking the existing franchisee base some good questions will allow you to gain valuable feedback into whether the franchise opportunity hold up to what it says in the promotional materials.
Key questions you may ask are:
How did you find the initial training?
What is the ongoing support like
Do your earnings match up to those described in the franchise info pack?
How long did it take to earn back your initial investment?
Asking these will give you a great idea of how the current franchisee network is performing and whether the opportunity itself is a viable one.
Your second stage of research is to find out whether your target area is likely to be able to support the franchise you want to buy into. If there are already several domestic cleaning franchises in close proximity to you then perhaps you would just be adding to an already saturated market. However perhaps there is room for a domestic cleaning franchise which uses “green” products only or maybe there is a need for a wheelie bin cleaning franchise. Doing your research into the local area and ensuring the demographics can support the cleaning franchise of your choice will mean that you do not end up with what is a good opportunity but that is just not going to work due to over saturation of the market.
Once you are sure that the franchise is a viable option, both in the franchise itself and your local area, you can begin the process of buying into the franchise. This usually means paying a deposit and doing some intensive training to get you up to speed. The great thing about franchising as opposed to going it alone with a stand-alone business is that you are buying into a tried and tested system. It should all be fairly each to pick up and in many cases your franchisor even offers to gain you your first handful of clients to kick-start your business. As such you can start earning from week one and in no time at all have a tidy little franchised business that can keep you and your family for life.
All that being said, please make sure you do not go down the route that many people do. Jumping into a franchise head first without doing the proper research can only lead to disaster. In many cases where someone has parted with many thousands of pounds and failed to make a success of their franchised business, it is not because of the franchise itself but because of a multitude of reasons, which could have been avoided, had the correct research been done.
Best wishes and good luck to finding the perfect franchise opportunity for you
Cleaning Franchise | Work From Home | Home Based Business | Franchise Business Opportunity | Management Franchise | Franchise Advice | Be Your Own Boss
Robin Harrison is the managing Director of Dolly Char (UK) Ltd. Dolly Char (UK) Ltd is one of the fastest growing domestic cleaning franchise companies in the UK today giving people the opportunity to work from the comfort of their own home.
domestic cleaning franchise blog, franchise business tips blog
