It’s helpful. A shortcut to business success? Possibly. But you would have to heavily qualify that.

There are two primary ways to start a new business – either independently or via the franchise route. You can of course buy an existing business, but that wouldn’t be starting a NEW business. We’ve discussed in our previous blog post the benefits of starting a new business within a franchise network. You get to avoid a lot of the mistakes you might otherwise make. You always have someone to turn to when you’re not sure. But this doesn’t take away from your responsibility to put things into action.

A franchise plan alone won’t earn you money. A franchise plan executed badly might not earn you much money. Any franchise plan relies on the franchisee to implement the plan well. If it’s a good plan that should mean following the well defined steps outlined by the franchisor.

So, yes owning a franchise is a shortcut to business success, but only when the franchisee does the hard graft of putting the plan into action. That is a key factor for new franchisees to understand in ANY franchise network. Handing over the initial fee and signing the agreement is not job done. It’s job just started!

For those starting a business from scratch a franchise offers a tried and tested blueprint for your chosen sector. For example, you don’t have to waste time and money on testing different marketing strategies because your chosen franchise will be able to tell you exactly what to do. That advice will be based on the fact that they, and others, will have already tested and found the best strategies to use.

Starting a franchise will generally save time and money over the independent small business owner doing the same thing, who will not have access to the same knowledge and insight.

Running a franchise means you always have someone to turn to for advice. That person can offer very specific advice and support on the business you are running and, as they have a vested interest in you doing well, their advice should be evidence driven and accurate.

The bottom line is that running a franchise will be a little more expensive, because you will need to pay your franchisor for their knowledge, but that advantage should pay dividends as your business should get off to a faster start.

If you’re interested in starting your own domestic cleaning franchise why not take a look at what Diamond Home Support has to offer.

https://diamondhomesupport.com/cleaningfranchise

Most people assume our biggest client base are the over 65’s. The assumption being, presumably, that these are the people who have the most need for domestic cleaning and also have the available budget to pay for it. True. The over 65’s are probably our second biggest client base as a domestic cleaning business. But our biggest client base? Well thats’ the millenials. The under 35’s.

When I tell people that they are often quite surprised. But there has been a real shift in culture with the under 35s. They don’t want to spend part of their weekend cleaning. They are happy to pay for someone to do it for them so that they get that time back at the weekend to spend with friends and family. Cleaning for them is not a luxury, but a necessity.

Independent research also shows this. Almost twice as many people under 35 have a cleaner compared with those over 35. That’s a huge generational shift and one that is accelerating the demand for domestic cleaning. One in three (34%) households now hire some form of domestic help with an average spend of £127 per month.

Find out how you can take advantage of this by opening a domestic cleaning franchise in your area with Diamond Home Support.

As we get towards the end of 2016, thoughts start to turn towards 2017. It is natural to reflect on personal and professional achievements over the past year and look forward to what the next year may bring. In business that means reflecting on how much you have achieved in the past year and how far that has taken you on your journey to where you want to be. If you have progressed well it’s time to think about what actions and decisions you took during the year that helped you make that progress. It certainly would not have happened by accident.

Once you have identified what decisions and actions you took that produced the most growth for you, that will give you the basis of a plan for what to do next year.

If, after reflecting, you haven’t achieved as much as you would have hoped, then it’s time also to think about the actions and decisions you didn’t take during the year and that you could now take to ensure next year will be better.

Reflecting on what has happened includes taking responsibility for how much or how little you have achieved. Accept that you are where you are today as as result of what you have done, or not done. Once you come to terms with that, you have a sound foundation for the future. This time next year you will be reflecting on what you have achieved in 2017. Whether you are doing that with a smile on your face is entirely down to you.

At Diamond Home Support we are looking forward to another year of growth in our cleaning franchise network. To find out how you can become part of our success story take a look at our cleaning franchise information.

One of the things our franchisees at Diamond Home Support often appreciate the most is the support that a large franchise network can provide. Not only have franchisees got the support and back-up of the franchisor, but also each other. With numerous people all running the same business in different areas, a franchise network very quickly builds invaluable information that can be shared. Best marketing and recruitment strategies, customer service tips, help with challenges and so on. All things a network of people doing the same thing can help each other out with and, together, enable us all to build bigger and better businesses.

Find out more about the Diamond Home Support cleaning franchise.

We are often reminded of the benefits of active and continuous leaflet drops and I thought I would share a few of my experiences which support an ongoing campaign.
I started my business in Torbay and the South Hams in July last year but did not start actively marketing the business until September. Once I started, I did what I was advised to do and posted lots of leaflets through lots of doors! It took a while but then clients started to come on board and I now have a good solid base of clients which I intend to keep growing.
In the last month or so I have taken on two clients at opposite ends of my territory, both of whom received leaflets through the door in my first batch, I would even say my first week of distributing.
I have also had someone recently phone me within an hour of delivering the leaflet and they are now also a regular customer.
The final example is of a lady who received one of my leaflets recently, who said that she had been desperate to get a cleaner for months and the leaflet coming through the door was the catalyst she needed to actually do something about it. She and her husband are both teachers and very internet aware, but just hadn’t got around to looking before the little A6 prompt came through the letterbox.
It keeps you fit, gets you out in the fresh air and earns you money, what more can you ask for!!

Yes leaflets invariably work, in the end! Ralph runs our Torbay and South Hams area. For cleaning services in South Hams and the Torbay area: www.diamondhomesupport.com/torbay www.diamondhomesupport.com/south-hams

The insurance company esure recently conducted a survey where they found that the use of domestic help has surged in the last five years.

In a nutshell the main findings are as follows:

• One in three (34%) households now employ someone to help with domestic chores
• Of these, nearly five million Brits now have a cleaner – an increase of 24% compared with 2011
• Almost twice as many under 35’s have a cleaner compared to those aged over 35
• Domestic help no longer the preserve of the rich, with one in four households with an income under £20,000 now hiring some form of help

This I think underlines the trend we at Diamond Home Support have seen on the ground over the past couple of years.

If you were looking for a prospective business opportunity right now I know which industry I would be looking at!

If you are interested come and take a look at what our cleaning franchise opportunity has to offer.

This is a video blog issued by Diamond Home Support in February 2016.

Yes Diamond Home Support has had a terrific start to 2016 with 7 franchisees joining our network in the first 7 weeks of the year.

Why has this happened? In simple terms it is because 7 people have realised the significant potential there is in running a Diamond Home Support franchise business.

When I think back about those 7 who have joined us they all had their own motivation and drivers, but there were some key factors which I think helped them make their decision and these might also be factors which help you in deciding if our franchise might be for you too…

1. Domestic cleaning is a genuinely in-demand service. No longer is it seen as a luxury. For many it is now a necessity and something they would not, and could not, do without. For the busy family it gives them time at the weekends together. For the stressed, hard working professional, it gives them something less to worry about. For the elderly, it means they can relax in the knowledge that others can now do for them what they can no longer do.

2. Our franchise business model includes three revenue streams. That is: cleaning; home help services; and gardening. Our new franchisees recognise that this is effectively three businesses in one. In our home help service we are tapping into a gap in the market where demand is rising and where we believe the competition is still relatively low.

3. Our start-up fee is low compared with the sector average. Indeed for many this initially is concerning. Will I get everything I need? Will I get the support and training? Am I going to be missing something that I would get if I paid £5,000 or £10,000 for a similar business model? All of these concerns are frequently shared with me by people like you. In the last 7 weeks, at least 7 people have spoken to me and realised – hey yes in fact you do get a complete package, training and full support. We don’t leave anything out. So rest assured. The money you save when you join us is just that – money saved in your pocket.

4. They recognised that our monthly fee is fixed and relatively low for the sector. That means we don’t take a percentage of your turnover. As your business grows you get to keep more of it. Over the lifetime of a business that can mean thousands of pounds saved. Our recent joiners recognised and appreciated this point.

5. Finally, when joining Diamond Home Support they are joining a family of businesses all supporting and learning from each other. As a franchisor we believe in constantly developing our network of businesses and often this is as simple as holding a mirror up to the network and saying – look this is what is working and this is what isn’t working. 70+ businesses all working together makes for a strong team. Our new franchisees recognise this and see the value in it.

7 people in 7 weeks can’t be wrong!

If this has got you thinking why not find out about becoming a Diamond Home Support franchisee in your area. If you would like more information you can download our prospectus immediately here. Then drop us an email at info@diamondhomesupport.com to see if your area is available…or ask me here.