Jason Harrison
Name: Jason Harrison
Plan: 10
Initial investment: £32,750
Planned monthly turnover: £10,000
Actual monthly turnover: £40,857
After many successful years in senior positions within the motor industry, Jason’s entrepreneurial spirit wasn’t being fulfilled. Jason dreamed of being a business owner and his own boss. As fate would have it, Jason’s Lexus dealership was a client of Jani-Kings. Jason explains:
Having worked in the motor industry for the best part of two decades I came across many cleaning companies and Jani-King was certainly the best I had met. It wasn’t just the level of cleanliness of my showroom and service bays but how professional everyone was, from the cleaners to the Franchise owner. This really appealed to me and I got into a conversation with Alex and he put me in touch with Jani-King.
Cleaning is an industry I never imagined I would work in, but the more research I did on the sector, the more sense it made… everywhere needs cleaning right? To me, it seemed recession proof and given what’s happened recently I was right.
I bought a plan 10 with an eye on growing bigger and pretty soon I was operating a decent-sized business but still working at the dealership. All life comes down to a moment and my moment was a meeting with Steve when I delivered my ambitions. I told Steve if he could get me to half a million turnover I would leave my well-paid job and operate my franchise full-time. It took Steve and the team less than 3 months to deliver me the business and I was as good as my work and handed my notice in.
Is being your own boss easy, no at times it can be really tough, but ultimately rewarding. It’s also given me an opportunity to work alongside my son and it’s been great watching him grow into the role as a business owner too.
My advice, do your research, I looked at plenty of franchise businesses, but I’m so pleased I joined the cleaning industry and not a food or coffee franchise! When it comes to a cleaning Franchise Jani-King have been around for over 50 years and operate globally, while that gave me the confidence to Join Jani-King, is the personal relationship I have with Steve and the team that really makes the difference, best decision I’ve ever made!
Ibim Saxe-Haisham
Name: Ibim Saxe-Haisham
Location: St. John’s Wood, London
Plan delivered in: 4 months
Initial Investment: £32,750
Planned monthly turnover: £10,000
Actual monthly turnover: £11,000
Ibim Saxe-Hailsham is an experienced entrepreneur and was looking to embark on an exciting new venture. Following roles in the NHS and subsequently as a property developer buying houses at auction, renovating them and selling them on, Ibim became frustrated that her cash was tied up in property and sought out a new direction.
Franchising Opportunities
After conducting her own research, Ibim discovered that the franchising business model could give her the entrepreneurial freedom she enjoyed combined with the low start-up costs she could afford, plus the security and support of an international market-leading brand. Following attending a franchising exhibition, Ibim was excited that this was the direction for her and began investigating which industry she should target.
Commercial Cleaning is a Sound Investment
Due to its ‘recession-proof’ nature and the constant and far-reaching demand it enjoys, Ibim quickly recognised that the commercial cleaning industry is a sound investment. As the world’s largest commercial cleaning franchise with an enviable, established history, further research brought Ibim to Jani-King.
Comprehensive Training and Support
Ibim met with Will Gavan and after signing up she thoroughly enjoyed her weeks training with Operations Manager Carlton Ebanks at Jani-King HQ in Weybridge.
“My training with Carlton was fantastic. He has been so supportive and positive, regularly getting in touch to see how I’m doing and offering advice.”
Ibim plans to win her own contracts in her local area of North West London and also expand her business through Jani-King’s Guaranteed Business Promise where contracts will be offered as part of her Plan 10 structure. She will manage her own team to provide the highest quality, professional commercial cleaning services to her diverse range of chosen clients. We wish Ibim every success in her future as part of the Jani-King family.
Desmond Osei-Akoto
Name: Desmond Osei-Akoto
Location: Essex
Plan: 4
Plan delivered in: 30 days
Planned monthly turnover: £4,000
Actual monthly turnover: £17,000
After working as a cleaner, Desmond Osei-Akoto was all too aware of the constant demand the commercial cleaning industry enjoys. He wanted to pursue his lifelong ambitions to be his own boss and run his own company, and capitalise on his knowledge and passion for the industry he was already familiar with. He therefore began his research into how to realise his ambitions and financially secure his future.
Desmond was drawn to the proven structure of the franchise business model over the uncertain nature of starting his own business, as he had no previous experience of this. Jani-King was the obvious choice for him with their long established name and industry leader status. He was confident they would be the sound starting block he required and provide him with all the support he needed to grow his business.
Cleaning Franchise Opportunities
The combination Jani-King’s franchise structure combined with its simple set-up impressed Desmond. He felt reassured by being part of a market-leading brand but was looking forward to having the autonomy to run his own business. Jani-King’s Guaranteed Business Promise which guarantees to provide an agreed value of initial contracts sealed the deal for Desmond and provided him with the reassurance he needed, which is always lacking when starting an independent business.
‘I thought I knew lots about cleaning, but the personal and tailored training I have received from Jani-King has been very informative and really opened my eyes to all aspects of the industry and running my own business.’
Desmond completed his initial training and just three weeks later, he received his business plan. He was immediately up and running with his initial contracts. In order to allow Desmond time to build his confidence, recruit staff and develop his business knowledge, he opted for a Plan 4 structure – guaranteeing him a small number of initial contracts.
‘I have been so impressed with how easy the set-up process has been – I have been able to jump straight in and I’m confident that with the support from Jani-King, my long-term business objectives will become a reality.’
Under the expert guidance and knowledge of Jani-King, Desmond has created an achievable five year business plan and is very much looking forward to being his own boss.
Gerry Travers
Name: Gerry Travers
Location: Glasgow
Plan: 10
As a previously self-employed banking contractor, Gerry Travers was well aware of the benefits of working independently. However, Gerry was keen to pursue a new career as his previous role required a large amount of travelling. After conducting some research, he found that the commercial cleaning industry offered some exciting opportunities.
“The concept is simple really – it’s repeat business – every commercial premises needs to be cleaned! To me cleaning is an inexhaustible market and I don’t believe that any other franchise comes with the same market capacity and demand. Historically franchises have more chance of success than a start-up, and for someone who had never run their own business before, what attracted me to Jani-King was the support and structure in place, along with the guaranteed contracts.”
As a market-leader, Jani-King caught Gerry’s eye and on initial communication with their personnel, he was impressed with their professionalism that competing firms were unable to match.
“The process of enquiring into the franchise with Jani-King was very slick and prompt. I was impressed by Will’s knowledge and professionalism. He was forthright and honest and I found it refreshing how upfront he was. But not once did I feel rushed or pressured into making a decision.”
Jani-King’s Plan 10 structure offered Gerry the long-term commitment to the franchise he was looking for and he plans to invest further as his venture grows. Following a training week in Weybridge, Gerry launched his new cleaning franchise a few months later to fit in with his personal circumstances and he was delighted to immediately be offered contracts worth more than half the plan he bought.
“The whole process has been excellent with first class support from the UK team. I couldn’t be happier!”
Helen & Bernard Imarhiagbe
Name: Helen & Bernard Imarhiagbe
Plan: 4
Sharing backgrounds in business, information technology and research, both Helen and Bernard have a wealth of theoretical experience but were lacking in hands-on, practical business experience. Neither had previously worked in the commercial cleaning industry either.
Keen to create their own family business, the pair were original deterred by the significant barriers to entry when starting a new venture. High levels of financial investment, targeting and winning customers, building a brand and making a profit were all substantial challenges. After finding out about franchising options, they attended a number of franchise exhibitions in London and both felt that this was the direction for them as a lower-risk option.
Now that the decision had been made to opt for the franchising route, Helen and Bernard now needed to identify their chosen franchise partner. Helen explains:
“Jani-King is an international organisation with presence in many countries. We were impressed with the extensive client list with large corporate chains and after listening to testimonials of franchisees within the industry, Jani-King was the perfect fit. Jani-King is one of the few major companies that source contracts for franchisees, giving new starter businesses a boost from the beginning and we were really impressed by that.”
Once their decision had been made, the pair embarked on the thorough training process, which includes a 5 day course covering areas such as business administration and finance, customer service and support, and operational cleaning tasks.
“Once our training was complete, we were impressed by the speed at which our plan was delivered. It took a few days after our franchise training for Jani-King to deliver our purchased plan instead of the contractual 150 days, we were delighted to be able to get started so soon! Jani-King also provided us with a walkthrough to introduce new franchisees like ourselves to each account which made starting work much less daunting and helped us familiarise ourselves more quickly and efficiently.”
With their Plan 4 structure in place, Helen and Bernard are looking to the future and are working towards increasing their turnover through further investment into their franchise.
“We found the Jani-King franchise process very supportive and never pressured. They provided extensive training, staff recruitment support and extensive walkthrough accounts. We are very happy with our choice.”
