International Woman’s Day – Natasha Pemberton

Having been made redundant 3 times in 3 years, Natasha, aged 30, decided enough was enough, and took control of her career, investing in an Ovenclean franchise, and is so happy she took the leap!

What did you do previously to joining Ovenclean?

I haven’t been self-employed before, and most recently I was a post office clerk before I joined Ovenclean. Unfortunately, I was made redundant when it closed down.

What appealed to you most about Ovenclean when you first started considering franchising as a route to self-employment, and how is your life different now compared to before being self-employed with Ovenclean?

The most appealing aspect of being an Ovenclean franchisee, personally, is the freedom to set my own schedule. After having to wait weeks for a manager to check my time off requests against the rest of the staff, it’s very nice to just be able to block out an afternoon for a dentist appointment, or a long weekend over my birthday!

The reliability and stability is also a huge source of relief, as the job market is pretty dire at the moment. After months of being told I didn’t have relevant skills, or enough experience, or even being completely blanked by dozens of places, Ovenclean’s attitude of “we want you to succeed, and we are going to give you the tools and training to do so” was restorative to say the least.

Another perk of the job is being able to drive all through Cheshire and see some beautiful places and estates that we’ve never seen before, despite living here for twenty years! But personally, my favourite part of the job is when a customer has a friendly pet that I can fuss over when all the cleaning is done!

Would you encourage more women into franchising with Ovenclean, and why?

I absolutely would encourage more women into becoming a franchisee with Ovenclean. Where I was initially wary of going into strangers’ homes alone, being quite a shy person myself, I have found the interaction with customers has really helped develop my confidence in this area, which makes me feel quite proud, and that’s a lovely feeling to have.

Have you faced any challenges since joining?

Our biggest challenge was before we had even really started! Due to Brexit there was a shortage of vehicle transport drivers, so although our new Peugeot was bought and paid for, it was stuck in Dover for nearly a month, even though we had nearly two weeks of appointments already booked! We were starting to panic, but Ovenclean arranged for us to have a van on loan while we had to wait for ours to be brought up to us and then get fitted out.

The Franchise Support team and particularly our dedicated contact, Amy, has been of invaluable help to us from day one. She answers all our questions (no matter how small), so quickly, and sorted out our most successful marketing events for us.

How did you discover Ovenclean initially? Did you attend an open day? 

Dad discovered Ovenclean after he retired and wanted to try something different. After I was made redundant for the third time in three years, I was feeling very demoralised and looking for something new. We attended an open day in Kidderminster, met everyone in the office and liked everything about the company and Franchise Brands, so we decided to take the leap.

How did you find the training?

The training was challenging and fun! As we were travelling around the Buxton area, we had to leave the house much earlier than was normal for us, and doing physical work that was very different to anything we had done before. But our trainer, existing franchisee James Arthur, was very thorough and patient with us, and made our two weeks of hands-on training a hugely valuable and enjoyable time.

What’s the most valuable piece of advice you could give someone (and specifically women) looking to buy their first franchise?

Don’t sign anything without reading it first, and if it seems too good to be true, it probably is!

In your opinion, what makes a successful franchisee?

Managing customer expectations is invaluable, so explaining what you can and can’t do will ensure a satisfying appointment for both you and the customer. We send every customer a confirmation email about three days before their appointment, which explains the cleaning process again, so they know what to expect. Also, if you are able to be flexible with things like dates and times around the customer’s schedule, they will remember you putting in extra effort for them when they want their oven cleaning again.

To find out more about Ovenclean and their franchise opportunity, visit their profile.