No stranger to self-employment, Paul Fenech spent most of his working life in catering before joining Autosheen and is the former owner of a bar and restaurant. He has found that his Autosheen valeting franchise provides a significantly better income, greater job satisfaction, more sociable hours and much less stress than his previous lifestyle.

"Catering is a nightmare," he declares. "The hours are long, the pay is poor and there is a lack of good staff. Running my own business was sheer aggravation and a lot of pressure, so I sold up and worked as an agency chef while I looked round for something completely different to do with my life."

After a year of research and considering various opportunities Paul finally settled on mobile valeting - and in particular on Autosheen. "Ultimately, the deciding factor was the National Account business," he confirms. "Autosheen was the only franchise that offered me the chance to work on existing contracts from day one. Essentially, when you buy an Autosheen franchise you buy into a ready-made business. After that, you bring in private customers of your own, so the potential is tremendous. Of course, it's always a big step to go self-employed, but with good franchise development support such as that provided by the team at Autosheen and the comfort of work coming in from the outset, it's a lot less scary!"

Autosheen's National Accounts include numerous government bodies including the Department of Work & Pensions, Job Centre Plus, HM Revenue & Customs and Royal Mail. Paul provides valeting services to all of these organisations in his territory on a regular basis, as well as benefiting from National Account business flowing from some of the major leasing companies that Autosheen services. "I'm so much happier now, I have control over my life and can spend more time with my family," comments Paul, who is into his third year as an Autosheen franchisee. "I'm not afraid of hard work - in catering I was doing up to 80 and 90 hour weeks. I've gained a lot of private business on top of my National Account commitments and I get great job satisfaction from what I do."

He adds that Autosheen provides franchisees with plenty of support, from initial training to help with marketing and generation of new business leads. He adds: "You know that if you have any problems, you can simply call the office and they will sort it out for you."

Paul's business has achieved real momentum with increasing numbers of customers generated by word-of-mouth recommendation. Moreover, the National Account sales team at Autosheen has just secured another £60,000 contract in his region, which will directly boost his business and that of other franchisees in the area.

Autosheen is one of the UK's longest established valeting franchises. A regular income stream for franchisees from day one together with a premium product range and superb franchisee support structure set it apart from competitors. Recent business gains and a range of established National Account contracts, including National Rail, BSkyB, Virgin Media and six of the 10 largest leasing companies in the UK, means that Autosheen is looking to attract new franchisees across the UK to service new and existing contracts.

Text: Megan Dunmore

Cleaning cars has never been so rewarding!

Nobody understands this better than valeting specialists Autosheen. That's why some of the UK's leading blue chip companies rely on our franchisees to keep over 1.2 million contracted vehicles looking good, year round, nationwide.

A regular income stream flowing from our high profile national account customers (currently approaching 50% of the network's turnover) - including six of the largest leasing companies in the UK - is what sets us apart from competitors, together with a premium product range, our commitment to quality and a superb franchisee support structure.

Continued strong growth and increasing demand for our services means that we are looking for new franchisees across the UK to service both new and existing contracts - so if you'd like to benefit from our polished performance, why not give us a call now!