In 1999, Sandip and Ket were ambitious students at Nottingham Trent University studying for degrees in Accountancy and Software Engineering. Having both moved into the same halls of residence, they developed a strong friendship as beer buddies and soon realised they had mutual trust and respect for each other. After graduating in 1998, Sandip and Ket both went on to progress their individual careers, one as a trainee chartered accountant for the Daily Mail Regional Trust and the other as customer relations' supervisor for a leading retailer.

Entrepreneurs in the Making

Both being very determined young men and believing they possessed the ideal mix of skills for a successful business partnership, they continued to develop their individual careers whilst always being watchful for future opportunities. After attending a family wedding in the USA, Ket & Sandip were introduced to the franchising concept and initially considered emigrating to pursue such an opportunity. However, after much deliberation the inspired pair decided to instead research possible business ventures within the UK.

"Baring in mind this was our first move in developing our joint business venture, we soon realised we needed to step outside of our current surroundings and re-evaluate the opportunities around them," Ket comments.

After six months of detailed research and reading about Jani-King in franchise magazines, Sandip and Ket were attracted to the Jani-King concept that offered guaranteed turnover and uncapped potential business growth. Following an initial enquiry, the entrepreneurs were most impressed with the Jani-King business plan and the 10 per cent margin realignment offered to franchisees, and as a result, they began to gain confidence in the Jani-King system.

After a number of meetings with Jani-King's Paul Haworth, the pair examined all the potential challenges they could encounter, such as "Can we make this franchise into a successful business?" and "Can we achieve 15 per cent profit margins?" After considering various business scenarios and tactics the pair were confident that with hard work they could make the franchise a success.

Ambition and Determination

On 7th July 2004, Sandip and Ket invested in a Jani-King franchise, naming their new business Ask Consultants Ltd. Following an initial training course, Ask Consultants Ltd started its first account on 1st October 2004, and the two budding entrepreneurs soon realised that to cover their start-up costs, they had to roll their sleeves up and undertake some of the cleaning themselves.

This experience gave them valuable insight into their customer's expectation and resulted in further opportunities for additional work. With this extra workload, they both decided to give up their jobs and commit full-time to the franchise. Whilst remaining confident that the new business would succeed, Ket and Sandip were disappointed with the slow start with only a few transfers of accounts from other franchisees. This was not the start they had anticipated, so they turned to their contingency plan, where they sought to grow the business through selling themselves, carrying out specialist jobs such as strip and seal of wooden floors.

However, within four months they received a major breakthrough when Jani-King offered the opportunity to service accounts for retailer Superdrug. As a result, Ask Consultants Ltd expanded substantially and its workforce grew with 10 new employees.

Building the Foundations of their Fortune

With the franchise still only being at its initial stage of growth, turning over approximately £6,000 per month, Ket and Sandip jumped at the chance for additional cleaning accounts in Coventry area, and within one month their turnover had grown to £22,000. Ask Consultants Ltd received ongoing support from Jani-King's training manager that enabled the franchise to start converting extra work demos into contracts. "Whatever challenge a new franchisee would be faced with, there is always someone at Jani-King they can turn to for advice and guidance," Ket explains. The pair has followed the implementation plan provided by Jani-King to build their business and achieve success. However, they would be the first to admit that when difficult situations arise - as they do in any business - the support received from the Jani-King HQ has been like a "parental tough-love". Sandip says: "As a franchisee, if your attitude is not right, you are in danger of damaging the brand for other franchisees. Therefore, we recognise that it is in the interest of everyone that the head-office team gets involved to help resolve problems."

In November 2005, a further business opportunity in Sheffield became available, but they received mixed advice with an underlying concern that by taking on difficult and troubled accounts, they could fail and jeopardise their wider business operation. After consideration, Ket and Sandip took on these accounts resulting in an increase of turnover to £34,000 per month. This success provided a massive confidence boost to Ket and Sandip and convinced them that they could do well in the cleaning business, motivating them to work even harder.

The Sweet Smell of Success

With this increased determination to make their Jani-King business a success, they remained motivated and focused. In May 2006, Ket and Sandip hit their first milestone in turning over £500,000, achieving this goal within two years of trading. This growth has been achieved by working proactively to generate their own business, which has supplemented the cleaning contracts they have received centrally from the Jani King (GB) sales force.

Ket and Sandip have put their business success down to the simple Jani-King philosophy that seeing is believing. Sandip says: "You need to ensure that the customer sees that they are receiving a service which provides good value and good quality."

Sandip and Ket are the proud owners of a Jani-King franchise that now covers a large region including Leicester, Warwick, Northampton, Milton Keynes, Cambridge, Doncaster and Sheffield. With the region split between them, Ket and Sandip work together to ensure a high quality service is provided for all clients. With Ket having formerly been a customer services manager and Sandip a former accountant they have the ideal combination of skills for a successful partnership.

They also believe determination has been a big factor in achieving success. Ket comments: "I think the fact that we are passionate and really motivated to make our business a success has been really important. Having the right attitude, being focused and knowing what we want from the business has helped a lot and ensured that our team has the right approach."

Sandip adds: "We found, particularly in the early days, that from time to time things didn't go to plan. However, the important thing is to learn from the experience and not become negative as this can become a downward spiral."

Both Ket and Sandip have the support of their friends and family and are active members of the local communities in which they operate. They also have a strong relationship with the Jani-King head office team. When asked what advice they would give to a prospective franchisee, the partners say: "Learn as much as you can from the Jani-King training programmes, get into good habits and work hard from day one."

The First Million

In June 2007, Sandip and Ket had a total of 84 customers and in taking over a Next account this has increased their turnover to more than £83,000 per month - the magic million pound figure!

Ket comments: "Now that we have reached the £1 million mark, the £2 million mark is our next goal and we aim to reach this a little quicker now that we have our structure in place. We plan to maintain the level of growth with all the challenges involved including financial. We hope to continue our success and grow our business indefinitely."

Contracts delivered by a dedicated sales team

Jani-King (GB) employs a nationwide team of sales professionals who generate new business for the franchise network, allowing the management franchisees to concentrate on managing and growing their businesses through self generation. So confident is Jani-King (GB) in the power of its sales machine, that it offers franchisees the facility to nominate and purchase a guaranteed level of turnover for their geographical area. This is backed by a commitment to refund the estimated profit margin on any agreed turnover level not delivered.

Paul explains: "If we fail to offer £264,000 of annualised turnover (subject to the franchise agreement signed by the franchisee) in 18 months, we literally pay franchisees a pro-rata loss of margin payment on any shortfall until we deliver the offer. The plan is that once you reach that turnover level, we will help you to move on to the half million mark - and then the magic one million mark."

All plans offered by Jani-King include a comprehensive training programme where the management franchisee not only learns the operational skills necessary in the commercial cleaning industry, but also customer relations skills, vital for maintaining a strong, loyal customer base. And once training is complete, Jani-King continues to provide additional customers for the franchisee to service and offers ongoing advice and technical backup.

Create the Dream - with the world's leading commercial cleaning brand

Are you management-minded and looking to build a large business with high asset value?

Jani-King (GB) Directors Paul Haworth and Ian Thomas are proud of their track record after 15 years developing their brand in the UK commercial cleaning market. They say:

"Our success is not just due to our background with world-class companies like Procter & Gamble, Mars and PepsiCo, but also to three key Jani-King track record benefits. First, its almost 40-year pedigree in commercial cleaning and franchising. Secondly, the fact that its systems have been applied thousands of times over by franchise owners worldwide. And thirdly, the top US business magazine has ranked Jani-King the No. 1 commercial cleaning franchise an amazing 12 times since 1987."

Having taken on the UK Master Franchise in 1992, Paul and Ian have worked hard with Jani-King International to develop a franchise product tailored to the UK market. Explains Paul: "We shaped an infrastructure, package and system into a workable management franchise opportunity - and what customers want from a commercial cleaning service."