Owning and operating a management franchise opportunity, Jani-King franchisees concentrate their skills and ambitions on building their businesses and managing cleaning staff, and with the selling done by the Jani-King sales support team, a steady flow of income building opportunities is guaranteed.

There are currently almost 50 management franchisees operating in the UK, all of whom are aiming to become 'Janillionaires' by developing their businesses toward a target of £1 million in turnover. Retired Janillionaires, Keith and Gill Burgess, whose business reached £1.5 million after Jani-King introduced its Management Franchise programme.

"At its peak we were making in excess of £200,000 profit, which was a great return on our initial franchise investment of £30,000!" reveals Keith. Adds Gill: "When we felt the time was right to retire, we accepted an offer on the business for a very substantial sum. While it doesn't quite make us millionaires, it's not far off!"

Jani-King's dedicated sales team enables the company to make a startling offer to prospective franchisees: "Subject to the franchise agreement signed by the franchisee, if Jani-King should have offered a franchise owner £22,000 of business by a certain month but has been unable to offer them any business, then Jani-King's guarantee is that they will pay the franchisee £2,200 per month," reveals Director Paul Haworth. "That's an extremely powerful safety net. The plan is that once you reach that initial guaranteed £264,000 of annualised turnover, we will help you to move on to the £500,000 mark - and then the magic £1 million mark."

This is a powerful prospect for new franchisees, who need no previous cleaning industry experience but must be management-minded and ambitious. With Jani-King aiming to complete its nationwide network presence with between 40 and 80 additional management franchisees (depending on the size of area invested in), many lucrative opportunities remain available.

INSTANT OPPORTUNITY
Friends and now business partners Sandip Chauhan and Ket Patel selected the Jani-King franchise because it offered a "safer option" to go into business, and with their business about to achieve a level of annualised income equivalent to £500,000, their enthusiasm is justified.

"We really wanted an instant opportunity," Sandip recalls, "and in franchising we recognised a chance to invest in a system which was tried and tested. Jani-King's guarantee to deliver £264,000 annualised turnover within an 18-month period was a huge attraction. We sought a business that would experience high growth and knowing we had a powerful sales force behind us along with great operational support made Jani-King's opportunity stand out from other franchises."

The partners signed for a start-up franchise in Leicester in July 2004 and embarked upon the franchisee training. "The training programme was exceptionally useful," remarks Ket. "It incorporated a good mixture of practical and theory-based content, which has been useful in the last year."

As well as the initial training covering finances, training, personnel and recruitment, Jani-King has provided ongoing development. "We were provided with a contract from day one and the assistance of our Operations Manager who walked us through setting up our accounts, schedules, task durations and employee training," reports Sandip. "In addition the quarterly review meetings are one of the most valuable aspects of Jani-King's support, providing a valuable opportunity to share experiences with other franchisees."

Reflects Ket: "Our launch was slow to begin with but this presented us with the opportunity to find our feet. None of us had worked in the commercial cleaning industry and this was a wonderful opportunity for us to discover the true potential this market actually has. We have progressed considerably as we were keen to proactively acquire as much knowledge and experience in the beginning stages. This knowledge and experience is now proving to be very useful as we are better able to handle issues as and when they arise."

By month six the Leicester franchise was achieving £22,000 per month. "Jani- King fulfilled their 18-month obligation within the first six months and, with a new batch of contracts that will be phased in over the next 13 weeks, we will soon be turning over £42,000 per month," concludes Sandip. "We are developing specialist services with Jani-King - including carpet cleaning, floor care and window cleaning - which earn higher margins and bring added value to our clients, and have also expanded our territory to include Doncaster and surrounding the area. We want to move up to £1 million in two to three years."

'I'M DELIGHTED'
Enjoying the challenge of running a £30,000 per month (£360,000 annualised) business after just four months of launching his Jani-King franchise, David Crook is re-writing his business plan after a super start.

"I signed up for Jani-King's 'Plan 22', which guarantees that Jani-King's sales team will help you build your business to a £22,000 monthly turnover within 18 months, but that's out the window now," he reflects. "I've already taken on a Supervisor, and now employ about 30 part-time staff."

Previously a Service Manager at a plastics company, David had already been "observing" franchising for two years when he received notice that his employer for 20 years was closing down.

"That certainly gave me the incentive to look more seriously at investing in a franchise," he admits. "I was interested in a service concept where the relationship with customers is important - to be honest I originally looked at commercial cleaning and thought it wasn't for me. However, after giving it more thought and seeing what Jani-King had to offer I became seriously interested. I realised that it is suited to my management experience. The other attraction is the fact that they give a guarantee of work.

"My talks with Jani-King gave me a good impression of the company. Their approach is very professional, with no forceful selling - they are very helpful and open and answered all my questions."

Launching his business in July after a four-week training programme, David was offered business immediately. "The training gave a good introduction into the way Jani-King operates, including in-field training with a franchisee," he recalls. "It prepared me for an immediate start, which quickly exceeded the business plan."

Spurred on by his running start, David intends to continue to grow the business considerably. "With the continuing excellent support of Jani-King, plus my own sales efforts, I plan to be looking at a £1 million turnover within two years," he estimates. "I'm delighted."