Fast-track your way to success with A Dublcheck franchise

'The great
thing about being your own boss is that you are the architect of your own destiny.'

Franchisee Stewart Weatherill

In his first year as a Dublcheck franchisee Stewart Weatherill rapidly built up his business, quadrupling his monthly turnover of £2,200 to £8,800 in the process. Stewart puts his success down to the proven business model and guaranteed turnover* package coupled with his sales skills.

'Prior to becoming a franchisee, I was a self-employed sales agent working on a commission basis,' explains Stewart. 'I loved working for myself, but hated knowing that if I took time off I would not earn any money. I had always wanted to build a business that did not rely soley on my own efforts where I could manage a team and build something of value so I began investigating different business ventures.'

Stewart decided investing in a management franchise was the best way forward. The commercial cleaning industry interested him because, not only was it recession proof, but in his local area there was great potential.He says: 'I spotted commercial cleaning company Dublcheck in The Franchise Magazine and was so impressed by its promise of a guaranteed turnover* and comprehensive support and training package that I arranged to meet them at a franchise exhibition. To me, the fact it had a 15 year track record demonstrated that the business model was successful and had been successfully replicated nationwide. I was also aware that in times of an economic downturn, I would still be able to run a profitable business because commercial premises still need cleaning to a professional standard.

'The guaranteed turnover appealed because it meant in the first few months I could focus on getting to grips with running the business and managing my staff instead of finding business. I invested at a low level of £26,400 because I wanted to have the safety net of a guaranteed income with Dublcheck finding me work but knew long-term I wanted to use my sales skills and sell my cleaning service my self throughout my territory.'

As part of the franchise package every franchisee is put on a one week training course, where they are taught everything they need to know to run their franchise. From employment law, cleaning and codes of practise to VAT and accounts.

In their first year all franchisees are also assigned an experienced mentor to help them with any problems and to ensure their business gets off to a flying start. Stewart says: 'I found having a mentor, who was an experienced franchisee, very helpful as they were able to advise me so that I did not make any avoidable mistakes. The great thing about being your own boss is that you are the architect of your own destiny. While the flexibility of this franchise means that you can make your business as small or a big as you like. For me, investing in Dublcheck was the fast way to success as it helped me avoid the common pitfalls of starting a business up alone completely from scratch.'

*Guaranteed turnover is not a guarantee of profit

Jess Sturman reports