We have worked side by side for our entire marriage

Paul & Barbara Davies Manchester and Cheshire

Before we became Dublcheck franchise owners we used to be greengrocers. We decided to sell our fruit & vegetable shop because we were unable to compete with supermarket prices and our sales were steadily falling. We heard about commercial cleaning franchise Dublcheck through my brother Peter and his wife Prue. They made the transition from greengrocery to commercial cleaning the previous year and are now operating a profitable business they thoroughly enjoyed. Barbara and I were eager to replicate their success and continue to work for ourselves so we arranged a meeting with Dublcheck's head office team.

Dublcheck appealed because we are not sat behind desks in an office environment - instead we are out and about on the road. The territory adjacent to my brother's was up for sale and had an established client base so we were able to hit the ground running, which was ideal. 12 years later we have no regrets about our decision. Our territory covers half of Manchester and part of Cheshire and there is plenty of business, so we have not felt the need to expand the business by purchasing another territory.

Since taking over the franchise, Barbara and I have almost doubled our monthly turnover from £3,000 to £5,000. We work really well as a team and have worked side by side for our entire marriage. Our business is successful because we share the workload and responsibility and have the same work ethic - we are both perfectionists at heart so even now we continue to take a hands-on role and undertake the cleaning ourselves to ensure every clean is of the highest standard.

The main benefit of being your own boss is flexibility - by having control of our timetable we are able to fit work around family commitments and can spend quality time with our grandchildren.