“I have never felt on my own with Dublcheck”

Initial Investment Required £9,000 to £190,000 + VAT (depending on turnover level)

Summary of Operation

Commercial cleaning franchise. As a Dublcheck franchise owner, you can build a substantial commercial cleaning business supported by a company with many years’ experience in supplying services to many high profile national groups and high street businesses.

Before becoming a Dublcheck franchise owner 12 months ago, Joanne Bennett (pictured top) worked as a Project Manager for an established national bank for more than 20 years but had decided the time was right to become her own boss.

“I decided to leave my job because my position at the bank became too big for me, it was operating at an international level and I was more interested in working within a personal and local environment,” she explains.

“Working in financial services, I had a good understanding of risk management and knew that franchising would provide me with the benefits of being my own boss but with lower risks.”

Joanne attended various franchise exhibitions and seminars but it was at the National Franchise Exhibition, in Birmingham, where she first discovered the commercial cleaning franchise.

“When searching for a franchise, I had been looking for domestic cleaning opportunities, as a busy career professional this was a service I really valued. However, once I met the Dublcheck team, I found the concept of a commercial cleaning franchise very appealing.

I was looking for a business which would operate on a local scale with national branding and that I could manage from home. Dublcheck ticked all the boxes.”

With benefits including guaranteed turnover, massive market potential, centralised support, varied initial investment costs and 17 years' experience to draw on, Dublcheck offers a highly attractive franchise package.

Central to Dublcheck's success is its dedication to ensuring franchise owners have all the tools and knowledge they need to reproduce the values of the Dublcheck brand, which has resulted in a 90 per cent client retention rate.

Founded in 1993 and having been awarded The 20th Fastest Growing Private company in the UK according to Richard Branson’s Virgin Fastrack One Hundred and The Sunday Times, Dublcheck now has more than 100 franchise owners and is looking for more capable and motivated people to join the national network and benefit from the proven and successful business model.

Dublcheck obtains all the business for its new franchise owners, so they know exactly what turnover they will achieve. Depending on each franchise owner’s available commitment, they can start with the minimum turnover of £14,400 per annum if they want to run a hands-on business and start small while retaining the security of their current position, or can purchase up to £500,000 per annum if they want to run a management business.

Joanne attended a one-week training course at the Dublcheck head office in Chester, which covered all aspects of the business. The week-long induction also gave Joanne the valuable opportunity to speak with existing franchise owners and Dublcheck suppliers.

“The ongoing support I have received has been brilliant,” says Joanne. “For my first year, I was paired up with an existing franchise owner to mentor and assist me, which I found invaluable. The Dublcheck franchise team is always more than happy to help, they’re only ever a phone call away - I have never felt on my own.”

Joanne has been thoroughly enjoying the work/life balance that her Dublcheck franchise has provided. “Thankfully, I have an extremely supportive husband who helps me juggle childcare and work but as my own boss I am able to set my own working hours,” she says. “I really enjoy meeting new customers and working at a local scale, as well as providing a personal and high quality service.”

With steady growth in her first year of trading, Joanne is now ready to develop her franchise further by focusing on new service areas and pushing her business forward.

“At the moment, I have 12 part-time cleaners working for me and in the near future I hope to employ a supervisor to manage the day-to-day running of the business. Over the next year, I will be focusing on retaining new customers and branching our services out to new areas such as residential lettings. My ultimate goal is to build a busy and successful business while maintaining the excellent standard of service, which we have been providing since day one,” adds Joanne.

“There are lots of gimmicky franchise/businesses but there is nothing quite like commercial cleaning, which is an industry worth more than £3 billion. This is a really exciting opportunity for franchise owners because the growth and profit potential can be maximised using the experience, knowledge and systems we at Dublcheck have developed,” says Carol Stewart-Gill founder and Chairman of Dublcheck.

With over 100 franchise owners nationwide – 20 per cent of who are women - and many more areas and opportunities available, you too could benefit from the proven Dublcheck system.

Reported by Tiffany Brooking