INTIAL INVESTMENT REQUIRED £16,995 + VAT
Andy Bloore and Jeff Deeming have been adding a sparkle to the lives – and ovens – of thousands of happy customers in the North West since launching their Ovenclean franchise in 2003.
“We’ve had our busiest couple of years ever – despite the difficult financial climate,” says Jeff. “Our thriving business is built on word of mouth recommendations and regular repeat business, but we have also benefited from the investment in brand building and marketing support by the franchisor.”
The pair, who have been friends since 1997 when they worked together at an engineering company, decided to start their Ovenclean business after they both felt their lives were in need for a change of direction.
“We were really encouraged by the size of the market and impressed with the potential for growth” recalls Jeff. “Most of all, we were impressed by the experience and commitment of the friendly management team. We knew straightaway that we had found what we were looking for.”
Since then, the pair have grown their business carrying out cleans for domestic properties, landlords and schools.
“In the last couple of years we’ve been widening our scope. As well as targeting new domestic customers, we’ve been securing contracts with local landlords who want us to clean ovens as tenants move in and out. We are also working for three large private schools in the area, where the ovens are used regularly by over 2,000 students in term time and need cleaning during the holidays.”
As their customer base increased as a result of recommendations, Jeff and Andy have found it easier to grow their business.
“Andy and I are ambitious and we never rest on our laurels,” says Jeff. “In fact, we offer incentives to customers to recommend us to their friends and family by offering them a discount on their next oven clean.”
Currently, Andy and Jeff clean around 30 ovens a week – although that figure can more or less double in the weeks running up to Christmas, yet they finish work at 3:30pm most days, enabling them to spend plenty of time with their families.
Andy confirms: “Last week we were doing 10 cleans a day and we are expecting this to continue over the summer as landlords tend to get university accommodation cleaned in preparation for the summer.”
In the last 12 months, Ovenclean has been focusing strongly on supporting the local activity of franchise owners with a renewed emphasis on marketing and building brand awareness. A new website optimised for mobile phones will make it easier for customers to make enquiries online, and a new range of cleaning products for customers will provide an extra possible income stream for franchise owners.
“Ovenclean has been great for us – we love it,” smiles Jeff. “There’s really good money to be made. Our business supports both Andy and I at an income level well above our previous salaries as engineers. We both get great job satisfaction from what we do and we work the hours we want. What more could you want from a business?”
Ovenclean is the longest established oven cleaning franchise in the UK, providing specialist oven cleaning services to a large, virtually untapped marketplace, including domestic customers and commercial work such as schools, lettings agencies and hotels. The top quality, powerful yet eco-friendly Ovenclean product range, exclusive to franchise owners, effectively cleans ovens and hobs, Agas, ranges and barbecues, restoring them to pristine condition within a matter of a few hours.
Written by Melissa Davies-Lawrence