Sizzling sales for Ovenclean franchise owner Cliff Lowe

Within months of losing his job, Cliff Lowe was running a successful business as an Ovenclean franchise owner

When former Area Sales Manager Cliff Lowe (pictured) was made redundant a week and a half before Christmas in 2009, he little thought that less than a year later he would be running his own business, making good money and feeling on top of the world.

"It was a real blow when I lost my job after 22 years in the manufacturing industry," he admits, "but actually it provided the impetus I needed to investigate starting my own business.

"Over the years my wife and I had talked about working for ourselves, but somehow we never did anything about it. My redundancy seemed like the chance to take control of my destiny and have a go."

Cliff recognised a franchise would provide the perfect platform from which to launch a business, offering independence but with the support of a proven business model and an experienced management team behind him.

He looked at various opportunities, from garden maintenance to parcel delivery, but ultimately opted for Ovenclean .

"When I first came across Ovenclean I thought 'what a fantastic, yet simple idea'," Cliff recalls. "It seemed to me this would clearly be a service that would appeal to lots of people. By coincidence, my daughter had had her oven cleaned by her local Ovenclean specialist – she was thrilled by the results and told all her friends what a marvellous job Ovenclean had done. I figured that if the quality of the service was that good, this was definitely a business worth getting into."

Cliff arranged to visit Ovenclean head office to meet the team and find out more about the franchise. He found them to be highly professional, yet very friendly and says he was impressed by their ethos.

"Ovenclean recognises that its long term success as a business depends on the success of the franchise owners, so the team is committed to doing everything possible to support us in growing our businesses," he explains.

According to Cliff, he's enjoyed tremendous support from Ovenclean from the outset. Within his first few months, his income was already well ahead of initial projections and he says he has been delighted by the continued stream of enquiries from local advertising and referrals from happy customers.

"I'm having such a great time," Cliff grins. "Everyone I deal with is so friendly, they invite you into the hub of their home, thank you for your service, pay with a smile and rebook for next time – it really is an absolute pleasure as well as a profitable business.

"Without any doubt, investing in an Ovenclean franchise was totally the right move for me. From the start I felt really comfortable with the people, the package and the affordable outlay.

"If I want to expand my business into a multi-unit operation at some point, the potential is certainly there. On current performance I'm convinced I can earn way more than I did in my previous role as a Senior Sales Manager and for the first time in years, I can truly say I am really looking forward to the future!"

Reported by Megan Dunmore