Essex Franchise Partner
Rob Wilson spent 20 years running his own retail business before joining Minster Cleaning, the highly successful commercial cleaning company. Declining markets and the prospect of even greater dominance by the multiple retailers persuaded him to look for an alternative to his frozen food and video rental stores and he set out to find a business proposition which offered ample opportunities to satisfy his personal ambitions in a more stable marketplace. He identified franchising as the best option and then spent over twelve months planning his career change, visiting exhibitions and franchise companies.
It was after meeting Minster Cleaning’s founder and now chairman, Alan Haigh, that he decided to take on their vacant Essex territory. He liked Alan’s open approach and felt that Minster Cleaning’s targets for growth were realistic. Furthermore, Minster Cleaning had a proven business model where systems were in place and all the groundwork had already been completed. Furthermore, large territories offered virtually unlimited potential.
Rob started his Essex franchise in July 1992 when the UK was in the middle of a recession, so he knows a thing or two about running a business in difficult trading times. He says that the first couple of years were the hardest, “Starting your own business is not for anyone who is afraid of hard work and, despite what you may read in some adverts, there is no magical ‘get rich quick’ formula. But, the support I have had from the team at Minster Cleaning has been superb and, whatever problems you may encounter, help is always available, either from the Network Support Centre or from another franchisee.”
Now, over 30 years later, annual turnover at his Essex branch is now over £2 million from an excellent portfolio of clients. Chelmsford and Colchester are the two biggest towns in his area which also includes large conurbations such as Basildon, Harlow, Grays, Brentwood, Braintree and Southend-on-Sea.
Rob says that Minster Cleaning is better placed to weather any downturn than many other types of business, “With around 300 contracts drawn from a broad spread of commercial sectors, we’re not as vulnerable as businesses that have to rely on a small customer base. Office cleaning is an essential service which many companies prefer to outsource, especially when they are looking to cut expenditure – we’ve just got to make sure that the service we give is second-to-none and that it offers real value for money.
“Maintaining quality standards is key to building long-term client relationships and by offering a comprehensive range of complementary services such as washroom and sanitary services, we can provide all clients’ cleaning needs from one reliable and trusted source.”
Although Rob has enjoyed the challenges of running a growing business, his thoughts are now moving towards retirement, and his Essex franchise is now up for sale. For more information about this opportunity, please see here.
