All three franchises - Merry Maids, Selclene and Molly Maid - estimate you should have a profit of around £30,000 by the end of year two. Though they all advise another source of income for at least the first year so any profit can be put back into the business rather than drawn as a salary.
Franchisors are keen for you to expand the business both by taking on as many clients as possible and even buying another territory. "We try and ensure territories are available for those who want to buy. The franchisee can then move out of home into premises and take on an admin team - the scale of the operation grows," explains Richard Maidment of Molly Maid.
Franchisees are forced to grow into premises as the business grows by things like lack of car parking space for the teams. Upsetting the neighbours with six or seven cars parked outside each day is a real concern.
You might also set up a satellite office on the edge of the territory. Your staff can then radiate to its surrounding area and not have to travel as far, thus making the business more cost effective.
SelClene reckon a franchise can grow to around 400 houses in a 100,000 household territory before looking to develop a new area. Though franchisee Lesley Yacomine believes there are 600 to 700 potential clients in her 77,000-house area of Richmond and part of Middlesex.
With SelClene, for example out of a £7.50 clean, the cleaner might take £5 and you get the remaining £2.50. The £5 will be left in cash so the cleaner gets his or her money direct and the £2.50 will come to you usually via a standing order.
How many times a week and for how long the cleaner or maid goes to the client is something to be negotiated at the start. Ron and Diane Lewis of Merry Maids in Worcestershire have certain rates for certain cleans.
"When we look at a house we assess how much time it will take to clean. For example, a house with lots of ornaments will take longer so we would charge slightly more. A standard clean and vacuum might be £24 a week," says Ron.
The good thing about the Merry Maids and Molly Maid franchises is that there is no invoicing or waiting for payment. The client will leave money or a cheque in the house for the team to collect. It's a cash positive business.
