We are thrilled that a former Thomas Cleaning franchisee, who sold her franchise in 2017, has returned to run her Aylesbury and High Wycombe based domestic and commercial cleaning business again.
We bought Thomas Cleaning from their former owners in August 2020, bringing it into the Taylor Made Franchising Group alongside Stump Busters, PVC Vendo, Wilkins Chimney Sweep and Iconic Window Cleaning.
Roxy Iftikhar (48) will be running the business with younger sister Ruky Hussain (42), who until recently had been a stay at home mum.
Profitable cleaning franchise
Roxy said,
‘My husband and I previously ran the business together. We sold it in 2017 as a very successful territory and we were close to achieving our goal of an annual turnover of £250k.
‘The timing is perfect for us to return now. Ruky wanted to get back into the work place and I was looking for something to do. Many’s the time I’ve regretted selling the business over the years, so it’s great to be back and we’re really enjoying getting to know the new staff and owners.’
Running a franchise
She continued,
‘We learned a lot about running a business last time and will be implementing changes in the way we do things from day one. Most importantly our aim is to spend more time working ON the business rather than IN the business. This time we won’t allow our customers to become too reliant on us. Frustratingly, we set such high standards for our cleaning and customer service that previously, when we tried to bring in new staff, our customers didn’t like it, refusing to accept them, which meant my husband and I were cleaning all day, then having to come home and do admin at night. Although we will of course still set very high standards, we will also make sure our customers know it won’t always be Ruky and I doing the cleaning, which will allow us to grow the business.’
Organic franchise growth
Roxy explained,
‘Our plan is that Ruky and I will service the first 8-10 customers ourselves, then we’ll hire a member of staff to take over. Next 8-10 clients, another member of staff, and so on.’
Ruky and Roxy come from a family of seven children and have agreed that honest and open communication between them is a must.
Sisters running a franchise together
Roxy said,
‘Having run the business before I will be showing Ruky the ropes to begin with but once she’s confident it will be very much 50/50 and she has my full permission to tell me when I’m being too bossy. She is bringing her own life experiences to this business and ‘her way’ will be just as valid as mine. Coming from a large family we are used to lively debate and discussions and we don’t really anticipate any problems in this area, we are just looking forward to getting our first wrapped Thomas Cleaning car out on the road and building a successful business together.’
ENDS JUNE 2021
If you would like to know more about running your own Thomas Cleaning franchise please visit our website https://www.thomascleaningfranchise.co.uk/ or contact Alan McClean on alan@taylormadefranchising.co.uk or call on 07450 940 312