Cheshire company cleans up in Canada with help from UKTI
A domestic services franchise, which local entrepreneurs Mike and Elaine Hanrahan set up from home shortly after the birth of their first baby, is currently sweeping its way across Canada with help from UK Trade & Investment.
Maid2Clean Franchise offers a low cost management package, where a franchisee buys a territory of up to 100,000 houses in which to win clients and provide them with cleaners. The cleaners are selected and vetted by the franchisee but employed directly by the householder, with the franchisee taking a percentage of their fees. This keeps investment costs low, making it one of the most affordable franchise options available.
Mike, a former buyer for Shell UK, and Elaine, then a cosmetics consultant at Boots, had the idea for a cleaning agency in 1993 when Elaine had their daughter and wanted a job that she could do from home.
The couple examined the model for other agencies and decided to reproduce it more cheaply, eventually coming up with Maid2Clean. Their own agency, which covers South Manchester and Cheshire, was so successful that they set up a pilot franchise operation in Hull, and within two and a half years had become associate members of the British Franchise Association and begun to expand in earnest.
Elaine still runs the original agency from their home in Middlewich, and there are currently 63 UK Maid2Clean franchises, covering a third of the UK and employing over 4,700 people.
When the Hanrahans decided to expand overseas, a Business Link adviser put them in touch with International Trade Adviser Andrew Richardson, who advised them to join the Passport to Export scheme, UKTI's flagship programme for new and inexperienced exporters.
The Passport to Export advisers identified Canada as an ideal starting point, with fewer language or cultural difficulties than other markets, and Maid2Clean commissioned an Overseas Market Introduction Service report to research opportunities, provide contacts and advise on a market entry strategy.
In 2005 the company joined a UKTI funded trade mission to Toronto, and met up with marketing and franchise consultants and lawyers to discuss business opportunities, legal issues and tax laws in Canada. UKTI staff at the British Consulate in Canada put them in touch with key contacts in the industry and plans for Maid2Clean Canada were born.
Elaine says:
"If houses gather dust in Britain, then they will gather dust worldwide, and with more people going out to work and having less inclination to spend time on housework when they get home, Maid2Clean is a franchise opportunity that can grow and grow.
"Canada is a remarkably similar market to Britain in a lot of ways, but we are new to the export business and really appreciated all the help we received from UKTI in dealing with everything from understanding the Canadian banking system to redeveloping our website for international trade. UKTI's advisers have been very helpful throughout, and the funding provided by Passport to Export helped greatly with attending trade shows and advertising."
After the initial visit Maid2Clean joined the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA), set about identifying territories and employed a copywriter to reword their marketing materials and 300-page franchisee manual for the local market, replacing words like 'leaflet' and 'post' with 'flyer' and 'mail'. They had a new logo designed and a promotional film made, set up a Canadian address and appointed a Canadian agent to handle enquiries, and then last month Maid2Clean launched in Toronto, exhibiting at the first of two trade shows.
Elaine adds, "We were delighted with the response we had from the launch. Within the first couple of weeks of returning home we have had 105 serious enquiries and are in the process of going through them and setting up contracts.
"We are returning to Toronto for another show at the end of this month, and are very excited by the way things are going. Canada is also a great springboard into the US and we hope to be in a position to step into the USA within the next couple of years, when we really will be able to clean up across the Atlantic."
Andrew Richardson, International Trade Adviser for UK Trade & Investment says:
"Maid2Clean is a great example of how a small business can achieve huge success with nothing more than a good idea and a lot of hard work. It is one of the few franchisers in the country still trading the business it franchises, with Elaine's successful cleaning agency covering Manchester and Cheshire from Crewe to Chorlton and Winsford to Whalley Range.
"The company had taken a thorough approach to setting up in Canada, and their determination and attention to detail is really paying off. They have made good use of UKTI initiatives, accessing support through Passport to Export, OMIS and Trade Missions, and securing funding for the two Canadian Trade Shows from the Solo Support fund, which is part of our tradeshow access programme.
"I would encourage other businesses who are thinking of trading overseas and feel they could use some help to get in touch with our International Trade Team in the North West. We wish Maid2Clean the best of luck in their overseas venture."
Te: 0161 975 4955
15th November 2007