Fresh start pays off for job-loss victim

Julie Dunne is now an award winning Bright & Beautiful franchisee

Julie Dunne has come a long way since losing her job not once but twice during the last recession.

Not only has she grown her Bright & Beautiful franchise significantly since she opened for business in 2015, but last year Julie also won the domestic housekeeping company’s Franchisee of the Year award for consistently exceeding her performance targets.

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Before launching her franchise in Enfield, north London, Julie had a successful 20-year career in sales management. But after being redundant for the second time, she seized the opportunity to fulfil her lifelong ambition of becoming her own boss.

Julie says: “I was shocked when I was made redundant, but I refused to let it destroy my confidence and decided to make a fresh start.

“When I found Bright & Beautiful, I knew it was the business for me. The values of the business in terms of ethical employment and eco-friendly cleaning appealed to my own values, so I knew I was making the right choice.”

Initially, Julie ran her business from home and employed two housekeepers. Today, she operates out of dedicated offices and has a team of 18 providing cleaning, tidying, laundry and ironing services to customers in Enfield, Southgate, Winchmore Hill, Grange Park, Chase Side, Hillyfields, Winchmore Hill Green and the surrounding areas.

“As a business, we’re aiming to clean up the industry and educate people that there is a huge difference between one cleaning company and another,” Julie says. “It’s so important to me to be able to make a difference to my community and provide good quality jobs for local people.

“The biggest pleasure I get from this business is seeing my staff grow and take on new challenges - we’ve recently had several internal promotions and it’s been fantastic to see the team feeling empowered to follow a career path.

“I’m so proud to be celebrating my fifth year in the industry and look forward to seeing where the next five years takes us.”