Techclean has provided a new career with a very bright future for these three franchisees

The low cost, high profit opportunity can be run from home with the need for very little storage space

A Techclean franchise appeals to people at all stages of their careers and from a wide variety of backgrounds.

New direction

After almost 20 years running her highly successful Merry Maids domestic cleaning businesses in Wakefield and South Yorkshire, Susan Hawkin got an offer she couldn’t refuse for the companies.

Wanting to stay in franchising, she decided to buy Techclean Yorkshire from retiring owner Kevin Horan.

Experience gained in the domestic cleaning industry made her aware of the need for good hygiene in living and working environments and her new Techclean company allows her to use this knowledge, while at the same time work in a completely different field.

Susan says: “I’m familiar with running cleaning businesses, so I could hit the ground running, although the items we clean and the products we use are totally different in an office to those in domestic properties.

“I’m dealing with a whole new customer base and enjoying a new lease of life.”

Demand for her services has been highest at organisations in sectors such as financial services with regional or head offices located in Yorkshire. They typically employ a high number of desk-based staff in open-plan environments, so the risk of technologies becoming infected is high when people cough or sneeze.

She also offers cleaning services for server rooms, libraries and educational establishments.

From teacher to Techclean

Former teacher and mother of four Susan Davies set up Techclean South Wales three years ago after her youngest child went to university.

She was looking for a new challenge and wanted to grow a business she could run from home, but still, get out and about to interact with others.

Susan discovered Techclean during her research into franchise opportunities. She liked what she saw and the South Wales and West territory was available, so she signed up. Now she employs a team of three people and the business is growing steadily.

The Techclean service has never been in greater demand to provide a regular effective cleaning service for office equipment that comes into regular contact with human hands, including laptops, PCs, printers, photocopiers and telephones.

Techclean Wales and West’s many clients include The National Library of Wales, EDF Energy, HPC Swansea (which controls all the computer functions for universities in South Wales), the Public Services Ombudsman For Wales and several call centres across the region.

Susan says: “I get a huge amount of satisfaction from my job. We go into an office and in just a few hours make such a big difference to their working environment.

“I call the women I work with my ‘dream team’ and clients are always genuinely delighted with the results.”

IT pro finds his niche

Mark Austen launched his Techclean franchise at the end of 2017 after 30 years working in the IT industry.

During three decades in the sector, Mark says attitudes towards the cleaning of technology have changed.

“In the 80s and 90s office computers would have a regular service clean, but this stopped when the cost of technologies decreased and it became the norm to upgrade every few years,” he explains.

“Today, lack of routine cleaning means they become a breeding ground for germs, which doesn’t help matters when an illness is doing the rounds. Absenteeism represents a major headache and expense for employers, so keeping people fit and healthy is a top priority.

“Periodic deep cleans of communal and desk-based technologies can play a part in the improvement of employee well-being.”

Mark is quickly able to build a rapport with IT managers due to his previous experience as an IT project manager.

“I know my way around a server room and as well as cleaning the equipment I can advise on ways to improve preventative maintenance, such as adding filters to vents,” he says.

Tried and tested approach

Techclean franchisees can expect to achieve a net profit of 55 per cent plus within the first year of trading.

In today’s age of superbugs, office hygiene has become a top priority for work environments.

According to the 2016 CIPD Absence Management Report, absenteeism costs British businesses an average of £522 per employee per year. That’s around 140 million days lost to sickness absence across the UK in 2015, with colds, flu and gastric illnesses topping the table of causes.

If you combine this with the statistic that says 33 per cent of people with contagious symptoms struggle into work rather than stay at home, it’s easy to see why providing a hygienic workplace is so important to productivity.

Techclean franchisees provide a comprehensive range of specialist system cleaning solutions to a diverse range of customers, from FTSE 100s to government to local businesses, charities, schools and even medical establishments.

They clean PCs, laptops, printers, photocopiers, fax machines, scanners, telephones, EPOS, ATMs and other system peripherals using a tried and tested approach for carrying out this specialised cleaning.

The franchise works within an ISO environment and is Safe contractor accredited, giving customers immediate confidence of Techclean’s credibility.

Techclean territories are generous - each catchment area includes at least 10,000 businesses - and no premises are needed, making the franchise a perfect business to run from a home office with minimal outlay and low operating costs.

The company is looking for individuals with a strong work ethic who are willing to follow a proven business model. The ideal Techclean owner will be good with people and have an aptitude for sales and marketing. No previous cleaning experience is required, as full training is given.

You will benefit from ongoing head office support in the key areas of sales, training, business planning, finance and marketing, plus gain access to Techclean’s marketing systems, tools and collateral.

The franchise costs £19,500 (plus VAT).

Techclean is part of The Bardon Group, one of the UK’s leading franchisors, which also runs three other well established brands - Kall Kwik, ComputerXplorers and Recognition Express.