Ovenclean has proved a hot investment for former banker Nick Moon
Former banker Nick Moon decided to invest in an Ovenclean franchise with his father Ray eight years ago. Within a year the pair had expanded into a second territory, taking on a subcontractor and adding a third vehicle n months later. In May solo, aged 71, Ray decided to retire, selling half the business for several times more than he and Nick had paid for it, rewarding both men handsomely for their efforts.
Today Nick continues to operate a large single territory with the continued support of his father who looks after the admin, including diary management.
Repeat bookings
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“Ovenclean is a great business model,” Nick affirms. “You have to be prepared to put in the time and effort required in the early days to get your business going, but the fact that it is based on repeat bookings by regular customers is a huge plus. From an investment point of view, you’re building a valuable asset - with an established customer database and all the goodwill that goes with it. This, of course, is in addition to the flexible lifestyle and regular income it yields over the years.”
Father and son had long planned to run a business together, so when Ray semi-retired they started to look for the right opportunity. A friend of Nick’s in Buckinghamshire was already operating an Ovenclean franchise successfully and Nick could see the potential for a professional domestic oven cleaning service in his own area. Both men wanted a complete change of direction from their respective previous careers in financial services and the automotive industry, so investing in an Ovenclean franchise seemed to offer an ideal way forward.
Although Nick was a co-investor from the outset, Ray ran the business for the first year, with some help from his son during holidays and weekends. However, by early 2005 the franchise was doing so well the pair decided to expand and Nick joined the business on a full-time basis.
“I was surprised how quickly it all took off,” Nick confesses. “After our launch we were busy with bookings for two weeks ahead straightaway. We advertised in local parish magazines and dropped leaflets around the area - the response was excellent and our business just grew and grew.”
When Ray retired Nick decided not to take on the entire business himself, so half the much larger territory and two vehicles were sold on. However, it quickly became apparent to Nick that even with half the size of business he would need to take on another pair of hands and a second vehicle to keep up with customer demand.
“When we sold half of our business, our customer base was obviously reduced too,” Nick explains. “However, we’ve managed to generate a huge amount of new work since then - we’re constantly booked up to two weeks ahead - and we’re continuing to grow. I can see that, in due course, the business will evolve into a management franchise with a team of people operating the vehicles and cleaning the ovens, while I manage the business and handle admin like dad. It’s a good way to stay involved and keep your brain active as you approach retirement.”
Transformed
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Nick says he’s never looked back since becoming an Ovenclean franchisee. His lifestyle has been transformed; although he works hard he no longer has to spend long, stressful hours away from the family. In fact, he is able to do the school run for his three children several times most weeks.
“The flexibility and independence is absolutely fantastic,” he confirms. “When I worked in banking I was never off duty”
He recalls his ‘Eureka’ moment came when he took a business call while riding a rollercoaster on holiday in EuroDisney with his family. It made him question what he was doing with his life and, from that moment, he decided things had to change.
“It was the best decision I could have made,” Nick says. “Instead of that dreaded Sunday night sinking feeling, ever since I joined Ovenclean I actually look forward to Monday mornings. My customers are great, many are more like friends chatting to me over a cup of coffee as I clean their ovens, and everyone is delighted with the end results, so I get terrific job satisfaction too. Of course, you have to put the time and energy into building your business, particularly in the early days, but it’s so worth it and, unlike pen pushing, it’s certainly never, ever boring.”
Ovenclean is the longest established and most successful domestic oven cleaning franchise in the UK, providing specialist oven cleaning services to a large marketplace. The powerful yet eco-friendly Ovenclean system effectively cleans ovens and hobs, Agas, ranges and barbecues, restoring them to pristine condition within a matter of a few hours. Franchisees operate from fully equipped vehicles, so benefit from low overheads and high flexibility.
