Franchisees Emma Koch and David Albon launched during the pandemic and have continued to scale their business
Emma Koch and David Albon had always strived to find roles that would give them a perfect balance between work, pleasure and family. With experience in corporate sales and management positions, it was important that the pair found an opportunity to nurture these skills in a franchise devoted to professional development without feeling restricted by suits and briefcases. Having recently been awarded My Window Cleaner’s franchisee of the year just two and a half years after launching, Emma and David have finally found their muse as business owners.
Emma and David launched My Window Cleaner (MWC) Breckland Norfolk in September 2020, and it has given them the opportunity to deliver exceptional service with a smile in their shared love of the outdoors. An avid horse rider, Emma is aware that risk can often lead to huge rewards. By capitalising on unmatched high margins and choosing to join a franchise brand instead of going it alone, the pair fit perfectly into a network that consistently proves that the ‘dark horse’ in franchising isn’t necessarily ‘dark’ at all. In less than three years, MWC has given the pair exactly what they desired from running a business together and has since exceeded all expectations.
“David and I had always dreamed big, and the pandemic affirmed our desire to step away from the more traditional, corporate roles,” Emma explains. “That’s when we found MWC, which offered us everything and more – we could continue nurturing our management and customer service skills, all while being on the road and enjoying the outdoors!
“Who wouldn’t want to combine work with pleasure? Our previous roles left us always wanting more as we felt very under-appreciated, but as MWC franchisees, we’ve felt so fulfilled and rewarded for the hard work we’ve put in.”
David adds: “Since launching, MWC has proven the viability of the franchise model as we’ve run and managed the business to suit our own needs and ambitions, all while operating within a proven support structure. The MWC model in particular is unlike anything we’d ever seen during our time in the corporate world.
“We’ve been able to follow a plan that guarantees success and cooperate within a network of like-minded, passionate business owners while keeping the financial and personal rewards for ourselves.”
A family network
Founded in 1996, MWC introduced the UK to the future of the cleaning industry. As the first and only window-cleaning franchise brand, MWC has established itself as an exciting, highly profitable opportunity by identifying and leveraging a gap in the market. Offering customers a trustworthy, sophisticated window cleaning, gutter clearance and pressure washing service, MWC is a true family-feel franchise with good old-fashioned values at its heart.
David says: “With the franchise family at our fingertips, we feel secure in our positions and know that the direction we’re all headed in is incredibly positive. We’ve learnt countless lessons thanks to the transparency of the network. And with us being so collaborative, we all want each other to succeed - it really does feel like a family. Knowing the business model works in any setting has helped us achieve great things, and it encourages us to continue setting high goals.”
Internal and external support
Whether it is their first business or whether they are a seasoned entrepreneur seeking new pastures, MWC franchisees are encouraged to fully exploit the success they can achieve within their territories by building a team of passionate and enthusiastic operatives. MWC’s approach of championing exceptional customer service is continuing to set high expectations for a service provider that has traditionally been met with negative experiences. Through recurring income and multiple revenue streams, low overheads, an impressive scope for growth and ongoing development, the opportunity for franchisees is huge.
Emma explains: “As we both come from sales backgrounds, our shared operation of the franchise complements and supports each other hugely. Our own internal support structure has allowed us to become autonomous with how we forge our success, and we haven’t felt restricted or micro-managed by the franchisor at all. While we rarely go to the franchisor for additional support, it’s so valuable knowing they are there to help, day or night, with anything we might need. This gives us a lot of confidence, as franchisees of MWC, we simply have to follow the plan and trust ourselves!”
Continual growth
Today, a network of 24 franchisees operates across the UK. Sophisticated branding, systems, operations and processes have established MWC as the leading voice in a saturated market, which has seen the franchise receive over 4,500 gleaming five-star reviews from happy customers. With each franchise territory equipped with the industry’s best equipment and with full access to MWC’s £650,000 online management software, ‘Gloria’, franchisees have all the tools to become profitable at a consistent rate.
Despite launching during the height of the pandemic, David and Emma have successfully proven that the dark horse in franchising is often quite the opposite. Seeing a turnover increase of 35 per cent over the last 12 months, now achieving approximately £12,000 per month, and welcoming 27 per cent more customers in the same period, David and Emma continue to successfully scale their business and affirm their own ambitions amid economic uncertainty. With big ambitions for the next five years as franchisees of MWC, the pair are well-placed to continue becoming a trusted and respected service provider in their community.
Emma says: “We currently have a two-van operation, and we want to continue growing. We know we’re very capable of getting five vans on the road and grow to a team of double figures. With MWC, the sky truly is the limit, and that’s made even easier as we keep our feet firmly on the ground! If you’re considering joining MWC, go for it. Don’t hold back - be ambitious in a franchise that rewards it.”
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