“Why the time was right to start our own business”

Jamie Hynze explains how along with husband Mikey the couple have become the successful Just Clear business owners they aspired to be

I met Mikey in 2009 and among the many things that sparked an attraction was a like-mindedness in the sense of planning our future together.

In many ways, being like-minded helped as any decision making came effortlessly and for the most part, we were on the same page.

New direction

Fast track to 2015 and now married with a child, Mikey and I had been in the same careers for several years and while I’m more reserved Mikey always knew he would one day become his own boss.

A few mistakes were made in establishing exactly what type of venture we wanted to pursue, but we always seemed to come back to house removals and clearances.

Mikey is a people person, so didn’t want to be sitting behind a desk for seven hours a day, while I thrived on organisation and simply helping people out.

Decision time

In March 2020 Mikey was made redundant and the country was hit by the pandemic. We didn’t know whether the time was right to start our own business as planned or simply look for a new job and continue life as it was.

I knew Mikey wanted to take the leap and the security of a redundancy package and me still working full-time gave us the opportunity to travel down this new path with nothing holding us back.

As with starting any new business, we were apprehensive as it picked up slowly. During this time we came across Just Clear, a London-based company that contracted a few business opportunities to us.

I researched the company and found they were UK based and had been established since 2012. We realised they represented who and what we strived to achieve and aspire to be.

Becoming franchisees

We built a good working relationship with Just Clear and after some time the word ‘franchise’ came up. If anyone told us five years ago that we would be buying into a franchise in 2021, we would not have believed them. Nevertheless, we enquired about the financial requirements to do so.

With an investment of £49,000 and a minimum capital requirement of £19,000, we felt apprehensive about the monumental journey we were about to embark on.

This led to a meeting with Just Clear CEO Brendan O’Shea, who explained the proven business model to us and illustrated the potential and growth we could achieve with not only the assistance of head office but also the support of Just Clear’s 130-plus franchisees.

They continue to give us the scope, knowledge and support to grow the successful business we had planned for so many years ago.

At a glance Just Clear

Established:

2012

Number of franchised outlets:

133

Location of units:

UK

Investment range:

£20,000-£50,000

Minimum required capital:

£20,000

Contact:

brendan@just-clear.co.uk