Before becoming a franchisor Yvonne Williams was in estate agency for some 30 years; she took a year off from sales for a job working for a holiday letting company.

“My remit was to look after the the owners and the housekeepers of the managed properties, throughout the United Kingdom, in order to ensure that very high standards of housekeeping were adhered to. To do this job I had to learn how to be a housekeeper, not only to train new recruits, but also, to point out where improvements could be made. It was at this point that The Happy Angel Company idea was conceived. A couple of years later I moved to Norfolk and decided that the time was right for Happy Angel to begin.”

When The Happy Angel Company started, six years ago, Yvonne knew, from day one, that it was always going to be a business that could be franchised. However, it was in 2019 that we felt the time was right to franchise the business, after many of our clients over the years relocated to other areas in the country. They still needed both the quality and level of service that we had provided in Norfolk, but were unable to find where they had moved to. As Yvonne says: “I still receive phone calls and emails asking if I can provide help in their new homes from all over the UK!”

By expanding the Happy Angel network via franchising we can continue the work that we provide in our ‘home area’ by replicating it around the UK, and provide franchise owners with a potentially high level of income, while giving the help and services to the people who so clearly need them.

Yvonne and her partner were, effectively, the first franchise owners (pilot franchisees) for Happy Angel so they have thoroughly tried and tested every aspect of the business.

“We know what is do-able and what is not. We have different arms to the business which cover general housekeeping, commercial cleaning, garden service, hospital to home service, holiday let housekeeping and full management and end of tenancy and house moving cleans.  Franchise owners can do all of these, just one, or pick and mix whichever they fancy doing, it is entirely up to them.  I have carried out every aspect myself; if it didn’t work, it didn’t get included in the services offered.

“I have self employed staff who look after their own clients, therefore the business affords itself to people who do not want to do any of the cleaning work themselves, but who would rather orchestrate their business from an office.  However, it would also suit people who are happy to be hands on with the work either individually or with a partner. The business works extremely well either way.”

So how did you Yvonne know that franchising was the means she wanted to use to grow The Happy Angel Company?

“I have several friends who invested in a franchise, when they were made redundant in the 1980’s, and I was really impressed with how it all worked. So, when I set up Happy Angel it was always with a mind to franchising it.  I strongly believe in a franchising model as a means of providing a readymade business for people to invest in.  With so many new start businesses failing within their first year, it is a proven method of start up without the failure as someone has done it all before you and made it work.  We are now an established, successful and proven business, therefore the time is right to offer it to people who are looking to get away from employment and get into self-employment

“We did, very briefly, look at expanding by employing staff and letting them have their own areas, but decided it was never going to happen that way. The franchise route opens up the business opportunity to other people who were tired of working for other’s when they could have their own very successful business in whatever part of the country they want to be in.

Yvonne’s husband has been involved from the beginning. “He helps me with every aspect of the business.  However, his particular area of interest is with the garden service. 

“We quickly discovered that if people need help with their housekeeping then they most likely needed help with their gardens. This then grew into a sub branch of a handy man service which was linked with the housekeeping service.  If a client needs shelves putting up, or small jobs around the house that a general builder would just not be interested in such a small job, that’s when we are there to help them!”

What challenges has Yvonne faced since franchising her business?

“Our biggest challenge has been finding people brave enough to join a relatively new franchise company; their natural inclination is to join a more established, tried and tested, company with many more franchise owners. The set-back they often find, with this approach though, is that the area they want has already been sold, at least with Happy Angel there is the scope to get the area they want and we are currently receiving a lot of enquiries so it is only a matter of time before people see that, with us, they can get the areas they want.

What ‘highs’ has she had since franchising The Happy Angel Company?

“Talking to people who really want to change their lives and work for themselves.  I took that enormous step into self-employment myself, six years ago, and have not regretted a second of it.  Happy Angel is a great business that has been tested in every way, and I have every belief that it will change people’s lives by running one or more of our franchise areas.  I am enormously proud of what has been achieved and the help that we have provided to all of our clients and their families.

The Happy Angel Company already have several applicants who are at the deposit stage, so areas will start to thin out in the not too distant future. They will be at full capacity, in the UK with around 600 franchised areas

They offer full training initially, and any ongoing training which is also available on an ‘as and when’ required basis. As ‘Holiday Let’ housekeeping is very different from domestic housekeeping anybody who is looking to go into this area of the housekeeping industry will receive full training on this aspect alone. Full support is available 7 days a week.

What would Yvonne’s advice be to someone thinking of buying a Happy Angel franchise?

“With an ageing population who need the help; and so many other people working all hours who need a really sound housekeeping service all over the United Kingdom, why not?

Contact us for more information on how we can achieve a win-win situation for both franchise owners and clients?