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What are the pros and cons of a cleaning franchise?

Overheads are often low and the market is huge, but it's hardly a glamour sector.

If you’re thinking of buying a franchise and are not sure which sector to go into, this list of pros and cons of cleaning franchises may help you make up your mind:

Pros

  • Many have low initial franchise fees and as they can be home based and are cheaper to run than some other sectors which require a separate building – eg, office, shop, pub – to run their franchises from
  • Unlike some franchises, such as a number of financial  franchises, qualifications are invariably not required (as is the case with buying a Jani-King cleaning franchise)
  • Rarely require previous experience in the sector as opposed to some other sectors such as food and hospitality
  • No specialist skills are required – you only need generic skills such as organisational and communication skills  and a commitment to running a business
  • Offer more flexibility to the franchisee than some other sectors so can be fitted around your lifestyle requirements – eg, childcare
  • As there is a legal requirement for restaurants to clean and maintain their exhaust hoods, there will always be a demand for cleaning franchises that specialise in this area
  • Great for those of a more sociable disposition as they involve frequent interaction with staff and clients, as opposed to, say, web-based franchises

Cons

Businesses are increasingly outsourcing their cleaning, meaning that demand for commercial cleaning businesses is growing

  • Some might argue that the cleaning market is saturated, as there are many cleaning franchises competing with each other as well as with independent cleaners and cleaning businesses
  • During a recession, having a cleaner rather than cleaning your home yourself might be considered a luxury, and is perhaps one of the first things people forgo to save some money
  • Could hardly be described as a glamorous or ‘sexy’ sector
  • Little variety in terms of the services on offer
  • Businesses are increasingly outsourcing their cleaning, meaning that demand for commercial cleaning businesses is growing
      The role requires you to get out and about meeting clients and so forth rather than being stuck in one place, be it the office or your home
  • If you’re an accomplished cleaner but lack managerial qualities, then a cleaning franchise probably won’t suit you. Most cleaning franchises are actually management franchises, so they’re about managing a team of cleaners rather than doing the cleaning yourself


Kamel Hothi

About the author

Kamel Hothi is Asian market director at Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets.

@FranchiseSales_