- Start Up Cost:
- Franchise Type:
- Sector Type:
- Investment Type:
- Market:
- £20,000
- Home Based, Office Based
- Cleaning Services
- Start-up
- B2B
NIC Services Group is one of the UK’s leading cleaning & support services providers through a franchise network. With over 50 years of industry experience and over 150 years of combined industry experience of their senior management team, NIC has the knowledge to confidently make every franchisee a commercial cleaning success. With an annual spend in excess of £8.8 billion, and growing every year, the facilities services industry is the perfect environment for new franchisees.
If you are looking for a high-quality management franchise business which offers you a guaranteed income* from day one, in one of the largest single industries in the UK, join NIC today. With over 20 years experience in the franchise industry, we know how to assist our franchisees in growing a successful and profitable business. We have franchisees who, in their first year, turn over in excess of £250,000. NIC franchisees are not cleaners. They are individuals who manage and build a successful cleaning business.
We provide:
• Complete accountancy support
• Sales and marketing support
• Operations support
• HR and IT support
Our extensive training programme is delivered at our purpose built in-house training centre. This training covers practical training on cleaning methods as well as business training and sales and marketing advice and methods on acquiring and retaining clients.
Ongoing support is also provided through dedicated business development managers, ensuring you have the knowledge and skills to get your business off to the best start possible.
NIC franchisees are responsible for the overall management and day-to-day operations of their business. Strong managerial and excellent people skills are essential, along with commercial awareness.
You must have the desire to build your business with a willingness to learn and provide a high standard of service delivery.
A typical day involves managing your team to ensure they deliver a quality service to our clients whilst also growing the business by building and developing relationships with potential clients.
Nusrat joined NIC in August 2015 as she was looking for a secure and strong brand to run as a management franchise. After working in telesales and being a full-time mother to her four children, Nusrat decided to look into starting her own business.
Nusrat said: “I was looking for a secure business that would offer me a good return on my investment. After a significant amount of research I decided that the NIC management franchise was the right option for me especially with their guaranteed income offer*.
“I had the desire to work and grow within an organisation where devotion to hard work is encouraged and promoted.”
Nusrat completed a comprehensive in-house training programme, which covers all the practical aspects of cleaning including safe operational methods and best practice. She said: “I found the training invaluable and in addition to this, NIC provide you with ongoing support from a business development manager who will assist and offer you guidance throughout your journey.”
Nusrat was looking for a business that would fit in with her family life: “As I am my own boss, I am able to organise my schedule around my family commitments, I am able to walk my youngest daughter to school every morning.
“I think that a franchisor should provide excellent area knowledge, sales & marketing assistance, quality training and ongoing support. All of which are provided by NIC.”
Nusrat has already built up a very successful business for herself in less than 12 months. “NIC has a unique business model and if you follow their processes and procedures you will be successful. The cleaning market is extremely lucrative with a high return on investment and provides continual year on year growth.”
Nusrat’s short-term goal is to maximise on sales opportunities and keep growing her business to increase her coverage. Her long term goal is to become another of NIC’s £1m turnover franchisees and she is well on her way to achieving this goal.
*Subject to investment level
Brian Pestana joined NIC in 2009 and has found great success with the cleaning franchise. Prior to joining the franchise, he had worked in the corporate world for the majority of his career. He had been managing director in his previous 2 jobs, but grew tired of working long hours with extensive travel for corporate gain.
Brian states: “Becoming my own boss has given me the chance to really change my lifestyle. I still work hard but I also get much more opportunity to spend quality time with my family.”
Brian decided franchising would be the best route for him, as it would provide the backing and support of a large company that otherwise wouldn’t be available with a new business start-up, thereby reducing the risk of a new business venture. He states that he chose to invest with NIC because “cleaning is a virtually recession-proof industry with a real opportunity for future growth.”
Brian, who runs the business with his wife Carola, continues: “My business acumen and skills in sales and management have been extremely useful, combined with the support and backing of a large company like NIC which has been invaluable.”
NIC caught their attention because it is a long-standing management investment opportunity, enabling them to concentrate on managing their business rather than the actual cleaning. They also did their research thoroughly. “We spoke to existing franchisees and their comments were very positive,” says Brian.
“Joining NIC has had a positive effect on our lives. Although we still work very hard, we are more flexible in the hours we work. Working from home also keeps costs to a minimum, a critical issue for any start-up business. And possibly, most importantly, we are able to take time out on a regular basis to spend more quality time as a family.”
In terms of training and support, Brian comments: “NIC provide full training including a practical course to teach you all about the skills you need for the cleaning industry. The support is there for you, enabling you to build on and enhance your own skills and if you require advice you can phone head office at any time for some help or guidance.
“I believe there is huge opportunity to join NIC and become part of a successful, family-owned business.”
Roger Downs became convinced he had gone as far as he could as an accountant for a large firm. He had been working as an accountant for over 15 years when he began to consider to the idea of becoming his own boss, starting to research franchise opportunities.
“The idea of being my own boss and having more flexibility in my work/life balance was a major appeal of starting my own business,” says Roger.
After researching all the possibilities available, Roger finally decided that setting up a cleaning business would be the right move for him.
A comprehensive training course at NIC’s head office, together with a practical residential course on the essential cleaning skills required, ensured that Roger was fully-equipped to start running a successful business from day one.
In 1998, Roger began his new career as a commercial cleaning franchisee with NIC, within the South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire areas. He has since renewed his 5-year franchise agreement a further 3 times following his continued success!
With his experience as an accountant, Roger had quick and creative business acumen and was able to recognise a good franchise opportunity.
He says: “I looked at many franchise options during my research but it was the support package offered by NIC that really appealed. It meant I was free to spend my time growing and running my business rather than handling the administration side of the business.”
After serving with the British Army in the Queen’s Ghurka Engineers for 14 years, Dasarath (Das) decided he was ready for a new challenge and wanted to make the move to “Civvy Street”.
Das explains “I decided that I did not want to work for someone else when I left the forces, but having no previous business experience I decided franchising would be the safest route for me. He continues, “I wanted the reassurance and support that you get from investing in a well-established franchise like NIC and thought this was my best route into starting my own business. After serving for over 14 years I had the opportunity to take redundancy, which provided me with a lump sum of money which I was able to use some of to start my franchise.”
Having worked through the ranks to Corporal, Das had gained many of the valuable skills and experience that could easily be transferred to setting up his own successful cleaning franchise. He explains: “I was used to managing people and delegating tasks so these skills have been very useful since setting up my business. Self-discipline and determination are key in running your own business and these are definitely attributes you obtain in the armed forces.” In a service industry like contract cleaning, people management is a key skill so ex-forces personnel like Das are ideally suited to this type of franchise.
Following a significant amount of time researching different franchising options, Das decided to invest with NIC in the £8.8 billion cleaning & support services industry. He saw the potential in this large and ever growing industry and realised how transferable his skills were to this business.
“Being in the Army doesn’t require you to make commercial decisions, but it does develop a real sense of self-discipline, which is essential to making any franchise work” states Das.
There are many similarities between franchising and the armed forces, they both rely on a tried and tested business model which is reproduced. In franchising (and in the Army) you go through a comprehensive training programme which provides you with the relevant knowledge and skills to successfully run your franchise (or serve your country). Das explains “The initial training programme and the on-going support I receive from NIC is excellent and has allowed me to get my business off to a great start.”
One of Das’ motivations for leaving the Armed Forces was to be able to spend more time with his family having spent most of his career in the forces splitting his time between life on the barracks and time with his family. Das explains “Owning your own business gives you a greater sense of flexibility to achieve the right work/life balance. The nine-five life can be very hard to adjust to after leaving the forces so the flexibility franchising provides enabled me to have a much smoother transition into civilian life.”
Das has been running his franchise since April 2013 and has got his business off to a flying start. He states “I have just gone into my second year of business and am now focussing on winning larger value contracts and developing further opportunities with my existing client base to continue to grow my business.”
Das says “The support I have received from NIC has been great, there is always someone at Head Office to help me with any issues I have and the sales support I receive ensures my business keeps growing through the Telesales activity generating sales leads and handling all the cold-calling for me. I am looking forward to a long and very successful future as an NIC franchisee.”
Chris launched his NIC management franchise in September 2013. Having previously worked as a supplier to the retail sector, predominantly working with shopfitters. As the work started to decrease Chris took the decision to move into the cleaning & support services industry and decided a franchise was the best option as he wanted the support and experience that it provides.
Chris says “My time working within the retail sector gave me some excellent skills that have been very useful in starting up my management franchise with NIC. I chose NIC as they are very unique in the market, they work with some really well known clients and offer the opportunity to manage contracts in many different market sectors.”
“Their experience and credentials meant I could look at tendering for some of the larger contracts and not just the small local market. Their guaranteed income* offer was another major factor as it ensures that when you start your business you are earning money from day one, which as you can imagine taken an enormous amount of pressure off in those crucial early days.”
Chris completed a comprehensive induction programme, including a residential course which covers all aspects of cleaning including safe operational methods and best practice. In addition to this, he also attended a full induction programme at NIC’s Head Office covering all of the systems and procedures including Sales, Marketing, Operations and Finance.
Chris identifies some of the main advantages of the cleaning industry as: “Cleaning is an essential service, there are opportunities literally everywhere around you. When you attend networking events or meet someone new they are a potential client as they will more often than not own or work in a premises that requires cleaning.”
Chris is already seeing a return on his investment and is working to build up his existing client base and then look to explore opportunities to upsell additional services to them including one off cleans, builders cleans etc. Chris adds “Maximising opportunities with my clients is very much at the forefront of the NIC mantra so I know I will get the support and guidance I need to achieve this.”
Chris is enjoying being his own boss and being able to plan his day around other commitments to ensure he achieves the right work/life balance.
“I would say that if you’re prepared to work hard there are massive benefits to be had in owning a franchise. I would certainly recommend an NIC management franchise and with their guaranteed income* offer you know you will be earning money from day one.”
*Subject to investment level
Rob Hampton has been in the cleaning industry for over 15 years, prior to becoming part of the NIC Network he ran his own cleaning business in the West Midlands. In 2014 Rob began looking at how he could take his business to the next level and made contact with NIC Services Group as he could see the benefits of the support and national presence that an experienced franchisor could offer him.
Having made the decision to join the network Rob has committed fully to the processes that NIC have in place based on their 50 years of industry experience and he has certainly seen the benefits with his business growing to over £700,000.
When Rob isn’t working, he enjoys his holidays in France with his family, socialising with friends and cooking.
Although no two days are the same this is as typical as they get.
8:00am
My day always start over a cup of coffee in the office catching up on current events and checking my emails and messages, responding as required.
9:00am – 10:00am
I catch up with my team in the office (I have an Administrator and 2 Contract Managers) looking at the tasks that need to be carried out that day and allocating them to the appropriate team member. As my business has developed I now have a team of mobile cleaners who are used to provide cover as required due to absences, holidays or just to provide cleaners where needed, these are all in addition to my cleaning teams who work on the clients sites.
10:00am – 12:00pm
Having ensured that everything is covered I spend the rest of the morning visiting clients, completing audits with them to ensure the cleaning we have provided is up to the required standard. This also gives me the chance to meet with the cleaners and to deliver any stock that is required. Today I also visited a potential client as I was in the area.
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Lunch time gives me another opportunity to catch up on emails and calls to arrange my appointments for the coming days. Today I am also having a catch up call with my Business Development Manager, Susan. She’s always there to provide me with invaluable support and guidance for my business.
1:00pm – 3:00pm
Every day I identify prospective clients to ring or email to offer our services to. I do this by using the marketing support tools provided to me by NIC including email templates, sales leads and social networking. I am also constantly searching for my own leads, taking notes whilst out and about of potential businesses to target. I aim to send 10 emails a day prospecting for new business and I will follow them all up by phone the next day.
3:00pm – 4:30pm
Today I am visiting a potential client in Walsall. I start the meeting by finding out what his current issues are with his cleaning to ensure I can address these and offer a solution to his problem. I am given a tour of the building, this allows me the chance to measure the floor space to accurately quote the job using NIC’s unique custom built quoting tool. It also allows me the chance to see first-hand the standard of the current cleaning so I can spot any issues and ensure my presentation deals with these to give me the best chance of securing the contract. I always get my quotations completed quickly.
4:30pm
I arrive back at the office and again check and answer my emails and messages, check in with the administrators and contract managers to ensure that there have been no issues, that all jobs are covered and that the sites are all fully stocked with the required consumables and that any additional jobs for the following day have been arranged.
One last check of the emails and it’s time to go home...the phone is still on though!
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