The Dirty Dozen
Cleaners have become the new black – they are ubiquitous, essential and of the moment. And there is every sign of them continuing to be a part of our weekly lives, however penny-pinching we become, say the industry pundits. As Jason Watkins from Select Home Cleaning puts it: "Most people are time poor and are also spending more time at work during the week to be able to afford the ever increasing cost of living.
However, the fact that that people on average spend $200 per month on having their homes cleaned is totally justifiable when it allows their weekends to be free to spend time with their children or socialising instead of cleaning."
Justifying the expense in terms of a better balance between work and family time is common and, says Julie Finch-Scally of The Duster Dollies , customers have become accustomed to a certain level of support.
"The bigger house syndrome has made it very difficult for people to work and keep their house clean. Once people have had a regular cleaner they would rather cut down their hours during times of financial difficulty than give the cleaning away completely."
She adds that an ageing population only increases the demand. "Many older people can manage the light dusting but need the strength of the younger cleaner to do the heavy work such as vacuuming, mopping and the cleaning of the bathrooms. On top of that we are finding new mums can't cope with having a baby to look after and clean the house, while the younger Gen Ys can't see the point of wasting time on cleaning. Both would rather pay to have it done so they can enjoy their children and leisure time."
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal our leisure time is shrinking. The Australian Social Trends 1994 report shows that in 1992 adults had 36 per cent of time for leisure, but in 2006 the Time Use Survey indicated our free time had reduced to about 20 percent. With diminishing leisure time it makes sense for people to earn an income from what they are best qualified and best paid to do — rather than spend this time in the garden or doing the household chores, says Rose Vis of VIP Home Services.
"It is now very acceptable to engage a professional to do these duties for you to maximise the time you have to work, rest and play, and enjoy your family life.
Families living away from relatives have less access to support around the home than in past generations. Similarly, a loss of what were once regarded as skill to be passed down from parent to child has meant greater reliance on outsourced talent, benfiting not just the market for domestic chores but the renovation and maintenance industry too.
Brendan Green, chief executive of Hire-A-Hubby , spotted the trend. "The move away from Do It Yourself (DIY) to Do It For Me (DIFM) is a consequence of the generational change that has seen far fewer dads taking their sons into the family shed or garage and teaching them the skills that were once taken for granted.
With fewer people skilled in this area, the use of our handyman or renovation type service is now more of a necessity based on lack of skill as opposed to spending on a luxury."
He add that significant numbers of skilled tradesmen are leaving the building industry, reducing the supply of, and increasing the demand for, good quality service providers.
Other benefits to his business are real estate agents managing property portfolios, and a recent tougher stance by governments who are clamping down on employers using untrained staff to undertake maintenance tasks.
Head of Jim's Cleaning , Haydar Hussein, agrees the future is looking good thanks to time poor clients and an active rental market. "I feel this trend will continue for a long time to come."
It all adds up to more business for the professional.
Hussein advises prospective franchisees to value flexibility in the franchise system. "As all sectors change regularly, your franchise needs the function of change as well. Examples include domestic versus commercial and changes to the demographic of suburbs — your franchise should have the flexibility to follow these trends."
But opportunities do not just exist in the domestic arena; overall the cleaning industry is 90 per cent focused on corporate contracts, an area that Jani-King and Redclean have established themselves in.
Franchisees with Redclean, established from The Superclean Group, have a choice of three business markets and growth patterns. First is the domestic set-up, while the second is the commercial arena, servicing office buildings, shopping centres, nightclubs, plant rooms, churches and schools. Finally there is the construction set-up where franchisees generally fulfil contracts for the duration of a project development. For the latter two, contracts are negotiated by the franchisor.
Yet house cleaning remains a massive growth area, reports IbisWorld.
Ed Butler, senior analyst, believes Jim's has cottoned on to outsourcing in a big way. "In the past 20 years there has been a shift in what we think of as luxury," he says. Now costs will be cut in areas such as food and clothing to allow for the household goods we regard as essential — and the workload will increase to help pay for them.
Martin Coyle, director of MyHome , agrees, saying: "Our service is aimed at those who are considered 'cash rich, time poor' and they are not generally going to become 'cash poor, time rich'. If things, are getting a little tough at work they are going to work a little harder to maintain their lifestyle (and keep their high paying job) and therefore have even less time to spend on household chores."
The company has just launched a new venture, MyHome Window Cleaning franchise.
"I have been living in Melbourne for 20 years and not once during that time has anyone ever knocked on my door or dropped a flyer in my letterbox offering a window cleaning service. I know there are window cleaners around, it's just that they are too busy and can't keep up with their workload," explains Coyle. He believes his management based model will allow a business to grow steadily to six vehicles, 12 staff and 3000 regular customers.
"We will focus on the residential market to start with and pick up commercial clients through this activity. We see the mix as being 70 per cent residential, 30 per cent commercial.
So the market continues to grow but how on earth do you decide on a franchise that is right for you? First up is a decision about whether you want a management-based business or to be a hands-on operator. Julie Finch-Scally runs the former.
The difference between the two forms of franchise is mainly the money that can be earned. With the owner-operator the income should be good from the very first week, but you are limited to hours you can work. Once the schedule is full your only option is to employ people to work with you, but paying them a salary and the overheads employees generate can eat into the amount of income you can earn.
"Because a booking agency uses sub-contractors to do the cleaning there is no limit to the amount of work that can be taken on. Of course most of the money paid for the cleaning goes to the contractor so the agency only makes a small amount from each clean, but with many contractors doing the work that small amount is multiplied by the number of hours all the contractors do. Booking agencies grow slowly, but are not limited in their growth," Finch says.
United Home Services ' operations manager, Rachel Keeble, agrees the field is competitive.
"We strongly encourage prospective franchisees to do their homework, review our competition to compare our system and contact our existing franchise group to discuss our opportunity. Quite a few of our new sales in the last 12 months have come from recommendations by existing franchisees who have been within our system for a few years. In addition, four of our regional franchisors were originally unit franchisees – we often say 'our strength comes from within'."
Doing your homework is essential and that includes asking franchisors the appropriate questions. Jason Watkins has a few suggestions: "is this business right for me, financially and what lifestyle will it allow me to have? Do I have to be a sales person and get all my work or will the company get it for me? What are the ongoing fees, and are there any hidden ones? What value for money am I getting from paying any service fees? What ongoing support is there?"
Rose Vis advises that franchisees should understand the difference between a customer base and an income guarantee. "Where do future customer referrals come from (do you have to source them yourself or are referrals in your exclusive area directed to you by the franchisor)? Do you have the opportunity to network and give and receive communication? Most people need this environment to keep motivated."
The best way to find out if franchisees enjoy what they do, and are proud and passionate about their business is to spend a day with them and use the time to ask them valuable questions about their business, she says. 14.10.2008
