Hire A Hubby franchisee wins in household services

The Hire A HubbyFranchisee of the Year award ceremony, held in Brisbane on 4 December 2004, saw Ken Maguire selected from the network of 42 ‘hubbies’ for his outstanding performance over the past 12 months. The annual award is presented to a franchisee who excels in customer service, commitment and business excellence.

“We look for a franchisee who best embraces Hire A Hubby’s proven business systems and ideals,” says Vince Manning, Queensland operations manager. “Ken is a great role model for new franchisees as he strikes that often difficult balance between entrepreneurial effort and group compliance. The franchising adage of ‘on your own, but not alone’ is easier said than done.”

Ken Maguire is very ably supported by his wife Marie, who proudly dons the ‘pink shirt’ and aggressively markets the home services franchise in their Beenleigh territory. The Maguires’ franchising experience began a little over a year ago.

“Most of my working life has been spent in the transport industry as a driver. Following knee surgery I returned to work as a storeman, a job I hated due to being cooped up indoors. Something had to change,” Maguire says.

“After much soul searching my wife and I decided to start our own business. I’ve always considered myself a ‘handyman’ so that seemed a logical place to start. Daunted by the complexity (and risk) of starting and running a business on our own, we looked at buying a franchise. At the Franchise Expo in Brisbane we spoke to a few different handyman franchises but one stood out above the rest – Hire A Hubby.”

The Maguires attended an information evening and spent the next few weeks studying the business opportunity. In November 2003 they took the plunge and purchased the Beenleigh franchise, and have never looked back.

“Buying a Hire A Hubby franchise has been the best decision Marie and I have made as a couple,” Maguire says. “Our only regret is that we didn’t do it sooner.”

Manning compliments Maguire on proactively drawing support from the franchisor and other franchisees.

“Too often franchisees wait for their franchisor to offer assistance and innovation, without realising that the strength is in the network. Franchising is sometimes described as a marriage – both partners have an obligation to each other for the betterment of the whole,” he says.

“The Maguires are regular visitors in our Brisbane office, always eager to pass on information or to ask for help with a business problem. Anything that they think will help others in the network is quickly shared. This is franchising at its best.”