Busy Bees
could you be a WORKING BEE?

Steven Prakash is a panel-beater by trade. During weekday mornings he applies his skills as a foreman in his employers’ workshop, ensuring only the highest quality work is produced, but in the afternoons, like Superman, he dons another uniform entirely. Steve and his wife Balamani own their own business as Busy Bees commercial cleaning franchisees.

‘We originally started our own business because my wife lost her job during the recession,’ Steve explains. ‘We had an immediate need to cover our mortgage but didn’t want just any old business – we were looking for something with real prospects that would allow us to get ahead in life. With a limited budget we thought quite a lot of franchises seemed expensive, but then someone recommended Busy Bees. They have kept their entry fees low and don’t charge for doing a lot of the things that my wife and I could easily handle on our own, such as tax returns.

‘But what they do include is an insistence on quality, which really attracted us – the franchise has very exacting standards. We guarantee our work and if we don’t do a perfect job every time we will put it right at our own cost. We always say that when we leave a client’s premises, we should get a good feeling from how it looks and smells.’

Good Old Fashioned Kiwi Values

Busy Bees was started in Christchurch by Wilf Lock in 1993 and built up to around 50 franchisees offering commercial and domestic cleaning, carpet and upholstery restoration, window cleaning and garden care. Two years ago, the franchise was bought by Ian and Judy Olliver. Ian has a background in corporate training, development and management, and Judy in office management. ‘We’ve always liked a challenge and could see that the Busy Bees franchise was a good local brand, with well-developed systems, which was doing very well for its clients and franchisees. We wanted to take it nationwide and in only two years, despite the recession, we have added 25 new franchisees and are looking for more, especially in Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington.

‘We believe Busy Bees has the lowest entry costs of any similar franchise,’ says Ian. ‘That allows people to get into their own business at a reasonable price. We’re a family business, so when people come to us we encourage them to have a really good look at what else is out there before making their decision. It is very important that franchisees find a place where they feel at home with people they can trust. That enables them to concentrate on doing a good job.

‘We also believe that the business has to provide a good return for everyone, so our model is a little different from many. Once a franchisee is up and running they only pay a low flat service fee, so that the more they earn, the more they keep. On top of that, Busy Bees will guarantee a certain value of work from 12 months to three years depending on their level of investment. As you can imagine, we have good people in Christchurch at the moment who have lost a lot of their work as a result of the earthquake. Even though their income guarantee term may have expired years ago, we will still replace their lost work. Busy Bees cares about its franchisees and feels a moral obligation for the success of each franchise.’

Join the Busy Bees Family

Steve and Balamani have been Busy Bees franchisees in Auckland since 2009 and are delighted with their business. ‘Busy Bees offer just as good guarantees to their franchisees as we do to our clients,’ says Steve. ‘We paid $19,000 +gst for our franchise, got full training and an equipment package and are guaranteed work worth $30,000 per year minimum. We’re making well over that by working just 16-18 hours per week with ten regular commercial customers. We work mostly afternoons and a bit at weekends, but that’s by choice – we enjoy quite a lot of flexibility over hours.’

Ian is very keen to recruit further franchisees for all Busy Bees services to fulfil the demand the company is generating. ‘Your initial investment can be as low as $13,500 and to help you get started we won’t charge any fees until you are earning at least 75% of your guaranteed income,’ he promises. What sort of people is he looking for? ‘A few more like Steven and Balamani would be ideal,’ he jokes. ‘Whenever I speak to their clients, they insist I should “never let them go!” The most important part of this business is having the right attitude, and those two are a prime example.’

But before you pick up the phone, Ian has some questions for potential franchisees. ‘Are you willing to go the extra mile, build a relationship with each of your clients and make any improvements or changes they might require? Are you prepared to follow the proven Busy Bees systems? Do you have an eye for detail and a determination to do the best possible job every time? If you are positive the answer to each of these questions is “Yes,” give us a buzz. You could soon be a Busy Bee in your own busy business.’

This advertorial is taken from Franchise New Zealand magazine Volume 20 Issue 2 

Contact details for Busy Bees

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