You might not worry about sleeping safe in your bed, but for South Africans Colin and Serena Davids it was a major issue. ‘I was willing to go anywhere and do almost anything to ensure we could bring up our family in safety,’ says Colin. ‘In the end we made the right choice on both counts - we moved to New Zealand and bought a VIP Home Cleaning franchise.’

Both Colin and Serena were well up the executive ladder before leaving their homeland and had no difficulty finding employment here. They quickly decided, though, that they didn’t want to return to corporate life. ‘We both felt we were missing out on time with our children,’ Colin says, ‘so we began to look at alternatives and realised that if we bought a franchise we could be masters of our own destiny.’

The couple quickly decided on VIP, the 2005 winners of the Home Services Franchise System of the Year Award. ‘It was very different from what we had done before but it offered everything we wanted. John and Estelle Logan, the national franchisees for VIP in New Zealand, spent a great deal of time with us and even helped us put together our loan application.’

The Davids initially bought an established round in East Auckland that Serena could handle on her own. ‘We only had 23 clients when we started, but even that was a bit exhausting until I got used to it,’ Serena laughs. ‘I must admit I was a bit sceptical about the long-term prospects, but once it grew to the point where Colin was able to leave his job and join me we never looked back. In fact, I went to the doctor recently and when I saw the bill I realised we were doing just as well as him!

‘We do still work hard but we juggle our time. We get the boys off to school and then put in as many hours as we need - on average, around seven homes per day. We don’t usually work weekends, but we frequently do big “one-off” cleanings and those sometimes spill over, which you can plan for. The big advantage of the VIP system is that we will soon be able to employ staff so that our family time is protected as the business grows.’

‘We are very pleased with our results,’ confirms Colin. ‘I recently did a projection and found that we had achieved our first year’s goal in just seven months. The rewards have been very good and our income is already nearly up to our previous standards. Given that we have also created time for our children, we feel we have laid a really good foundation for the future.’

Time For Kids

VIP offers two franchises: lawnmowing with gardening (outdoors) and home and office cleaning (indoors). The investment required for each ranges between $11,000 and $17,000 +gst and equipment, depending on the level of income you require. ‘We supply you with customers and provide you with a guaranteed income during your induction period,’ says Estelle Logan. ‘Thereafter, we will support you to grow your business as much as you like.’

Lee Phillips is another executive who has taken advantage of the opportunity. A regional manager for a large insurance firm, Lee could foresee a career like so many of his colleagues, ‘with continual stress, early starts, late finishes and not even knowing my children - if I ever had any. Every now and again I would say that I would just go and mow lawns, but I don’t think anyone believed me,’ he smiles.

But after meeting Estelle Logan, Lee and his wife Amelia started to take the idea seriously. ‘Estelle was absolutely up front and gave us all the information we needed,’ says Lee. ‘It was obvious plenty of people were making a good living at it and we realised that we had a chance to get into something well established.’

Lee was acutely aware of how difficult it can be to get a new business off the ground. ‘I wanted to work in my own area around Rodney, but I could see it was going to take a couple of years to establish,’ he says. ‘Due to a retirement, VIP had a very good opportunity in Glenfield which guaranteed work and gave me time to build up my own area. The VIP system is so flexible and effective that I have been able to swap my original area for one much closer to home, which is just what I wanted.’

Within 18 months, Lee has created a whole new life - he is now a proud father and has a thriving business. ‘I have flexibility, too; depending on the season, I can cram all my work into three days or choose to spread it out. I’m still part of a team though - our franchisee meetings allow us to evaluate what we are all doing, and there is always sensible advice available. Overall, I am just as well off financially as if I was working for a big company but I have far more control over my own life. As Estelle says, that’s what VIP is all about so if you like the sound of it, give her a call.’

Contact details for VIP Home Services  

This advertorial was originally published in Franchise New Zealand magazine 

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