VIP Home Services - Positive Moves

As a qualified chef with many years of experience, Wendy Roos wasn't considering a new career. However, being bowled off the road by a drunk driver changed all that. She spent the next two years enduring operations and has a ‘rather inflexible' ankle but the Kiwi-born and bred Wendy has a gutsy outlook on life. ‘If you let things hold you back then they will, so I just get on with life.'

Once her treatment was complete Wendy planned to go back to being a chef again, ‘which can be quite stressful,' she admits. ‘Then my son and daughter-in-law, who had bought a VIP cleaning franchise in Hamilton, had to return to Europe for family reasons. This left an "empty" franchise. ‘I hummed and hahhed over it for a while,' says Wendy, ‘then I thought "why not?" so I bought it myself. I must admit I didn't have great expectations when I started; I needed to do something and I thought it would be an interest, but it has turned out to be really quite valuable.'

In the beginning, the franchise was about as small as it's possible to get. Wendy had one old van and a part-time cleaner, but what she did have was determination. Three years later, she has built up a substantial business with two staff and an over-full client base. According to Warrick Santy, the master franchisee for VIP in the Waikato, ‘Wendy has done so well she has generated more work than she can handle and has been able to sell off quite a lot of clients to new franchisees, which has provided her with another source of revenue.'

Wendy believes that the quoting process is the foundation of her business. ‘In some other franchises the quoting isn't done by the franchisees themselves so you're not in control of your own income. But in VIP we do it ourselves. I certainly don't under-quote, but I have converted 80-90% of my quotations and we keep the business because we have allowed for enough time to do a quality job.' These days, Wendy is so well-versed in the VIP system that she helps Warrick train new franchisees within the area.

Flexibility & Support 

According to Estelle Logan who, with her husband John, is national franchisee for VIP in New Zealand, Wendy is an excellent example of how a committed owner can build a small business into a big one. ‘With VIP we will guarantee your income while you get started then we'll support you to grow. The system is highly flexible - some franchisees employ staff, while others work hours around family or social arrangements. With VIP, it's up to you, and wherever you are you will be supported locally by a regional master franchisee.' The company offers two types of franchise: Indoors, which includes home and commercial cleaning, window cleaning and other services, and Outdoors, which covers lawnmowing, gardening and services such as property maintenance. The investment required for each ranges between $13,000 and $17,000 +gst and equipment, depending on the level of income you require.

Making A Contribution

One franchisee taking advantage of VIP's flexibility is Pete Richardson, whose Auckland-based business includes not just lawnmowing but landscaping, planting and maintenance work for commercial organisations as well. With a background in customer service, about six years ago Pete decided, ‘Iwanted to work to live, not the other way round. I was very much in need of a change and my family had an enterprising, self-employed streak. My wife said if I could get the finance she'd support me so I took the plunge!'

At first, Pete toyed with the idea of going out on his own, but a meeting with VIP convinced him otherwise. ‘I was very impressed with the openness of VIP, and that made me feel very comfortable. If you are on your own, you are vulnerable but with a franchise that has been around successfully for 37 years like VIP, you get a lot of strength and experience. With that comes a responsibility to live up to the brand and take pride in your work. The training is excellent and the support is there to help ensure that you really achieve what you set out to do.'

Pete has certainly found VIP has more than met his expectations, both financially and in terms of lifestyle. ‘My wife and I now have the flexibility to arrange our lives to accommodate our children and their activities,' he says. ‘My wife heads off to her job earlier than I do, so I do the school run and can then be at my first customer by around 8.45am. That works well for the whole family.'

And Pete's five-day week gives him plenty of time to indulge his passion for ten-pin bowling - a sport with which he has travelled overseas many times and now assists as tournament manager for the national team.

As Estelle Logan says, ‘Life should be about more than work. Pete has his passion and is contributing to others' enjoyment of it, just as I sat on my children's school board for years. VIP gives people the opportunity to achieve on all sorts of levels. If you're an achiever - or you want to be - come and talk to us.'

This advertorial is taken from Franchise New Zealand magazine Volume 17 Issue 1

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