Oven Cleaning Franchise vs Own Business. What to choose?

Ovens and hobs are present in nearly all UK kitchens and since they get used so frequently, they require thorough cleaning quite often. However, doing so is a laborious and time-consuming process and fewer people these days engage in cleaning their ovens, instead preferring to outsource the work to professionals. A lucrative business indeed, if oven cleaning has caught your attention, you may be wondering whether you should pursue an oven cleaning franchise vs your own business? 

Right from the start, we think it’s important to mention that according to some studies, franchises have a success rate of around 90% whereas businesses that are started from the ground up have a success rate of around 15%. What’s even more important is that over the last 12 months, around 92% of UK franchisees reported profitability. It certainly makes the case for purchasing a franchise, but let’s dive a bit deeper into the topic. 

Buying a franchise vs starting your own business

There are pros and cons of both business types, but we’ve broken up the main areas that you need to consider either way into the following discussions:

• Brand awareness: when you opt for an oven cleaning business that you’ve started yourself from the ground up, you need to know that you won’t be a known name in your area for quite some time until your reputation starts to spread as a quality service provider. On the other hand, with an oven clean franchise, you will be able to take full advantage of a well-known and established brand. Why is this important? Because customers who know the brand and return to it mean more revenue and profitability and this is not going to be the case during the early days of a business you’ve started from scratch as developing a reputation takes years.

• Marketing and advertising: marketing and advertising are a crucial piece of the puzzle for many businesses, but if you don’t have experience with this area of business development, you may have to hire an external specialist to help you with your efforts, which means additional profits which are dedicated to your marketing efforts. With an oven cleaning franchise, you can rely on the franchisor for all your marketing and advertising needs, while they make sure there is consistency in the brand message conveyed to the wider audience, giving you time to focus on the more important areas of your business.

• Fees and financing: every business incurs fees, whether for employees, vehicles, insurance, marketing, materials and more. These are some of the costs that you need to consider when creating your business plan to present to a bank or financial services provider to help you get your business off the ground (unless of course, you’ve got a stack of money hidden in your mattress). With a franchise, there’s the one-off franchise fee and ongoing royalty payments which you only pay per job done. This means that you can rest assured of the safety of the profitable and solid business model that a franchise offers.  

• Materials: when it comes to materials, you will need to purchase them on your own and some cleaning equipment may not be ideal for certain ovens and hobs, meaning you may get customer complaints. On the flip side of the coin, an oven cleaning franchise opportunity will ensure that you’re well prepared for every job by giving you access and discounts to the right materials for each job. This is not only a great way to make some savings, but will also ensure that you provide a strong customer service.

• Client base and bookings: going back to what was said above about brand identity and marketing and advertising, it’s important to note that these play a major role in securing your client base and getting more bookings. If nobody has heard of you before, the chances of getting bookings are quite slim. Meanwhile, with an oven cleaning franchise, you can rely on an existing customer base that’s managed with a strong customer relationship management system that you can access from an app, thereby making your life that much easier and less complicated. 

• Territory: sure, when you start your own oven cleaning business from scratch, you’ll certainly be able to pick and choose any territory that you would like to operate in without any limits. However, that does not guarantee you success, whereas with an oven cleaning franchise, although you may be limited to one location for a short period of time, your business growth can help you secure more territories further down the road which means your business can expand and you can grow in scope and size at your own pace, without feeling forced into expansion.

• Support and training: and last but not least, a franchise cleaning business gives you access to an entire network of like-minded individuals who can offer you advice, help and support whenever you may need this. In contrast, an oven cleaning business that you start from scratch will require you, the owner, to put in all the leg work, handle all customer bookings (and complaints), seek financing, do your marketing and everything else all on your own without a support network or even training to ensure that you’re providing high quality standards according to industry expectations.

Wrapping up

It may have become clear now that if you want to start an oven cleaning business, franchising is probably the best route for you. It offers way more advantages than disadvantages over starting a business from scratch and all the support you get throughout the entire process means that you can feel assured, confident and ready to pursue this opportunity.

If you’re ready to talk to one of the best in the industry and get your oven cleaning franchise business started seamlessly, you’ve come to the right place. All you have to do is get in touch with us at Fantastic Franchises and we’ll be sure to help you every step of the way!

• Last update: March 30, 2022

Posted in Advice Hub