01752 905790
info@extra-help.co.uk
It gives us great pleasure to introduce another new franchisee to our Extra Help family! Sam Bee is now the proud owner of Extra Help North West Leicestershire, launched in mid-October. Extra Help NW Leicestershire provides home-help and cleaning services in Coalville, Swadlincote and Draycott, plus the many areas in between.
Originally from Nottingham, Sam now lives in a small village called Donisthorpe, just outside Ashby de la Zouch, which is right in the middle of her territory. She is married to James and has 3 children, aged 26, 22 and 14.
Sam is another example of a franchisee who possesses highly transferrable skills she can put to good use as an Extra Help franchise owner. She built her career in Sales, most recently, working for a commercial laundry, looking after customers. Before this, she was an area manager for Avon Cosmetics, looking after over 500 reps, and has also worked as a medical secretary for the NHS in the past.
However, Sam has always had a burning desire to be a business owner as she wanted to take control of her own destiny.
“I’ve always felt I could be more productive and achieve more on my own,” she says, “I did try to set up two businesses in the past, which didn’t work out, for one reason or another. So, I decided to look into franchising, where you have access to a proven business model, plus any support and backup you need.”
Sam found Extra Help on an online franchise directory and says, although she wasn’t specifically looking for a home-help or cleaning franchise, it appealed to her due to her experiences with her parents.
She says: “My mum has advanced Alzheimer’s. When she still lived at home, they had a lady who came round to sit with my mum and keep her company with a cup of tea, so my dad could go out to the shops or do the gardening. Extra Help’s ethos, therefore, really resonated with me – it just seemed so relevant and such a good idea.”
Sam also says that, although she was interested in the idea of helping people, she was reluctant to provide personal care, due to her lack of experience in this area, and Extra Help seemed to be the ideal compromise.
Once Sam had signed up to become a franchisee, it only took a few weeks to get her up and running. She was trained via Zoom by her fellow franchisee, Denise Cooper, who is now Sam’s regular point of contact if she has any queries.
Since launching her new home-help business, Sam has been extremely busy promoting her services and her hard work is already paying off. She has advertised in several, local magazines and joined an online marketplace that connects customers with local businesses. Sam is delighted by the enthusiastic response she’s received so far.
“Although it’s only been a month or so, I’ve already gained several clients through this platform, plus I’ve also advertised on Facebook, especially local groups, which has also attracted a few clients,” she says. “One of my new clients has 19 Airbnb properties that need regular cleaning, so I’m very pleased with how it’s going so far.”
Extra Help NW Leicestershire offers the full range of home-help and cleaning services, including:
- Companionship and providing respite for carers
- Domestic cleaning, tidying, laundry and ironing
- Shopping
- Transport to the supermarket, doctors, hospital appointments, hairdressers, social events
- Meal preparation
- Household jobs
- Spring cleaning
- End of tenancy cleans
- House move cleans
- School runs and help for parents
- Gardening
- Assistance to social events
- Household maintenance
So far, Sam is thoroughly enjoying the buzz of being a business owner and says that, although some days can be hard, many more are wonderful and so rewarding. She advises potential Extra Help franchisees to be prepared to work hard, think outside of the box and be creative in their approach, with no expectations as to the type of clients they may acquire.
She says: “I was expecting to mainly attract elderly clients who needed general, home-help services but, so far, I’ve had more cleaning enquiries than anything else. However, when a client is elderly, they often need more than just cleaning and there are often opportunities to upsell your services.”
To find out more about how Sam and her team can help you with day-to-day tasks, visit https://www.extra-help.co.uk/local_offices/north-west-leicestershire/ or call 07912 602605.
Extra Help is always looking for kind and caring franchisees to join our growing family. Could you be our next franchisee? Visit our website for more information on the Extra Help franchise opportunityelH.
