01752 905790
info@extra-help.co.uk
This week, we’re excited to announce the launch of Extra Help Huntingdonshire and welcome its new owners, Caroline and Peter, to our Extra Help family!
Extra Help Huntingdonshire provides home help and cleaning services to PE19 (St Neots), PE26 (Ramsay), PE27 (St Ives), PE28 and PE29 (Huntingdon / Godmanchester), SG15 (Arlesey), SG16 (Henlow), SG17 (Shefford), SG18 (Biggleswade) and SG19 (Sandy).
Caroline and Peter live in Huntingdon with their two younger children, aged 11 and 9. Peter was a police officer for 30 years, until retiring from the Metropolitan Police Force in 2017. He then set up an alcohol and entertainment licensing business and also works as a commercial energy broker.
Caroline has also worked in Public Service for the past 20 years. With an impressive 50 years’ combined experience in this field, helping others and giving back to the community comes naturally to them both.
Caroline found Extra Help whilst researching business opportunities online.
“Essentially, I was looking for something that would provide me with job satisfaction and a better work/life balance. I’d like to be at home more for my children and do the school run, take them to after-school activities etc. This is a key time for them and I really want to be there for them,” she says.
However, nothing appealed to her until she spotted an advert for Extra Help.
“It stood out by a mile!” she says, “It looked different, really interesting and I loved the emphasis on helping people, as well as its core values. I kept coming back to it and thought to myself that Peter and I could definitely do this.”
Peter agreed that it seemed to be the ideal franchise opportunity. He’d always served the community and dealt with the public throughout his career, and this seemed to be a great way to help people.
He says: “We know we’ll provide an outstanding service, backed by integrity and trust, because that’s what we’ve always done. It’s a great opportunity for Caroline to get back out into the community too, which she enjoys, rather than sitting in an office.”
Upon signing up to become Extra Help franchisees, Caroline and Peter received their training, which they describe as being “really good and thorough”. Since then, they have been extremely busy setting up their new home-help and cleaning franchise and say the Extra Help head office team are providing excellent support.
The main task for Caroline and Peter is to get their name out there, as a new home-help and cleaning company in the area, and they are approaching this in a very thorough manner, leaving no stone unturned! They have advertised on social media, especially in local community groups; done a leaflet drop; contacted local GP surgeries and community groups; and put up adverts in cafes, shops and in sheltered housing.
Caroline says: “Speaking to people in person is the most effective way of promoting this business. We’ve had such a positive and enthusiastic response from cafes and shops when we go in and tell them who we are and what we do. They feel comfortable about recommending us to others once they meet us.”
Caroline and Peter are both trained Dementia Friends and will be encouraging their team to do the training too.
Extra Help Huntingdonshire provides a wide range of home-help and cleaning services including, but not limited to:
- Domestic cleaning, including Airbnb, end of tenancy, spring and deep cleans
- Laundry / ironing
- Gardening and household maintenance
- Companionship – spending time with clients and providing respite for carers
- Transport to/from appointments and social events
- Meal preparation
- Shopping services
- Help and support for busy parents, e.g. school runs and helping out after school and during holidays.
If you love helping others and would like to run your own home-help and cleaning franchise business in your local area, why not get in touch? Call us on 01752 905790 or visit our website for information about our franchise opportunity.
