01752 905790
info@extra-help.co.uk
This week sees the official launch of Extra Help in another new area – Stratford & Warwick!
It gives us great pleasure to welcome a lovely mother-daughter team, Karen Henry and Sam Abel, to the Extra Help family. Based in Evesham, Karen and Sam are now providing Extra Help’s home-help and cleaning services in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, Leamington Spa, Welford-on-Avon, Bidford, Alcester, and Studley, as well as all of the areas in between.
Prior to becoming a franchise owner, Karen was a teacher for many years, working specifically with children who exhibited challenging behaviour. She then ran a large, Cotswolds-based, wedding, holiday cottage and glamping venue for five years with her daughter, Sam. Sam has a degree in Hospitality Management and, as a team, they thoroughly enjoyed working together.
Karen says: “Our skills and experience complement each other and it just works. Sam is great at logistics, planning and management, whereas I love meeting and helping people.”
However, when Karen got divorced, three years ago, she wanted to find another way of utilising her existing skills and qualifications. She trained and qualified as a psychotherapist and transformation coach, specialising in hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
At the same time, Sam also decided to change her career and, as she had always had a head for figures, she retrained as a bookkeeper.
As much as Karen enjoys being a therapist, a recent health scare meant she needed to find a contingency plan.
She says: “Whilst my dedication to my therapy practice is still filled with passion, my health scare prompted me to find a supplementary business that Sam and I could run together while I was having treatment.”
After conducting some market research amongst her existing, therapy clients, Karen could see how many people were suffering with anxiety due to being simply overwhelmed with life. She realised that much of their anxiety and stress could be alleviated by having some help with every-day tasks. Karen and Sam already knew they worked well as a team, so decided to search for a business they could run together.
As they planned to continue working within their existing jobs, they decided to look into franchising, which would provide them with the support they needed, along with a proven business model that would increase their chances of success. Karen says they had had a similar business idea in the past and, when they discovered Extra Help, could see it was a ready-made version of the idea they had conceived but never pursued. She says they were attracted by the large scope within the franchise to offer a wide range of services.
“We loved the fact that it was already established. We instantly liked Claire, Extra Help’s managing director, and her background resonated with us. We love the company’s ethos and thought it would be great to be involved with a national brand,” she says.
Since their training, Karen and Sam have been in regular contact with Denise Cooper, a fellow franchise owner who has been assigned as their mentor and helps them with any queries they may have. They have just launched Extra Help Stratford & Warwick’s Facebook page and have been developing several adverts, including an advert for a recruitment website to search for home-helpers.
Karen and Sam plan to promote their services in as many places as possible, both online and offline. They hope to advertise in doctors’ surgeries, libraries, leisure centres, and community centres, as well as in their local newspapers and on Facebook. They have also trained to be Dementia Friends, which has enabled them to learn more about the disease and understand how they can support affected clients within their community.
Extra Help Stratford & Warwick provides the entire range of Extra Help services, including (but not limited to):
- Domestic cleaning, including end of tenancy and deep cleans
- Ironing
- Companionship – spending time or providing respite for carers
- Transport to appointments and social events
- Meal preparation
- Help for parents, including babysitting, school runs etc.
- Gardening
- Shopping services
- Dog walking / pet sitting
- Small DIY and household maintenance jobs
Karen and Sam are an inspiration for anyone considering starting their own mother-daughter dream team and we wish them every success with their new franchise! To find out more about how they can help you with day-to-day tasks, visit https://www.extra-help.co.uk/local_offices/stratford-warwick/ or call 01789 330818.
If you have a passion for helping others and would also like to provide much-needed home-help and cleaning services to your local community, visit our website or call us today on 01752 905790.
