South Australian business V.I.P. Home Services now has more than 750 franchisees across the country. Marketing manager Karlyn Ng gives some insights into the brand in the Franchise Business Q&A.
How long has the business been trading, and how long franchising?
Bill Vis started mowing lawns in Adelaide back in 1972 and co-founded the business alongside his wife Rose. The couple launched the franchise model in 1979, the first of its kind in Australia, so the network is coming up on 50 years of franchising. It’s still family-owned and operated today, with Bill and Rose’s three children now working in the business, too.
What are the core areas of your company’s business?
V.I.P. Home Services runs three different franchise systems: Home Cleaning, Lawns & Gardens and Commercial Cleaning, operating across Australia and New Zealand. Each one is its own business model, so franchisees can choose whichever trade suits their skills, budget and lifestyle.
What does it cost to buy a franchise?
Investment in Home Cleaning starts from $15,000, covering the licence fee, start-up kit, signage and legal fees. Lawns & Gardens costs from $12,500, which includes the licence fee, start-up kit, signage and legal fees, with a trailer purchased separately. Commercial Cleaning starts at $28,600, which includes the licence fee, start-up kit, training and an established client base to begin working from day one.
Who is a typical customer?
Our franchisees are typically people who want more control over their income and their time, often wanting to be around more for their family instead of working someone’s roster. In Commercial Cleaning specifically, we’re focused on growing our franchisee base within multicultural communities, reflecting the diversity already present in our network.
What makes your brand stand out from the competition?
Unlike many competitors, we don’t charge our franchisees a lead fee, so there’s no additional cost on top of franchisee fees for the jobs we provide to you. We’re also a family-owned and operated business ourselves, still run by the V.I.P. family and much of our franchisee base is made up of families building businesses alongside us.
Why is this a good business for a franchisee to buy into?
You get the freedom of running your own operation but with the backing of a brand that’s been refined over five decades. No lead fee, systems that already work and support built specifically around your type of business make it a much safer way into self-employment than starting from scratch. There’s also room to grow within the network itself, with pathways like becoming an area master for franchisees who want to build beyond their own business.
Which element of franchisee support is the most well-received?
In Home Services, it’s the franchise support team, giving franchisees a direct line to someone who can help solve day-to-day problems as they come up, along with area masters who mentor franchisees. In Commercial Cleaning, franchisees work with their state-based sales and operations manager instead, since that side of the business is more about winning and managing contracts than just showing up and cleaning.
How many hours a week does a franchisee typically work?
It really depends on the type of franchise. Lawns & Gardens franchisees see their workload shift with the seasons, offering different types of services throughout the year based on the weather. Home Cleaning and Commercial Cleaning franchisees set their own hours, running the business full time or part time depending on how many contracts they take on.
What drives your growth strategy?
Three things: demand, location and restraint. We open up new areas where current franchisees are already turning away leads, we go after regions that are under-served and we don’t overload one area with too many franchisees, so nobody ends up competing for the same customers or missing out on support.
What are your expansion plans for the next five years?
In Home Services, we’re rolling out an area master program that gives franchisees the chance to earn income beyond their business by recruiting and supporting other franchisees in their area. It’s a way to build a second income stream while still working in and on their own business, open to existing franchisees as well as new ones coming into the network. In Commercial Cleaning, we want to keep building our reach into multicultural communities, reflecting the diversity already present in the V.I.P. network.
What is one exciting innovation you have planned?
We’ve just launched a business-in-a-box app for Home Services franchisees that handles quoting, scheduling and invoicing all in one place, cutting down the admin that used to eat into their week. A similar app is coming soon for Commercial Cleaning too, built around faster invoicing, scheduling and job tracking for that side of the business.