To learn more about the Maid To Sparkle Franchising Opportunity please click here
 1. How did Maid to Sparkle start?
Maid To Sparkle started from scratch in April 1998. I was just laid off from my job when I made the decision to start my own business. I was scared but excited! I borrowed the funds to start up my venture from friends and relatives who gave me much support and encouragement.
2 What inspired you to start this business?
I was inspired to start my own business from my mother, who always said I had an entrepreneurial spirit. I have always wanted to operate my own business, but did not know the first thing about obtaining a license, advertising, or dealing with customers. With enough encouragement from my mother, I was able to take the risk to begin my venture. I could have easily gone back to the corporate world, but I thought the time was right. I learned many ways from the corporate world and thought I could do a better job especially with customer service.
3 How has Maid to Sparkle evolved from where it started?
Maid To Sparkle has evolved from a one man operation who did not know much about business into a ten person operation with two corporate locations cleaning over 150 regular customers, 4 franchise operations, and the skills to help others succeed in their dream of operating their own business. There is something rewarding about beginning your business, even with some apprehension, and succeeding to a point where you do not have to depend on others to determine your future. You determine your future based on your skills, motivation, and guidance from others.
4 Do you believe that Maid to Sparkle is an ideal franchise for women?
 Maid To Sparkle is an ideal business for women for many reasons including:
a) Women have the ability to communicate more effectively than men which becomes important when dealing with the homeowner going over important issues concerning pricing, cleaning techniques, scheduling, etc.
b) Women have a better temperament to deal with stressful situations which may arise in dealing with customer issues.
c) Women learn faster and are able to master techniques quicker which is important when learning our method of doing business. This will give women an edge over the competition because of customer service techniques.
d) Women are better listeners and are willing to implement ideas from others. This is vital to empower employees to give 100% and feel that their suggestions are important to the growth of the company.
e) Women are able to start and finish a task which is necessary when growing a business. One must be able to commit to a project and persevere when expanding a business, such as becoming a Master Franchisor or adding on a commercial cleaning division.
5 What in your opinion is the most gratifying thing about running a Maid to Sparkle Franchise?
The most gratifying thing about operating a Maid To Sparkle franchise is the knowledge that you have the power to determine your own future. You are able to make decisions on advertising, hiring, procedure changes, and deciding how large you want your business to become. It is all up to you. There is nothing more gratifying than knowing you built your own business from the ground up.
6 What sort of support do you offer your franchisees?
Our franchise support is as follows:
Timely Acknowledgment. Maid To Sparkle provides recognition for owners at annual events or through monthly performance rankings. We provide immediate credit to specific franchise owners' accomplishments. These accomplishments could range from a new, successful marketing campaign to a well-received presentation at an important conference. This way could not only celebrate a specific achievement, but also provide a venue for promptly sharing good ideas and foster connectedness within the franchise.
Top Billing. We feel that each owner is a unique creation, part of a grand montage, each of whom should be framed and appreciated. Maid To Sparkle not only celebrates individual partners, but also honors special groups within the organization that might include the first group of franchise partners. We will use our Web site to post photographs that feature owners individually and in groups. Our public Web site will provide a photograph of each owner in the "Find a Location" section,. Further, we are considering an intranet that features a welcome screen in which individual owners are shown and profiled on a rotating basis.
Culture. Maid To Sparkle's organizational culture is simply the personality of a franchise's business. It is reflected in our customer service image, services and values. To Maid To Sparkle, culture is about how a franchise's members act and interact. It is all about customer service within our organization and outside our organization Rules and structure serve the system, but should not smother it. Maid To Sparkle values each owner as a person, as well as an entrepreneur. Harmony is important. The right culture can create an environment that supports each individual within our system.
Camaraderie. Establishing good relations with system franchisees certainly helps to honor each individual. Maid To Sparkle's goal is to have an excellent rapport with its owners. Unlike other franchises, Maid To Sparkle's franchise support will function with technology tools, making use of an intranet to empower individuals. An intranet is a portal to the world of owners in the community. To us, an intranet will be set up in which owners can readily access a directory of all staff and owners, send and retrieve alerts and messages, use a calendar; access curriculum and the library of tools; download literature and marketing materials, as well as post questions and answers in the forums. The users can participate in e-polls, read news stories and discover profiles of fellow owners. Franchising is sometimes a solitary business, especially those that are home-based. Keeping everyone connected is a daunting challenge, but it's worth the effort to maintain team spirit and work toward common goals.
Franchise Advisory Council. We invite our new franchisees to become part of our Franchise Advisory Council in which new ideas are explored, new techniques are discussed, and for an informal way to discuss the future of Maid To Sparkle. This is an excellent way for our franchisees to feel that they are part of our growth and expansion.
7 Tell us one of your successful franchisee stories.
One of the most remarkable stories has to do with pricing. About one year ago, one of our franchisees needed to raise his prices on his customer due to the high price of gasoline. He personally visited every customer and informed them why it was necessary to raise the cost of the customers cleaning. Not one customer canceled service for our franchisee raising the price. We teach every franchisee that customer service is vital to the success of your business. We taught this franchisee that communicating, bonding, and keeping the customer updated would pay off in the long run. This same franchisee continually receives referrals because of his commitment to providing the best customer service possible.
8 What qualities do you look for in a potential franchisee?
Maid To Sparkle seeks franchisees who have good communication skills, excellent customer service skills, the ability to be patient while training new employees, and the ability to reward and motivate employees.
9 Your advice to women venturing out into business?
Take a chance. Have a belief in yourself that YOU can operate a successful business. It is a challenge to do anything new, but the rewards are endless. Have a mentor showing you the way of what to do and what not to do. My mother always said that we learn by our mistakes, not our successes.
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Maid To Sparkle is part of a non-profit organization called Cleaning For a Reason. This organization has cleaning services around the country helping women going through cancer treatment. We provide free and discounted cleaning for cancer patients while they are recuperating. It helps us give back to the community. |
To learn more about the Maid To Sparkle Franchising Opportunity please click here
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