Simon Youngs - Total Clean

Date

Feb 10, 2017

Total Clean’s Development Manager, Simon Youngs, became the company’s first Franchise Partner in February 2013. After coming on board as a key figure to develop a sustainable and successful franchise model for Total Clean, Simon felt that he could provide the best possible support to Total Clean’s new franchise network by gaining first-hand experience as a Franchise Partner himself.

“Having been instrumental in shaping the franchise model and with my extensive training and development background, as well as professional business development skills, it made most sense for me to operate a territory on a pilot basis. This gives a more complete understanding of the operation of the business; allowing me to provide better guidance and training to new Franchise Partners as they come on board.”

Total Clean has operated in the commercial cleaning sector for 25 years, with a success that is based on an unrelenting commitment to service excellence and an obsessive attention to detail. It proudly boasts an enviable 95% client retention rate; in fact, among its many longstanding clients, it has the privilege of still servicing one client from the very first week of operation.

Simon is a keen family man and enjoys a variety of interests: “My two amazing children are my biggest interest – we love watching movies together and being outdoors. In my younger years I represented Peterborough at volleyball and ice hockey. I am a huge music fan as well; attending live music gigs at every opportunity.”

Before joining Total Clean Simon was a director of a training and development business and co-owned a business consultancy but when he became aware of Total Clean’s business opportunity he decided to leave all that behind to join Total Clean on this new endeavor.

“Whilst acting as a Business Consultant, I met Carlos Garcia, Total Clean’s Managing Director. He was at the point where he wished to franchise his commercial cleaning business and I was so impressed with Carlos and everything that he had achieved and still wanted to achieve, that I took the very easy decision to commit my future to the franchise project.”

Total Clean offers a Management Franchise allowing Simon to operate as the General Manager of his territory in Kensington, London. Simon will be responsible for managing and developing his territory, as well as leading the cleaning operations team that will deliver the contracted works.

Compared to similar opportunities, Total Clean offers a much-improved franchise package. Franchise Partners receive everything they require including a liveried vehicle plus all equipment required to hit the ground running and power their new business, making this a true turnkey opportunity.

Total Clean is a company dedicated to building strong long-term relationships with their customers and they have transferred this to their franchise model. Therefore, they not only created a comprehensive training programme, designed to deliver on all core modules of learning required to develop and run the franchise successfully but also provide full ongoing support through Simon and a dedicated team of staff. Simon himself also benefited from Total Clean’s support team and the considerable experience and know-how of Carlos, who, in 1995, took over the business from his parents.

“I was very impressed with Carlos’s approach to business. He places a significant emphasis on service to the end client and I know that he commits the same focus to servicing the franchise network to same high standards via comprehensive ongoing support.

“I benefited from a great deal of one-to-one mentoring with Carlos whilst developing the franchise model. Once I took responsibility for Kensington, Carlos again spent a lot of time showing me exactly how the operational side of the business works.”

“As MD of the core business at Total Clean, Carlos has posted year-on-year growth that is significantly above the national industry average for the last 5 years – doubling his turnover to £1m in 2012/13. Contract commercial cleaning is obviously a recession-proof business model with which I am excited to be involved.”

“I would advise anyone who looks for a franchise to do their research with due diligence. Don't be afraid to ask anything and always expect a thorough answer. Also, consider if you are the right character for franchising, as the ‘fit’ has to work in both directions. You should always research the marketplace that the franchise operates in and the possibility of it being a ‘fad’ market without any longevity. It is also important to carefully contemplate your resources and funding and find the right opportunity for your circumstances.”

Working from home, the low initial capital outlay for a Total Clean franchise will see you trade into an operating profit as soon as year one. By the end of year five, it is projected that you will have built a £1 million pound annual turnover business with profitability of approximately 24 percent.