One year on – Where does the time go?

I was born in South Africa, my parents moved to the then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) when I was very young, and this is where I grew up and was educated.

I have always had a love of the outdoors and achieved a diploma in agriculture.

However fate led me back to South Africa and somehow into the steel industry where I remained for the past 35 years. When I moved back to the U.K. I sought a new challenge. Having looked at several franchises over the past year it was the Clean Cut opportunity that really interested me, not only because it gives me the opportunity to work outdoors once again but because I found it to be a very professional operation.

From being provided with top of the range equipment, excellent marketing strategies and even a dedicated call centre. I feel that I will be able to and look forward to making a very successful business in the Oxfordshire area over the next few years.

I became a Clean Cut franchisee in March 2014 and I simply hit the ground running.

Previously I was head green keeper at my local golf course. But after years of hard work and dedication I began to feel unappreciated and under – valued so I decided it was time to do something drastic and that’s when I came across the Clean Cut opportunity.

Although I was slightly nervous about running my own business I soon realised with the Clean Cut back office support network behind me I would never feel alone, and any worries I had were short lived.

Even the incoming calls are answered for me so I don’t have to down tools and race back to the van, scrabbling for a pen and paper to write the contact’s details down.

I would recommend to anyone who wants to go into business for themselves, who likes the outdoor life and being their own boss to get in touch with Clean Cut.  If you’re anything like me you won’t regret the decision.

 

I Joined Clean Cut Gardening in March 2014. Coming from a policing background and never having run a business I decided to buy the Worthing Franchise as Clean Cut offered support, guidance and a business model which eclipsed other opportunities I had a reasonably good understanding of how to run a business, but each business has its own best practices and I needed guidance in that regard.

The main reason for choosing Clean Cut was that I needed to know that I wouldn’t make any mistakes from the offset. I was coming from a reasonably well paid job in the police, and couldn’t afford to spend money in the wrong places, and not to earn the money to keep me going. Clean Cut offered what I like to call ‘a business in a box’. The consistency of the branding, the tried, tested and measured processes, the ongoing business management support and the attention to detail throughout the process was reassuring, and I knew I was going to be helped to make my business a roaring success – which it has been. In my first year I have surpassed the targets I set for myself, the business has ranked highly in local business awards and Clean Cut Worthing is fast becoming something of a local and national success story, with my implementation of Clean Cut’s methods being featured in a Guardian newspaper business article.

Throughout my first year I have had an abundance of questions for the Clean Cut team, all of which I would have struggled to have answered if I had gone it alone. Some questions related to doing the work itself, but the majority related to the running of the business. I’ve got the flexibility of being my own boss, but with the security and knowledge that I have support from people who have been there, done that and got the T-Shirt. It’s the perfect synergy of using your own determination and drive, with the guidance of people with the knowledge to help you succeed and build a business which supports your own lifestyle and generates a fantastic income for a franchisee.

After 30 years of corporate life I came to Clean Cut as I saw it as a chance to work locally, meet local people and do something for myself and preserve my families lifestyle. The work life balance it promised was a huge attraction for me. Its great too be out in my local community meeting new people and feeling like I am doing something productive. The support from Simon and the team has made the process amazingly easy and I am looking forward to growing my business with their support.

I’d spent the last 10 years working in a job which I found more and more depressing every day, working until midnight and starting at 4am just wasn’t working for me or my family anymore. The money wasn’t great either.
I was made aware of Simon Studd and clean cut gardening by a friend so thought I’d find out a little more. I was obviously sceptical about handing over a large amount of money, as anyone would be, but a few meetings down the line and a chat with the existing franchisee’s soon put my mind at ease. Being that I always wanted to be successfully self employed, and my love for gardening I signed on the dotted line. I am already well on the way to exceeding my previous wage and am sure to increase that dramatically over the next few years. I also have the quality of life I’ve missed for so many years and look forward to many more and the running and development of my own successful business.