From redundancy during lockdown to franchise business owner

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Former customer service and account manager Mark Mentiply is due to launch The Cat Butler Oxford in June 2022. The franchise brings premium cat sitting services to Oxford, Abingdon, Witney and other areas within Oxfordshire.

What did life look like for you before you joined The Cat Butler?

Mark: I worked for 25 years in Customer Service and Account Management, both directly with consumers or business to business. Unfortunately, as many other people experienced during the COVID lockdown, my company made me redundant.

I took some time to re-evaluate my life and came to the decision that I should put the same hard work I put into my job into creating my own business. I looked at many areas that were of interest to me, including setting up my own cat sitting business due to my absolute love of our little feline friends. This was quite daunting, but like fate, an advert for the Cat Butler franchise appeared on my Facebook feed, and the rest is history.

Why cat sitting?

Mark: It was a no brainer for me once I thought about it. Why not get paid to spend time with my feline friends? This is like heaven to me, meeting new clients (the cats) and spoiling them with strokes and head rubs. This business also gives me the freedom to run my business my way and fit in the charity work that I also do on the side.

What made you decide to become a Cat Butler franchisee?

Mark: After investigating the business and the wider sector, I was impressed with the comprehensive support given to the franchisees by Sandra and the team.

The Cat Butler has a very good reputation, and The Cat Butler founder, Sandra, impressed me with her experience, success and genuine care for the continued high standards for the brand and, by association, my business.

It was apparent that this was an organisation that cared for cats, and I loved the approach with emphasis on the welfare of the cats you are visiting. This is not always considered, and I know this from personal experience of using other cat sitters in the past, who would clean the tray, put down new food and water and not spend any time with my cats, Becky and Gerrard. My standards are very high, and The Cat Butler franchise meets these standards.

After looking through the franchise model, all of the support and pre-existing materials available, it was a no brainer to become a franchisee.

Sandra and the other franchisees were so supportive and knowledgeable that the experience was painless.

I now own my own business with the backing of an organisation that has been delivering amazing service since 2015!

Run your own cat sitting business in your local area

The Cat Butler Franchise offers an opportunity for cat lovers to be their own boss and run a local cat sitting business with support and guidance from an established and award-winning brand. Request our franchise prospectus to find out more.