Gaining confidence to build a successful business

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The thought of running her own business always filled Marnie Duval with excitement. However, she didn’t quite have the confidence to make the leap and go it alone.

After considering her existing skillset, business acumen and love for customer service, she was met with the perfect solution. When Marnie discovered Poppies’ domestic cleaning franchise in early 1994, she was filled with faith that she could make a successful business owner using the support from their proven model. Over two decades later, she has absolutely no regrets about launching Poppies Chichester.

“After spending over 20 years in my Poppies business, I’ve learnt a lot”, said Marnie. “But perhaps the main thing I’ve realised is that it’s not as scary as I originally imagined. I knew investing in a franchise would give me more security than starting a business from scratch, tapping into the extensive knowledge from the rest of their network of franchisees as well as the franchisor. I now laugh thinking about how apprehensive I was back then!”

The desire to be a business owner was not always on Marnie’s mind. In the waitressing role that Marnie regards as her favourite job, she learnt all about the importance of customer service and experience – useful skills that would prove valuable later on in life. From there, she secured a role at an international publishing company, becoming part of the credit control team and gaining a solid background in finance. Right from her very first day, Marnie was frank with her employers about wanting to have her own business and, to her surprise, her management course and MBA were funded by the company.

“Once I’d finished my course, I was ready to figure out what my next steps were. I discovered the concept of franchising and, as I looked further into what it entailed, I realised that this was exactly what I was searching for. I arranged meetings with one brand, but my husband, Steve, persuaded me to look at another just to ensure I was making the right decision. So, I spoke to Poppies.

“That meeting completely changed my mind – I was instantly attracted to Poppies. It just fit with my personal ethics, values and goals more than the other brand did. I was sold – the overall feel of Poppies was comforting and extremely familiar. I think it stemmed back to my waitressing days, working closely with customers and building relationships – Poppies operates on a similar vein and I knew that I could play to my strengths.”

Established in 1980, Poppies was the UK’s first domestic cleaning franchise. Franchisees manage a team of dedicated cleaners who visit clients’ homes and provide a range of top-quality services, from basic housekeeping and laundry to party clear-ups, spring cleans and home-move assistance.

Integral to its best-in-class offering is the Poppies culture, the franchise proudly champions the wellbeing of its cleaners and believes in treating staff with respect and care and creating a fun, enjoyable working environment. Happy, loyal staff go above and beyond for clients and truly make the Poppies brand shine.

To allow a smooth transition from her old career to her new life, Marnie started Poppies whilst continuing to work in finance. She travelled to the Sheffield office to shadow existing franchisees, alongside working closely with the franchisor to help get her business off to the best start possible. The first client to sign onto Poppies Chichester’s books was not in a conventional way.

“Before we’d even really started to market ourselves in the local community, one customer came to us and said: ‘When you get some staff, can we be your customers?’. It was amazing to have that first boost of confidence as it was exactly what I needed to set me up for the following months. What it was also a great indication of was the demand for our services in the area – I knew then that we would be meeting a need in the community.”

It wasn’t long before Marnie could hand in her notice at her job to commit to her Poppies business full time. For the first five years, Marnie wanted to focus on establishing the business in her community and building the team. She employed great cleaners, referred to as ‘Poppies’, and created the foundations for an inspiring team around her. Although she already had business knowledge, Marnie could rest assured that other franchisees were at the end of the phone should she require any help.

The entire Poppies network pride themselves on the brand’s knowledge and heritage. In fact, the first franchise was launched in 1984 and is still going strong! Today, 22 UK offices provide high-quality cleaning to over 6,000 homes on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis in line with clients’ individual needs. Generating an impressive combined turnover of more than £5million, the Poppies franchise offers an exciting opportunity for prospective business owners to capitalise on an industry worth £4.7billion.

Right from the very beginning, Marnie worked closely with her Poppies ‘twin’, Chris Wootton, as they launched their businesses on the same day. It’s a friendship she cherishes to this day, even more so now after Chris took on the role of franchisor in 2018.

“Sharing this experience with Chris was very helpful. We both had someone to sound out ideas and support each other with any issues or challenges. Having Chris by my side helped boost my confidence as he’s a very successful franchisee in his own right. Seeing him take over and lead the way as franchisor is extremely exciting – he’s the best one for the job and I’m eager to see where the brand goes from here.”  

Marnie employs 24 cleaners and services over 70 clients – all from the comfort of her living room. Even when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the UK, sending the country into lockdown, Marnie was able to retain clients that still required their cleaning services.

“The majority of our clients stayed onboard, which was amazing! We had a mutual agreement regarding how it would work, for health and safety reasons, and the staff received extra training to ensure they were adhering to the government guidelines. Not only was it great to still be operational, but I could also offer my staff some security during such a challenging time.”

Poppies Chichester has allowed Marnie to achieve her dream of running a business. A perk that she particularly enjoys is the flexibility, which gives her time to go travelling with Steve. With a passion for finding the very best culinary experience wherever they end up, it’s the benefits of business ownership with Poppies that have allowed Marnie to live the life she truly deserves.

“Looking back, it’s crazy to even think how nervous I was about doing it. Poppies completely changed my view for the better and there’s nothing that I would do differently. It offered itself to me as the perfect solution to my doubts about becoming a business owner and I’m really proud of how far I’ve come.”

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