When circumstances forced Wendy James to re-evaluate her career, it wasn’t long before she found the perfect option. Domestic cleaning franchise Poppies had piqued her interest with strong market demand and promised the support she knew she would need to grow a rewarding business for her family’s future. To this day, the business has given back in bucketloads.
“Poppies just felt right. Everyone I knew either had, wanted or needed a cleaner, so it was clear the demand was there. I didn’t look at any other franchise models because I liked the sound of Poppies so much. It’s filled me with great satisfaction right from that first day of launching in Northwest Leeds and has also equipped me with a significant asset for when the time comes to retire.”
After graduating from the University of East Anglia with a Biological Sciences degree, Wendy moved up to Edinburgh to work at the university, researching antibiotic resistance and producing multiple papers on that subject. After various other moves around the country, she eventually settled in Leeds, where personal circumstances changed her career focus.
When Wendy received a pay-out of insurance money following an illness, instead of going on a spending spree, she thought it would be sensible to invest in something with long-term benefits for her young family.
“As a single parent, I’d never had access to such a life-changing sum of money before. It wasn’t enough for us to live off comfortably for years so I had to look at investing it in something that could make a difference on an ongoing basis. That’s when I found Poppies, and I thought ‘This is it!’. Quite quickly, I made my mind up.”
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.
Although Wendy was fairly confident about investing in the franchise, she still consulted existing Poppies franchisees to find out more about the opportunity. She met with Nigel Bayliss, who owns the Sheffield territory, to hear more about the business she was so keen to launch.
“I wasn’t quite sure what franchising was, nor did I have any experience within the cleaning industry, but after a lengthy conversation with Nigel, I knew that Poppies would give me the best chance of success. It would provide me with the career satisfaction, flexibility and work-life balance that I needed – not to mention a substantial asset in the future.
“I was instantly put at ease after hearing about the benefits of being part of a franchise network. As I didn’t have experience of running a business, I felt confident that I would never have to deal with situations on my own – no matter how big or small the question was, there would always be someone at the end of the phone with a solution. This was the icing on the cake for me.”
When Wendy was ready to launch her Poppies business In September 2003, she spent some time with Nigel, shadowing him as he ran his franchise. She then completed an initial training week at the Ormskirk office, owned and run by franchisee-turned-franchisor Chris Wootton.
“It’s normal to think to yourself ‘What have I done?’ when there’s so much to learn. But it’s equally as exciting to get out there, launch your business and start delivering the service. Whereas today, we can run much of our sales and marketing online, back then it was all about leafleting and getting out into the local community to speak with people.
“I had three members of staff quite early on who taught me a lot about the cleaning side of the business. Their input was instrumental in getting the business established – they were as much the face of Poppies as I was. The first-ever enquiry was a call from an estate agent, who asked if we could complete a job immediately. They were the first client I signed, and it gave me a huge confidence boost as I realised that I was capable of being a business owner.”
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 £5 million, the Poppies franchise offers an exciting opportunity for prospective business owners to capitalise on an industry worth £4.7 billion.
Almost two decades later, Wendy has built a profitable business. With her team of 33 cleaners, Poppies Leeds Northwest provides over 1,700 cleaning hours every four weeks to 200 clients in the area. As the business comfortably generates a healthy profit, she’s able to think about what impact this has on her future.
“It’s provided me with the chance to consider my exit strategy. From the very start, I wanted to invest my money to build a business that would benefit my family long term, and I’ve achieved exactly that. I’ve got a great team who I know will do well in the future, whether I’m at the helm or they have a new boss.
“My Poppies business gives me the freedom to enjoy the rewards. I now have free time to do the things I love – exploring historic spots across the UK with my husband Richard, continuing with my love for crafts – furniture restoration, woodwork and painting – and devoting precious time to my three-year-old grandson, Reuben. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
