Over the past 5 years the cleaning franchise industry in the UK has really exploded. With more mums going back to work early and both partners leading busy lives the demand for household cleaning has increased leading to huge demand.

With so many new opportunities in the cleaning franchises industry you need to take careful steps in evaluating just which brand you are going to buy into. It is easy to be taken in by the glamour of franchise prospectus packs promising thousands of pounds income in the first year but a fool and their money are parted easily so they say and with some careful research you can avoid being that fool.

Step 1 is to identify which are of the cleaning franchise industry you would like to buy into. Would this be domestic or commercial, household cleaning or gutters, offices or outside wastelands?

Step 2 is to look through the internet at franchise directories and identify which franchises in your chosen area you are interested in. Enquire to these companies and opt to receive a prospectus for each.

Step 3 is to look through the brochures and select half a dozen you would like to learn more about. Once you have made your choices you then have some serious research and thinking to do before parting with tens of thousands of pounds.

Step 4 is to contact the 6 or so companies and begin your due diligence. Ask them for the following information.

1. A list of current franchisees and contact details.
2. Account details for the company.
3. A copy of their franchise agreement so you can show a solicitor to make sure you are not signing up for anything contractual that may bring you troubles in the future.

Create a list of questions you want to ask the franchisor and bring this to a meeting with them, they should answer all your queries and provide you with valuable information to help you make the correct choice of franchise purchase.

You should contact several franchisees and ask them how they are getting on with their cleaning franchise, did the company live up to their expectations, how it the external marketing and are they running in profit.

Armed with as much information as possible you should now be able to go through the selected franchises and feel confident with your no1 choice. Should you still not be sure then you could go to a franchise consultant and ask their advice, although beware that many get commissions from franchisors and can sometimes be bias towards a particular brand.

Another handy tip is to search the internet for bad reviews of any of the cleaning franchises you are interested, don\’t always be swayed by a bad review only but if you find review after review of unsatisfied franchisees this should start to set alarm bells ringing and perhaps that is a brand you aught to avoid.

Don\’t make the mistake that many people do and make a purchase without doing the research first, franchises are expensive to buy and you could find yourself with a large hole in your bank balance.

Author Bio: Mr Anderson is a UK franchise consultant and the author of many cleaning franchises articles.

Category: Business
Keywords: cleaning franchises