When diving in at the deep end means you can clean up
Women are doing some surprising things in franchising.
Jennie mills, who owns the Rainbow International Derby West franchise with her mother Fay, used her commercial diving skills to offer underwater cleaning and restoration.
Jennie says: ‘A local business centre asked us to remove algae from a lake before a royal visit.
‘We removed the visible algae, but I was then also able to dive down and remove more of it underwater.
‘We are now the only franchisees in the network to offer underwater restoration, but we hope the whole franchise network can offer it in the future.’
Jennie and Fay invested in the Rainbow International franchise a year ago, and now provide disaster recovery and specialist cleaning services on behalf of insurance companies after policyholders suffer events such as fires and floods. They also offer specialist commercial, industrial and domestic cleaning.
Simon Ford, operations director at Rainbow International, says: ‘The way Jennie has introduced her diving skills to the business is something we’d never have thought of. We look forward to seeing any new services they develop.’ The Rainbow International franchise costs £55,000, plus VAT and working capital.
meanwhile, greater numbers of women are employed in franchising, says Pip Wilkins, the first female director chief executive of the British Franchise Association.
one is Tracey McCallum, who sells services that include killing hazardous viruses, bacteria, fungi and other micro- organisms, as account director of Sanondaf Glasgow, which provides specialist disinfection and decontamination.
Tracey, who started working with Sanondaf in 2015, says: ‘ my background is in media, but I could see the potential for growth and I liked the idea of cleaning up the city. We work with care homes, children’s nurseries, trampoline parks, offices, vets and a major shopping centre. We can disinfect anything except humans and uncovered food.’
Stuart White, master franchisee of Sanondaf UK, adds: ‘Workplace hygiene is not a subject many people like to think about, but it is vital to keep the workforce healthy.’
The Sanondaf franchise costs £23,000 including equipment.