A family-run Northamptonshire-based domestic cleaning business is celebrating a milestone moment for the company as their “flagship” territory, in their hometown, has been acquired by a new franchisee.
Time For You Cleaning, which has over 150 franchisees across the UK, began in the town with one small territory, run by the co-founder, Freddie Rayner, in 2001.
It was then successfully developed as a pilot for the growing franchise and has continued to grow as a business in its own right. Now, the Northampton franchise will be taken forward by a new owner, with Mia Garrod taking the helm.
Speaking about her new business, Mia said: “As a friend I’ve been pretty close to the family for many years, in fact I’ve known Sam’s (current MD Sam Stawarz) wife Emma since I was 3 and my husband James has been friends with Sam for years too.
“James runs his own firm and we’ve often discussed business opportunities and naturally, one of which has been looking at franchises with Time For You because Emma has run hers for 13 years with great success.
“However, until now, the timing hasn’t been right because I’ve been focused on bringing up the kids and even with the work/life balance which is great in this business, the location hasn’t quite been right in terms of available franchises.
“My youngest is now 7 though so the time was right and then the ‘home’ franchise became available which was pretty incredible really and I just had to take the opportunity.”
Curiously, Time For You franchisees like Emma don’t actually do any cleaning, instead, they access a business model that attracts the cleaners, whilst they focus on running a profitable franchise.
Meanwhile, the Team at Time For You’s Northamptonshire franchise headquarters help to drive demand from the local customer base via marketing and administrative support.
It was set up by husband and wife team Freddie and Ruth Rayner in 2001 and has grown sustainably ever since, with global expansion now on the cards since son Sam Stawarz took over as Managing Director in the summer of 2022.
Speaking about Mia taking over the franchise, Sam comments: “I’m delighted for Mia. To be honest, the Northampton franchise is the big one for us as a family business because this is where it all started. I was speaking to Freddie about it when the franchise was looking like it might become available for a new owner last year and it is a really personal thing for him and for all of us.
“We know that it is in safe hands with Mia and we will be right behind her, just as we are with our 150+ franchisees across the UK. Of course, Mia has known our business model, from the outside at least, for many years, so we’re confident that she will have a flying start to her business in the new year.”
As for Mia, her focus is now on balancing marketing her cleaning services with attracting and recruiting hard-working cleaners to look after her clientele.
“There is plenty of work out there for cleaners who are professional and reliable because now more than ever, people value their time very highly. That’s what we’re actually giving our clients, time. Time to do whatever they want to do that isn’t cleaning!
“There are great earning opportunities for our cleaners too. They can work as little or as much as they want with us and we will sort out all of the logistics and paperwork. So if anyone is looking for a new career in the new year or just to supplement their current earnings, they know where I am.”
