The secrets of a successful franchise partnership

Two husband and wife Wilkins Chimney Sweep franchisees reveal how they combine to make a success of their respective businesses

When choosing a new career, couples frequently decide to work together and franchise operations, with their training and ongoing support, often make the perfect choice for husband and wife teams.

But what makes a couple choose to go into business together? What are the challenges they face and does it make for a stronger relationship? Or is it all too close to home?

Happy to join
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Mark Frost runs the Wilkins Chimney Sweep Brighton and Worthing franchise with his wife Sue. Before giving up work to have a family, Sue was, like her husband, a surveyor. Although it had been a few years since she had worked in an office, as she’d been a full-time mum to their sons, she was more than happy to join Mark in his new business.

Sue answers the telephone, takes bookings and looks after the admin while Mark is out and about in Brighton and Worthing sweeping chimneys and fitting cages, caps and cowls to homes and businesses in their territory.

“I didn’t set out to find a business we could work in together, it just happened that way,” Mark explains. “But it’s worked out rather nicely.”

Sue agrees: “The boys were getting a little bit older, so I felt happy returning to work, especially as it was home-based and could fit in so easily around our family life.”

Mark says one of the best things about working with your partner is that you know you can trust them completely: “Having Sue working with me is great because she knows enough about the business to decide whether a call that’s come in is urgent and I need to know about it straight away or if it can wait until I get home in the evening.

“Then, when I walk in the door at the end of the day, I know I’m going to get an instant update. I’ll know how many bookings we’ve taken that day and, most importantly, Sue will let me know which calls I’ve got to return that evening before clocking off for the night.

It would be hard to get that level of attention and detail from a call centre.”

How does the couple, who have been married for 18 years, find working together? Are there any negatives? Would they do it again? Would they recommend it?

Mark says: “It’s been fairly easy. Occasionally we have a slip up, but on the whole it works pretty well. It’s been good for the children certainly, as in my previous role I was out of the house at 7.30am and rarely back before 6.30pm, which is totally different now. Nowadays I can decide what time I make my first and last appointments and I always make sure I’m free for important events in their lives such as plays, sports days and matches.

“I’d like to think they’ve benefited from having their dad around a bit more, but you’d probably have to ask them about that. We’d definitely do it again and would also recommend a Wilkins Chimney Sweep franchise to anyone else looking for a business they can run together, as long as they don’t mind a bit of soot around the bath.”

Winning combination
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Mark Sullivan runs Wilkins Chimney Sweep West Sussex with his wife Justine. He retired from the police force in 2011 after a 30-year career, while Justine has had numerous jobs, including police officer, swimming teacher and working for a local housing association. They have been married for 11 years.

Like Mark and Sue in Worthing, Mark sweeps the chimneys while Justine is home-based and handles the administrative side of the business. How does this couple combine to make their business work?

“Justine has a customer services background, which has proven to be a major asset when dealing with enquiries and has drawn lots of positive comments from customers I meet,” Mark says. “I feel I am able to focus more on the task side of the business, although we do sit down together and review our business model regularly and Justine does occasionally come out in the van with me to experience life at the coal face. Spending time with me while I sweep chimneys has enabled her to deal with some of the technical enquiries with much more confidence.”

Mark explains the benefits of working with his spouse: “Naturally, we have a shared interest in making a success of our business. We also have a better understanding of the pressures we each face. We don’t spend a lot of time under each other’s feet as I am usually out on the plot and Justine has the freedom of working from home, which also allows her to be there for the kids and do the school run every day.” Sue and Mark Frost run the Wilkins Chimney Sweep Brighton and Worthing franchise

What about their personal relationship? Has being in business together improved that too? “I think so,” Justine says. “We both have independence and freedom, but without living separate lives or being under each other’s feet. We communicate regularly and any frustrations are shared.”

As a couple, are they still learning about running their own business? “Absolutely,” Justine admits. “We’ve had to master dealing with customers, managing time and route planning, cope with setbacks, business admin and accounting, the language of finance and especially the complexities of marketing - finding out what works and what doesn’t for our needs.”

For many people becoming a franchisee is a way of regaining control of their lives and giving them a better work-life balance. Has this been the case for Mark and Justine?

“It’s brought us closer together as a family and it is good for the children to have an understanding of going to work and running a business,” Mark says. “I’d like to think the children are quite proud of the novelty of telling their friends their dad is a chimney sweep.”