Finding the perfect life balance – Interview with Felicity Avitabile – James Home Services – Melbourne

Recently, Eden Exchange spoke with Felicity Avitabile, a Regional Franchisor for James’ Home Services in Melbourne  Felicity shared her experiences as a successful Franchisor at James’ Home Service. She provided her unique insights on the business, the lifestyle benefits of the franchise and the growing market for home services in Australia.

Eden Exchange
Thanks for speaking to us Felicity. First off, tell us a little bit about your journey the led to you becoming regional franchisors for James Home Services?

Felicity Avitabile
Blair, my partner and I were looking for more flexibility and to improve our work/life balance and our lifestyle. Blair was working long hours and often on weekends and evenings. With a baby on the way we were keen to find something that allowed us to fit our work around the family, not the other way around.

Eden Exchange
How is it working as partners in life and partners in business. How important is it for new franchisees to have full spousal support?

Felicity Avitabile
We love it! We thought James’ was the perfect fit for us as we have complimentary skills which is a great foundation for success. Blair is great at building teams, he’s a leader, motivator and strategic thinker, whilst I have a strong marketing background with many years experience.

The decision to start your own business is one of life’s biggest, so it’s really important to have your trusted other as support. You will find that a strong supportive environment will help with decisions and ideas, so you will enjoy the journey together as new franchisees and business owners.

Eden Exchange
So who plays good cop and who plays bad cop?

Felicity Avitabile
Blair is the good cop, he always has been. Whilst I’m not ‘bad’, Blair is just one of those one in a million people, he shines brightly and genuinely goes above and beyond for all of his franchisees. Blair would never admit that himself but the franchisees can definitely vouch for him.

Eden Exchange
Your business has been booming of late, there is a demand for cleaning services from everyday, middle class Aussies, what do you put it down to?

Felicity Avitabile
People these days are just plain busy. Most families are dual income, which means both mum and dad are working, and between ballet classes and footy training there is hardly any time left to spend with the family, let alone have some well-deserved R&R. That is before you add house cleaning and upkeep to the mix. So it makes sense that more and more people outsource this work to us so that it’s one less thing they need to worry about.

Our clients tell us over and over again just how fantastic it is to come home after a hard day at work to a nice clean house.

Eden Exchange
We talk to a lot of prospect franchisees looking to do their own thing because of the change of lifestyle it brings, as opposed to working for a boss. How has working as Franchisors changed your lives and do you see examples in your territories of franchisees where there has been a similar transformation?

Felicity Avitabile
Joining James really has been a life changing decision for us and our family. Fathers often miss out on so many milestones in the lives of their children due to work commitments. However, thanks to the flexibility of a James franchise model, Blair has been able to spend more time with his children and that is really important. It has also meant that we have the flexibility to prioritise other important things in life alongside keeping up our responsibilities as franchisors. Blair and I dictate when we work and not a corporation or boss we barely know. For example, if it is a nice day we can take that walk along the beach and enjoy the sunshine, we just make sure that the hours are made up that night.

Whilst our franchisees all have individual motivations for becoming their own boss, we can definitely say that they are certainly achieving the goals they set out to achieve. They are a motivated and passionate team who just love what they do….one of our franchisees is an animal lover who’s finally working with animals as a dog groomer. Another franchisee is a father who wanted more family time. His life allows for this now. As a bonus, his business has grown so quickly he’s now able to employ his own son to work with him. We also have a mature aged couple who for the last eighteen years have worked fourteen hour days, six days a week, running their own restaurant. Since joining James, for the first time in nearly two decades they can truly say they are finally happy.

We have so many stories of how joining James’ has transformed the lives of our franchisees and we get to see it every day which makes our work FANTASTIC!

Eden Exchange
Now starting out as a new franchisee with a new company is always a memorable moment. And some franchisees start out feeling a little overwhelmed. Can you tell us what you remember about your first day, and what you took with you from that day? Was there anything of particular note?

Felicity Avitabile
We were so excited to be stepping outside of the nine dots. It was the beginning of a new chapter and the best part was that we were doing it together. Blair and I were so confident in our decision to join James, there really was very little nerves especially because the team training us were so great.  The below image captures our philosophy pretty nicely….

It’s also important for people looking to get into business to remember that any big life-changing decision can be a bit overwhelming, that is normal. The bonus with James is that you will always have someone to guide you through the process, step by step, from the very beginning. It is one of the most reassuring aspects of joining James. A franchisee receives one-on-one support from a business coach throughout the life of their James franchise. That is a unique offering for a franchise system anywhere in the world.

Eden Exchange
What type of support does James’ Home Services provide once a franchisee purchases
the franchise?

Felicity Avitabile
Our franchisees tell us that James really did take away all of the ‘unknowns’ associated with starting a new business.

The support starts from the very beginning. We work with you to guide you through the startup process, including dealing with banks to setting up your ABN and everything in between. We also continue to work with you one-on-one as you grow your business. This includes your initial training through to ongoing business coaching, support and local area marketing.

The franchise network across Australia is approaching 200 now and there is so much knowledge and support from fellow franchisees who are always more than happy to put their hand up and help out. At James we often say that you are in business for yourself but not by yourself – a philosophy the team have worked to for the last 24 years.

Eden Exchange
What’s the most interesting part of your job? What drives you to do what you do?

Felicity Avitabile
Seeing our franchisees achieve their goals in life and in business… by a long shot. It’s so fantastic to see good people loving what they do and achieving what they set out to achieve, whatever that may be.

Eden Exchange
In your opinion, who would suit running a James Home Services cleaning franchise?

Felicity Avitabile
Our franchisees come from all walks of life, however the one common denominator between all of them is a passion to build a successful business.  That is the main ingredient we ask for of a prospective franchise,  it’s simply passion. We’ll teach them everything else to get started and provide ongoing business coaching support but they need to provide the passion and dedication to work alongside us to grow a successful business.

Eden Exchange
We understand that you own several franchises that are currently up for sale. Can you tell us about your different franchises and what is unique about them?

Felicity Avitabile
We have lots of opportunities available for people who are looking to own a business.
From interior home and office cleaning to pet grooming to mobile car cleaning, there really is a business that will suit everyone.

Eden Exchange
Taking a look back at your own pathway, is there any advice or are there any tips you can give about starting out with James? Are there any misconceptions about franchising that should be cleared up or explained in more detail?

Felicity Avitabile
Firstly, it is as simple as just following the James system. It is there for a reason, it really does work and has been successful for hundreds of people across the country. Secondly, you just need to ask for help and advice whenever you need to. At James’ Home Services, you are surrounded by people who want to help and see you be successful, so if ever in doubt don’t forget to ask.

Misconceptions about franchising…. well initially I suppose the main thing is that some people are wary of the fees that are associated with owning a franchise. The fees are necessary as they pay for the many benefits that come with joining a James franchise business. These include professional training, on-going businesses coaching and support, access to business systems and processes that have been proven time and time again. Importantly you also get the benefits of a national recognised brand name.

These are the reasons why the success rate of a franchise start up as opposed to a stand alone business start up is significantly higher.

Eden Exchange
Thank you for your time Felicity

 

 

About James’ Home Services

James’ Home Services gives you the chance to create your own successful franchise business even if you have no experience or prior training. As a James Home Services Franchisee, you will have a hands on, practical service role, dealing directly with clients, and building up your cash flow with repeat business from satisfied customers. Our systems and research have proven that rather than attempt to provide all services, you will be faster, busier, and better at your job by focusing on just one. That’s why we will teach you how to become a professional specialist in one of the service areas listed below. Click here for more information.