We recently chatted with Mina from Gutter-Vac Manningham about what lead him to Gutter-Vac, and his experiences so far. Meet Mina!
What you were doing prior to buying a franchise business?
When I completed my Mechanical Engineering Degree in 2009, it was during the GFC and almost every industry was downsizing let alone hiring graduates. Over the following four years, I worked in various roles across different industries including security, superannuation & recruitment. In 2013, I finally landed a position at a Global Automotive Company which fulfilled my years of study of my degree. Nonetheless, as a result of working for so many companies, I decided early on that I wanted to have my own business by the age of 30 (I was 28 when I purchased my Gutter-Vac business).
Why did you go down the franchise route, and why did you pick Gutter-Vac?
I spent years researching all sorts of business types, from big name restaurants to starting my own niche business. After talking to lots of business owners, I established that if I found the right franchise I would skip 5-10 years of learning the ropes and making costly mistakes. I also didn’t have any ground breaking inventions so selling a big idea for millions of dollars wasn’t in my roadmap. My strict criteria was that I had to find a niche business with no office/shop rent, meaning it had to be mobile & service based. Gutter-Vac fit my main criterion.
What training and support did you receive initially and ongoing?
Initial training was 7 days at Head Office in Brisbane, which was an information overload but an amazing stress relief, as after it, having never been in business, I was confident in exactly what I needed to do. The ongoing support has never stopped after training and I haven’t ever felt alone in business.
What is a typical day for you as a Gutter-Vac franchisee?
I have two typical days; a day on the tools and a day doing marketing.
A day on the tools;
My typical day is on the road by 8am, with my first stop at a petrol station for a latte caffeine hit, accompanied by a muffin/donut (not a healthy breakfast). We then arrive to at a customer’s home, and have a small chat and then they’re usually heading off to work. Once we complete the job, we send before/after photos of the work and contact the customer about anything we see on the roof that needs their attention. At around 12pm, we head to a local, small business cafe for lunch and then finish off the afternoon jobs.
A marketing day;
We will head to the local Bunnings at about 8:00am to stock up on anything we need for the trailer. From there, will head to a local small cafe to enjoy a nice coffee and breakfast while doing some work on the laptop. By mid-morning, it will be time for an appointment with a client for an on-site quote. Once complete, I will head to a busy street to have lunch so everyone sees my big red trailer during lunch time.
After a satisfying lunch, I will spend the remainder of the afternoon visiting commercial sites to introduce myself and our services.
Has becoming a Gutter-Vac franchisee changed your life, if so how?
Yes, has significantly changed my life. Having our young son, I can balance my schedule to spend more time with my family. Having my own business by working hard, I can reap the rewards.
