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.

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1. Safety

While it can seem like a good idea to climb up on the roof and clean your gutters yourself, it isn’t. On average, each year three Victorians are killed after falling off a ladder, and most of these people have fallen while doing odd jobs at home (The Age, 2016). Even at a low height, a fall can have devastating repercussions. Gutter-Vac franchisees are trained in working at heights and wear safety equipment.

2. Saves Time

At Gutter-Vac, we clean gutters effectively and efficiently using our specialised wet/dry vacuum system. It takes several hours to clean gutters by hand, but with Gutter-Vac, you can sit back, relax and reclaim your weekend.

3. Roof and Gutter Inspection

While we are on your roof, we carry out a complimentary roof and gutter inspection. As professionals, we are trained to identify any problems that could later cause problems. These issues could be easily missed by the untrained eye. With a professional gutter cleaner, you get the peace of mind that your gutters have been properly maintained and inspected.

4. Convenience

Hiring Gutter-Vac to clean your gutters is as simple as picking up the phone and getting a free quote. Gutter-Vac can do the rest. And while we are there, we can also clean your roof, solar panels, ceiling cavities, chimneys, downpipes and water tanks, eliminating all the stress and fuss.

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Meet Lyn and Llew, from Gutter-Vac Townsville. They only joined Gutter-Vac this year, but have certainly made a splash cleaning gutters in and around Townville, getting great reviews and making a name for themselves as gutter cleaning specialists.

 

Where does Gutter-Vac Townsville service? 

We service from Home Hill, which is 92km south of here, up to Cardwell which is 128km north and out west past Charters Towers, as far as people need us to go.

What services do Gutter-Vac Townsville provide? 

We do gutter cleans, solar panel cleans, bird proofing and tank cleans, (we’ve even done a pool clean). We do ceiling cavity cleans to remove dust, dirt and cobwebs as well as insulation and will also reinstall insulation. We are currently looking into doing roof washing and full house washing by a soft wash technique.

What are the benefits of having your gutters regularly cleaned?

Up here it important to keep gutters clear, to minimise water sitting around, to prevent breeding areas for disease carrying mosquitoes as well as to prevent all the other problems such as water damage caused by blocked gutters and rusting issues.

How long have you been a Gutter-Vac franchisee for?

We have only been in the business since the end of February this year when we took over the franchise.

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Keep up with Gutter-Vac on Instagram by following us at @gutter_vac.

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Why do we take before & after photos?

Many (if not all) of our customers can not get onto the roof after we have completed to inspect the quality of the clean we have achieved.  Because of this, we take before and after photos so that you can see just what was in your gutters and to show that we have cleaned them for you.

Our customers LOVE this service because it gives them peace of mind to know that we have completed the job to a high standard.

We can now also take photos or video for quotes so that you can see just what the scope of work will be.  In many cases, we can do this inspection from the ground with our new equipment.

Give us a call today on 1300 654 253 to ask us more!

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Over time, your gutters will collect all sorts of debris in them.  It is not just leaves that will clog your gutters, but also dust, dirt, seeds (which often lead to all sorts of gutter growth!) and even items such as bolts, nails or even a tennis ball!

If your gutters become blocked, then when rain occurs (even light rain), your gutters are unable to do their primary job – move that water AWAY from your building.

When a gutter is blocked, the water will simply flow over the edge of the gutter and into your property causing often expensive water damage to your property.

The other challenge is that plant matter in your gutters break down over time and form this sludge type of mud in the bottom of your gutters.  Now firstly, this because a nutritious soil for seeds to grow in which causes all sort of things to begin growing in your gutters.  We have seen this happen time and time again to points where there are 2 metre high plants or plants with root systems that run along inside a gutter for meters. The weight and speed of growth can cause irreparable damage your gutters – it is expensive to replace gutters.

This sludge also is full of nutrition for all those pests and vermin that so conveniently like to live in your roof cavity.  It is like an all your can eat buffet right next door for them is your gutters are full of this lovely nutritious sludge for them.

Finally, this sludge sitting on the bottom of your gutters can also start to, or completely, rust your gutters, creating holes through out your guttering system and I don’t think I need to tell you that if there are holes in your gutters, then the gutters can not carry water away from your property.

So although the leaves and balls and other items can seem the problem for your gutters, this sludge sitting at the bottom under all of these items is the real danger to your gutters and their effectiveness at taking water away from your property.  It is basically impossible to clean this sludge by hand which is why our customers turn to us, because with our wet/dry vacuum gutter cleaning system, we can make short work of that gutter sludge!

Give us a call on 1300 654 253 today to organise your local Gutter-Vac franchisee to give you a quote for your property.

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With finance a challenge for many small business operators, including franchises, Gutter-Vac recently submitted itself to a rigorous examination and report of its operations by leading independent research and reporting firm, FRANdata.

This report not only provided a detailed overview and description of the Gutter-Vac operation but also assigned an underwriting score to help lenders determine a franchise brand’s lending risk profile in the context of the global franchise community. Our founder Warren Ballantyne remarked, “We are delighted to have had our lending status recognised as “high performing’, the top category available”.

These reports are available to the lending community and approved lenders can request a copy of the report through the attached link. Please note these reports contain a high level of sensitive information so are not available to the general public.

FRANdata provided the following comment on completion of the report.

“We are pleased to confirm that a detailed Bank Credit and Underwriting Report is now available on Gutter-Vac to approved lenders. The report reviews and scores thirteen categories of significant importance to financiers.  On this basis, Gutter-Vac has been ranked as a “High Performing” franchise brand which should not only strongly enhance their credibility in the eyes of franchise lenders but also provide a clear point of differentiation in their category ”.     

Darryn McAuliffe CEO FRANdata, May 2017.

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Have peace of mind!

Whilst we are on your roof, we carry out a complimentary roof and gutter inspection. We can make note of any issues such as rusting gutters, cracked tiles, problems on solar panels or any issues that might harm the integrity of your roof and gutters.

Property Managers LOVE this service!

Why?  Because they can send this report to the owners of the property to see any maintenance that may need to be carried out BEFORE a problem occurs AND it gives the property manager one more value add to their clients!

Give us a call today on 1300 654 253 to ask us more!

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Earlier this month, we held our annual conference at the Pullman King George Hotel here in Brisbane. It was a wonderful weekend and a great time was had by all.

Once again, this year we had a huge number of franchisees attend the conference from all over Australia, with some travelling from as far as Perth.

It was a weekend full of many laughs, and lots of learning and sharing. This year it was apparent yet again, that our franchisees simply love catching up with each other and sharing their tips and tricks. Conference is a great time for them to connect, share ideas and talk about all things Gutter-Vac.

We kicked off the conference on Thursday night with a meet and greet, where everyone got the chance to relax, chat and meet the new faces in the crowd. It was a great night, overlooking a beautiful view of the city.

When Friday morning rolled around, everyone was definitely ready for more. We dived straight into presentations on customer service, pressure cleaning and blogging, before spending the afternoon playing a team building game and listening to some wonderful panel sessions on corporate business and contract compliance. There was definitely a lot of discussion, and a lot of brilliant ideas were bounced around.

Our team building game this year involved blindfolds, multiple teams and building blocks, and I can assure you, there were a lot of laughs as everyone crawled around on the ground trying to get their bearings. While it was very entertaining, it was also very educational as everybody learnt to work as a team and discovered new things about themselves.

Saturday was a day of more informative sessions, and a lot of brainstorming! This year we set up the conference so that it facilitated more discussion than in previous years, and it was a real success. From social media and blogging, to staffing, to pressure cleaning and debt collection – everything was covered.

Our awards dinner that night topped off a brilliant weekend. It is always wonderful to be able to acknowledge the excellent work that our franchisees do. This year we added a new award, the Outstanding Customer Service Award, and it was awarded to Clint and Sam McCoy from Coffs Harbour. We really pride ourselves on customer service, so it was wonderful to be able to recognise the great year that Clint and Sam have had. The other winners were Tim and Madonna Grinter (Cairns), winners of the 2016 National Single Franchisee award, Steve and Wendy Hamby (Sunshine Coast South) first runners up, and Bruce and Suzanne Liddell (Mildura) who were the second runners up. The 2016 National Duel Franchisee award went to Norman and Susan Dodds (Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven). Thomas and Sarella Kessel (Midland, Joondalup and Wanneroo) and Andrew Luke (Moonee Valley and Central Victoria) were the first and second runners up respectively. The 2016 National Multi Franchisee award was awarded to Phillip Valencour (Brisbane Central, Brisbane North, Brisbane North East and Brisbane North West). Mike and Marie Downey (Adelaide Central, Adelaide South, Adelaide Outer North, Adelaide Hills and the Northern Territory) were the first runners up and Peter Hayne (ACT South, ACT North, Sutherland Shire and Sunshine Coast North) came in as the second runner up.

We are now looking forward to our 2018 conference in Adelaide, South Australia! It will be a very tough job to top yet another great conference, but we are definitely up for the task!

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At this time of year, many trees are dropping their leaves and they end up in the gutters of our customers.  Many people believe that they are ‘saving’ money to wait until the very last leaf has fallen before calling us in to clean their gutters before winter begins.  The problem is, this can be too late.

Most residential customers, on average, only have their gutters cleaned once a year.  (By the way, most commercial customers have their gutters cleaned 2 to 4 times a year)  They wait until the last leaf has fallen, believing this is the optimal time to have their gutters cleaned.

What happens though is very different.

Australia’s weather can be unpredictable and we see it every year.  We have customers that have got a full year’s worth of debris in their gutters (because it isn’t just leaves that cause blocked gutters) and then we have an early storm.  The gutters are blocked and therefore can not do their job.  Water simply overflows rather than passing through the gutters to the downpipes and out through the drains.  This water overflows…. Right into your home!

Every year we have customers calling us in a panic because they have waited until the very last moment to get their gutters cleaned and they have waited too long and have to call because they have water entering their home.

What can you do?

 Well, obviously get your gutters cleaned earlier, but our Gutter-Vac franchisees can assess the situation at your home, what trees are located close by, how much debris is in your gutters and give you a maintenance plan so that you can avoid blocked and overflowing gutters.  For some of our customers it might still mean only a once a year clean, but the franchisees can put in a second time of the year to come check and insure the gutters have not become full of debris.  Depending on your situation, you might need a second clean in the year.  This does not mean double the price in most situations.  If we are regularly cleaning your gutters, it means we have less debris to remove, a faster service which means less cost to you.  Plus, the cost of a second spot clean is certainly less cost – and hassle – than water damage to your property.

So this autumn, don’t wait for the last leaf, call Gutter-Vac on 1300 654 253 today and have your LOCAL Gutter-Vac franchisee help you with a maintenance plan for your property today.

1. Once the plan is in place, the Gutter-Vac franchisee will notify you when it is time for your next gutter cleaning service so that you never have to remember to get your gutters cleaned again!

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