PARAMOUNT TO SUCCESS

Multi-licence Paramount franchisee Leon Chen is quite clear about the key to running his business: “Invest in your people,” he states emphatically. “If you want to improve, you must have management skills, and if you apply those to treating your staff well, they are the key factor to growing your business. They will bring you the rewards!”

Leon’s philosophy is based on seven years as a Paramount franchisee, running a successful central Auckland commercial and residential cleaning business. Leon now has a mix of ten full- and part-time staff helping him operate his three franchise businesses. “I am the first to take up Paramount’s new Lawn Mowing and Garden Care franchise,” he states with pride. “Just as the team at Paramount predicted – there is a great deal of potential business there.”

A reliable business

Leon’s previous career included a couple of years learning people skills by managing a petrol station and gaining experience working as a commercial cleaner for another

Paramount franchisee. “I realised then that there is a strong need for reliable cleaning services,” he says. 

“My former Paramount boss had impressed me as much as the company had. I was looking for a reliable business for myself, so after quite a lot of research with other companies and talking to franchisees, I bought my first Paramount franchise. 

“That was seven years ago, and since then I’ve built up my business by taking on specialised jobs like carpet cleaning and windows, as well as handling bigger contracts and hiring the staff to service them with. I believe in hands-on training – it’s company policy to do the job properly by learning it properly – so when the Lawn Mowing and Garden Care opportunity came up, I worked daily with the gardeners in a hospital garden. You must have the skills before learning your business is my motto!”

Expansion opportunity

Paramount, renowned as a property care partner since 1979, and now with 220 franchisees servicing nearly 5000 locations, only recently diversified into lawn and garden maintenance.

“It was an obvious move,” explains Operations Manager for Lawn Mowing and Garden Care, Hein Visser, “as we kept getting asked to do it! Our loyal customers like the way we operate and appreciate the detail we apply. Many large commercial businesses, such as banks, have a surprising amount of lawn and garden – even in central Auckland – that needs maintaining. We couldn’t keep turning them down, so now our franchisees have a further business opportunity that, as Leon has proven, is very profitable.”

Hein is a botanist from South Africa, where he had his own company within the landscaping industry, servicing facilities and ground maintenance for big corporates. “I emigrated to NZ in 2020 just before Covid hit.”

Investment in training

Hein is quite clear about the advantages of joining Paramount as a franchisee. “For a start you are buying a franchise that takes a lot of the guesswork out of building your own business. You have the backing of a long-established national brand. We give you all the knowledge and we put in a lot of advertising – the expensive part if you are a sole trader! 

“Paramount have a large range of clients, but for me the cream on top is our people. We make a huge investment in our franchisees through training. We make sure everyone is up to scratch and meets our first-class customer service standards all the way. 

“That is the basis we work from – the client is always right, and we do everything to keep them happy. It was a natural progression to move into Lawn Mowing and Garden Care, and as Leon is discovering it is not a limited market. We are finding a lot of the high-end residential areas, especially in the Auckland region, also need the services we offer.”
Paramount celebrated success last year at the 2024 Westpac New Zealand Franchise Awards as winner of the Business to Business Franchise System of the Year award. 

“Best of all for our franchisees is that we have guaranteed revenue for Lawn Mowing and Garden Care franchises. Franchise opportunities are available nationwide from around $19,000. Call me today – I’d love to hear from you and learn how we can be part of your future success.”  

See this advertorial on page 39 of Franchise New Zealand magazine Year 34 Issue 3

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