Domestic Angels launch Poole Coast & Harbour branch

The Angels marked the launch of their new Poole Coast & Harbour operation with a wonderful drinks reception at Penn Hill nightspot Jenkins & Sons.

Franchisee Charlotte Waldron welcomed the Angels family and the great and the good of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch to the popular venue for wine, canapés and celebration.

Among the guests were Samantha Acton, founder of Domestic Angels, and franchisees Deb Broomfield and Hazel Burnett, who were joined by Simon Scarborough of hospitality experts Simon Scarborough Associates, Martin Spooner of Invest Dorset, Lord Stephen Young of Westbury, Dorset Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Paul Tansey, Nigel Soloman, chief executive of Bennington Green, and a host of clients and friends of the company.

Samantha said: “It’s always an exciting time welcoming a new franchisee to the family and it was a wonderful celebration at the Poole Coast & Harbour launch night.

“I’d like to thank Jenkins & Sons for laying on such a superb spread and Simon Scarborough for ensuring our guests were topped up!”

Charlotte added: “I’m so excited to be embarking on this journey with Domestic Angels as a new franchisee and it was amazing to see so many people come out to support me and celebrate my new venture.”

Women Mean Business

Domestic Angels founder Samantha Acton has joined the likes of Samantha Cameron, Baroness Karren Brady and MPs Harriet Harman and Nicky Morgan and top business owners Kelly Hoppen, Kath Kidston and Jacqueline Gold in signing the Daily Telegraph's open letter urging the government to back female entrepreneurship in the UK.

Samantha founded Domestic Angels in 2002 and the company now boasts 20 staff supporting around 130 clients across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

The business was franchised by Samantha in 2016 as a flexible home-based management solution.

The Telegraph's open letter was published in the broadsheet newspaper on International Women's Day today (March 8) and claims female entrepreneurs are being held back, with just nine per cent of funding into UK start-ups currently going to female-fronted businesses annually.

Samantha said: "It's hard to believe that, in 2018, entrepreneurial women continue to be held back by a lack of funding. There is huge disparity still between access to funding for women when compared with men and I'm delighted to be able to do my bit in backing the Telegraph's stance.

"It's never been more important for the UK government to back business and entrepreneurship in the UK, particularly with Brexit on the horizon and now is the time for the gap in funding between sexes to be a thing of the past."

The letter was printed and released to government as part of the Telegraph's 'Women Mean Business' campaign, which aims to close the funding gap preventing many women from starting their own businesses.

The Telegraph's letter, signed by Samantha, can be read here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/business/200-business-leaders-mps-sign-telegraph-letter-urging-government/

Customer service training with Simon Scarborough

THE Angels team was provided with silver-served customer service guidance from hospitality legend Simon Scarborough.

Simon, of Simon Scarborough Associates, joined Angels Samantha, Charlotte, Deb, Hazel and Lisa for the company’s spring presentation evening at Boscombe’s Shelley Theatre.

After listening to Simon outline his own vision and ethos surrounding customer service, gleaned from many years of experience in the hospitality sector, the team discussed the Angels’ own approach to customer service.

Following Simon’s talk, awards for November, December and January’s Angels of the Month were revealed, with Dawn Raggett collecting November’s honour, Wendy Westwood December’s gong and Katie Minns the first of 2018’s awards.

Simon, meanwhile, was made an honorary Angel for his customer service advice and expertise.

Happy 1st Angelversary to the Domestic Angels Christchurch Office

It is only one year since Deb Broomfield opened the doors of the Domestic Angels office in Christchurch. Since then Deb’s team has grown to number 9 staff providing hundreds of hours of help in customers’ homes with housework and home help services each month.  

We asked Deb, what are your favourite moment and achievements from your 1^st year as a Domestic Angels franchisee: ‘I am so happy to be celebrating my first anniversary as a Domestic Angel franchisee.  Looking back over the last year I have learned so much.  There have been a few tough times when experiencing new pressures, but these times have taught me so much and made myself and my business stronger. I have really enjoyed building my team, and I have some lovely Angels.  I have enjoyed meeting new customers and making a difference in their homes, by providing a caring service. A definite highlight of becoming a franchisee is getting to know the team at Head Office, the support over the last year has been brilliant. I love being part of a company who aspire to be the best.  Domestic Angels has an exciting future ahead and it’s great to be growing with them as a family.’

Congratulations Deb, we are all proud to know you and be part of your Domestic Angels franchise journey – cheers!

Domestic Angels launch Bournemouth & Poole branches

Hazel Burnett - Bournemouth branch, Sam Acton - Domestic Angels CEO and Charlotte Waldron - Poole branch.

DOMESTIC Angels has signed up two new franchisees as the Dorset business embarks on a programme of rapid expansion.

Hazel Burnett has taken on the Bournemouth Central Parks franchise, while Charlotte Waldron will be running the Poole Coast and Harbour operation.

Domestic Angels has been providing cleaning and home help services in Bournemouth since it's incorporation by founder Samantha Action in 2002 and boasts 20 staff supporting around 130 clients across Bournemouth and Southbourne.

The business was franchised by Samantha in 2016 as a flexible home-based management solution. Both Hazel and Charlotte follow hot on the heels of fellow franchisee Deb Broomfield, who heads up the company's operations in Christchurch, covering Burton and Winkton, Grange, Highcliffe, Mudeford and Friars Cliff, Walkford, Portfield, Purewell and Stanpit, St Catherine’s and Hurn.

Both Hazel and Charlotte had been team leaders for Domestic Angels, but now step up to take on the management reins as fully-fledged franchisees, supported by Domestic Angels' well-established brand and award-winning management team.

Hazel said: "“I’m delighted to be joining the Domestic Angels franchise. Having worked as a team leader for the whole of 2017, I’m in a great position to take on the Bournemouth Central Parks territory and I can’t wait to help grow the brand and expand our services to even more people across Bournemouth.”

Charlotte added: “Domestic Angels already has a substantial presence in the Bournemouth, Southbourne and Christchurch marketplaces and I am extremely excited to be joining the franchise and leading the company’s expansion into Poole. Our services are in demand more than ever and for me to be able to buy into an established and trusted brand like Domestic Angels is a dream. I can’t wait to get started.”

Samantha said: "We're delighted to welcome both Charlotte and Hazel into the Domestic Angels Franchising family. The next few months will be hugely exciting for both them and the business as we expand and look to welcome other franchisees into the Domestic Angels family."

Hazel's Bournemouth Central Parks operation will include services in Bournemouth centre, Charminster, Queens Park, Strouden park, Throop and Muscliffe, while Charlotte will be managing Domestic Angels' work in Poole, Canford Cliffs, Lower Parkstone, Branksome and Sandbanks.

Home businesses could bring in £4.27 billion more by finding new premises

A report, Unlocking the UK’s Home Business Potential, found home businesses in the south could generate £922million more in profits.

That compares with £595m in London and £667m in the north of England.

The survey of 500 home-based businesses, from Vonage in partnership with the Centre for e conomics and Business Research (CEBR) and YouGov, found 20 per cent said the high cost of commercial office space was preventing them from growing.


Samantha Acton, founder of Southbourne-based domestic cleaning company Domestic Angels, found she could expand the business through franchising. The idea enabled the company to grow despite a shortage of commercial premises.

She said: “Before Domestic Angels, I had never thought about having a business of my own. It was a huge challenge – I had to learn a lot about everything from how employment law works to how to set up a customer-service business.”

The business has grown from a handful of clients in 2002 to one with 20 employees, supporting 138 clients and providing g more than 1,000 hours of services every month.

She added: “Before taking the decision to move to a franchise model, I was searching to find the right space that would allow flexibility to accommodate for peaks and dips in demand. It was surprisingly difficult to find affordable premises that allows for the unpredictable levels of revenue in the first few years of starting a business.”
N EXTRA £4.27billion in revenue could be unlocked for the south’s economy if home businesses were able to grow and move to commercial premises, research suggests.
Continue reading the Bournemouth Daily Echo Article...

Customer Service, Angels Style

During October, we had a company-wide meeting bringing together all Angels at the fabulous Shelley Theatre in Boscombe. Our mission:- to define the Angels own Customer Service Policy. The Angels worked together in teams and created the following Domestic Angels definition: The Angels aim to deliver a great and appropriate service at all times always reflecting our culture and ethos.


Their commitment to Customer Service is:

• We will be polite and caring
• We will do a good job
• We will be professional
• We represent the ethos of Domestic Angels
• We will go the extra mile
• We will work well as a team across the company
• We will be punctual
• We will engage with our customers
• Will have good relationships with our clients and colleagues
• We will practice forward thinking
• We will be presentable
• We will have great self-discipline
• We will be consistent

If you'd like to chat about having help in your home with weekly cleaning, spring cleaning or home help, please contact our customer service team on: Bournemouth and Poole - 01202267350 or hello@domestic-angels.com Christchurch, Mudeford and Highcliffe 07712407164 or deb@domestic-angels.com

If you would like to chat about taking control of your life with the support of a Domestic Angels Franchise: 01202267350 or franchise@domestic-angels.com.