There was a time when having a cleaner meant one thing...

There was a time when having a cleaner meant one thing: You’d ‘made it’ and were now far too busy and rich to clean your own house!

That view brought with it a degree of difficultly for the home cleaning business and certainly limited our client base largely to the above.

Back in the 1970s, women in particular wouldn’t have dreamed of spending the family’s hard-earned money on hiring someone to clean their home. ‘We don’t need that! I’m perfectly capable of cleaning my own house’, or something along those lines would have been the stock response.

How times have changed!

While Domestic Angels caters for many high net worth individuals alongside our elderly clients, we have seen a rise in millennials yearning for our service.

Research by insurer Esure last year suggested more than half of all millennials were hiring cleaners because they were “too busy” to do it themselves.

And who can blame them? How can you criticise successful young people for wishing to spend their time ‘living’ rather than cleaning?

Life is for living, after all, and we all value our time perhaps more than we ever have before. Having a cleaner can provide that work/life balance we all strive for and, for Domestic Angels, this is part of our very fabric.

Indeed, our home-based management franchise, as well our cleaning and home help services, provides the opportunity to find that balance between working hard yet having enough time for the things that truly matter.

That’s what we stand for.

Contact franchise@domesticangels.com to find out more.


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Domestic Angels help tackle social isolation

The appointment of a Minister for Loneliness, Tracey Crouch MP, came almost four years after a study from charity Friends of the Elderly revealed more than five million older people go weeks without speaking to a single person.

Better late than never, of course, yet the monumental issue of social isolation in the elderly is showing no signs of abating, with that five million figure set to rise to seven million by 2030, according to Friends of the Elderly.

Moreover, the south and south west of the UK came out worse in the 2014 survey - with a quarter of all people over 60 classed as lonely.

At Domestic Angels, we have witnessed the problems associated with social isolation first hand. Many of our customers fall into the demographic outlined by the Friends of the Elderly study and, in some cases, our Angels are the only people those customers see each week.

Cleaners and home helpers, yes, but our Angels’ roles in the lives of these customers runs much deeper than that.

Social isolation can strike for a whole host of reasons: Getting older or weaker, no longer being the hub of a family or deaths of spouses or friends. Whatever the reason, it’s easy to go from being surrounded by people to being alone in a snapshot.

Many older people who are lonely may also find it hard to reach out - someone around the age of 75, after all, was raised with that ‘Blitz’ spirit and stiff British upper lip. Older people tend not to ask for help or admit to feeling lonely, they don't want to be a nuisance to anyone.

At Domestic Angels, we place the well-being of our customers at the top of our ‘To-Do’ list.

Like a duster and a mop, a listening ear also goes a long way.

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.