How a MOLLY MAID franchisee turned her business into a balanced, successful life
By Suzanne Bowness
Even people who are unfamiliar with MOLLY MAID have likely seen the cleaning services’ distinctive pink and blue cars. So, it’s not surprising that’s how the brand popped into the mind of MOLLY MAID franchise partner Val Shijaku when she was looking for a business that offered standard workday hours with weekends off, in her quest to optimize her work-life balance while raising her three children.
Fortunately, when Shijaku first reached out in 2016, the brand had an established franchise available in central Toronto. By 2022, she’d bought a second territory, north of the city, as well. Through challenges and growth alike, this adaptable entrepreneur has built her own happy and holistic residential cleaning business.
Maid in Canada
Founded in 1979 by Adrienne and Chris Stringer in Mississauga, Ontario, MOLLY MAID now operates across Canada as well as in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Portugal. Services include scheduled cleaning at weekly or monthly intervals, one-time service, move-in and move-out service, and more. The services are insured and bonded, and undertaken by teams of two in their custom pink and blue uniforms. And yes, they all drive cars that match that distinctive palette.
In Shijaku’s business, most clients are residential homeowners, although she also serves some small office buildings. By 2019, she had grown her first location to seven teams of two. When the pandemic caused disruptions in the home services industry, the franchise had to regroup along with the rest of the world. But Shijaku is now regrowing her business and has already bumped her second franchise up to five teams.
Since starting with the franchise system, Shijaku has put a lot of work into her business. While she was a lot more hands-on when first acquiring her MOLLY MAID franchise, today she can manage both franchises thanks to the team she’s built, with office supervisors hired to help her at each location. As a result, she’s able to focus on the big-picture elements like marketing, growing clientele, training her teams, in-home estimates, and quality control checks. This also helps her to maintain the work-life balance she was looking for when she joined.
Franchising for any age
Born and raised in Albania, Shijaku’s previous career background included working for an international non-governmental organization, first in public relations and then as vice-national director. Most recently, she worked for a financial institution in downtown Toronto for several years. While she didn’t have direct business-ownership experience, Shijaku says that becoming a franchisee later in life meant that she benefitted from all she had learned in previous work experiences, particularly in developing communications and people skills.
“I find that being a Gen Xer in franchising has only been beneficial. All the practical skills and ethics—including the soft skills that I’ve gained from previous job experiences—have been very helpful for me in managing and building a successful business,” she explains.
While Shijaku says many backgrounds could work in this business, the right attitude is essential. “I believe that you need a strong work ethic, you need to have customer service skills, and to have some experience in managing teams,” she says. Shijaku adds that the culture at MOLLY MAID is inclusive of all generations, and flexible enough to offer the same work-life balance she sought to younger team members who may also be looking for flexible hours to balance raising young children.
She says this flexibility and franchisee support is also part of what attracted her to the franchise and still makes her proud. “MOLLY MAID’s values aligned so well with my personal values: making a difference in our community, and in the life of people that work with us, in the sense that we offer support to our employees,” she says.
Cleaning solutions
With a full week of training at the start, and continuous support from her MOLLY MAID franchise coach and support office, Shijaku says she quickly grew her business using Google ads, flyers, and sponsorship of local school events. When the pandemic hit, she says she was even more thankful to be part of a franchise rather than on her own because of the brand’s strong leadership. While they paused business for a month, the president and CEO of MOLLY MAID invited franchisees to work together to come up with the Healthy Home Cleaning System, a set of updated safety and sanitization guidelines that debuted when businesses reopened. “I think that our clients appreciated the fact that we were back in business after a month of closing, because it was more important than ever to have a clean home and to have everything sanitized,” she recalls.
When it comes to everyday challenges, Shijaku says that employee turnover is the main one. “Some challenges are constant when running a small business, like hiring the right individuals, training and retaining staff, and handling client complaints,” she says. To overcome this, Shijaku says she’s very careful when interviewing. “I look for [team members] that are committed, that have experience, but also have the right attitude, and customer service skills. Some of these skills you cannot train for, like attitude.” She also maintains close contact with new hires to ensure they’re properly trained and aligned with the values of MOLLY MAID.
Attitude in action
“I tell my teams all the time that we do much more than cleaning. For example, when we go to a senior’s home, sometimes MOLLY MAID is their only visitor that week, so besides cleaning, our team members can also be personable and chat with the client and provide emotional support,” Shijaku says, offering a recent example where her team brought flowers for a regular client on her birthday and stayed for tea.
In the end, Shijaku says she’s very pleased with what she’s built, both in terms of the business and the home life that’s made possible by her adaptable work schedule. “It has been very helpful for me that this type of business gives me the flexibility to look after my family. I have three children, so there’s a lot of school appointments, and this type of business have given me the flexibility to step out of the office. I do my duties as a mom, then I can come back in the office and continue the work.”
In terms of future plans, Shijaku plans to continue growing the business, with an eye to weathering whatever economic concerns may be coming. “This year may be more challenging in terms of sales, but I can focus on building stronger teams, marketing initiatives, retraining teams in the field, quality control, and other aspects of the business,” she says. After all, it’s all about flexibility.
Learn more about franchising with MOLLY MAID Canada Inc.
