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Owners Profile

Geoff & Leanne Felgate started the business in Perth Western Australia in October 1993. Geoff initially started the first dog washing van with the intention that once he got to busy Leanne his partner would join him.

This didn't take long and within 1 month of working it by himself, Geoff had to ask Leanne to leave her job in the textile industry and join him. A third van was placed on the road after only 2 months to keep up with the growth of the new customers coming onboard.

In the first year they had 4 vans operating, the 2 owners and 2 employees. Unfortunately the employees did not have the dedication that owners bring to a business and the decision was made to franchise.

After paying a professional company to investigate the viability of the concept the green light was given and the legal documents and support services were put into place. With approximately 3 months of preparation the first franchise sale came to fruition in Dec 1994. Within the first 12 months of being franchised the group grew from 1 franchisee to 16. This was a big learning curve for the owners as support services, marketing and extra staff had to be implemented to deal with the growth of the group and the customer base.

A central telephone system was put into place which gave Geoff & Leanne more time to provide the support which is what franchising is all about. This was a blessing in disguise as by the end of the second year the group was receiving an estimated 1500 calls per month from mostly new clients wanting to get their dogs washed. The group continued to grow at a steady rate at one stage they had people cueing for certain areas. One franchisee decided that after buying the business for AUS$23,000 that when an offer came in for just over $50,000 after only 2 years of operating it, it was time to sell.

After a steady growth to 36 franchisees and being in the business over 7 years it was felt by both Leanne and Geoff that it was time to prepare to take the business overseas. To do this properly Australia had to be sold and the sale went through in Dec 2000. Leanne & Geoff have since taken time off from the business and are now ready to expand this great lifestyle business to other Countries and let the right person enjoy the success Leanne & Geoff have already experienced.

Both Leanne and Geoff have also made a decision that if someone wanted to buy the rights for their Country and not expect ongoing support other avenues could be looked at.. For enquiries about starting the business up with/without support in your Country please drop us an e-mail with your questions and contact details:

sales@doggywash.com