After working for other people for 20 years, Jayde decided to launch her own business.

Jayde Magill has always been a hard worker. She was 15 when she got her first official job, assisting a racehorse trainer. From there she built a successful career over two decades in the Automotive and Service industries while raising two children with her husband, David. 

But in August 2022, after 20 years of working for other people, Jayde took a leap that would see all her hard work pay off, when she started her own business. 

"I was looking for a way to earn more and have a better work/life balance. I worked long hours Monday to Friday. I never had enough time to be involved with my kids and had no energy left for the weekend to enjoy life," Jayde told Mamamia.

Her leap paid off. Despite cutting her hours and only being in business for six months Jayde’s lady startup already has around 70 clients and employs three people. 

If you’re a lady startup, or you're a fan of Mamamia’s Lady Startup Stories podcast, you’ll already know that’s fast growth. Like, listening to a podcast on x2 speed fast. New businesses often take years to break out of “dreamer” mode and launch, let alone pass the side-hustle stage and become a fully fledged, self-sustaining business.

 So where did she get her business rocket ship and where can we get ours please?

Jayde credits much of her speedy success to her decision to become a V.I.P. Home Services franchisee. V.I.P. Home Services is a trusted name in home and commercial cleaning, garden maintenance, carpet cleaning, window cleaning and exit cleaning. 

Jayde isn’t alone, over the last 40 years, V.I.P. has helped over 4,000 people from all walks of life launch and grow their own successful, sustainable businesses. 

For Jayde this meant she skipped the stage of having to build a business from scratch. Her business' name, brand, logo, pricing, technology and even uniforms (all those things that can take other would-be founders years to come up with and get right) were already established. Her business was ready to go as soon as she was. 

Having a jumpstart doesn’t mean there’s no hard work, but Jayde says running her own business has lightened her mental load and actually given her time back in the week. Time she’s investing in her hobbies, like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes with David three times a week (yes, that is the definition of #couplegoals) as well as the practical stuff like being available for school pick-up and drop-offs.

Owning a business is a steep learning curve and Jayde says she’s learnt a lot already. In the Lady Startup community we LOVE an 'aha' moment, so if you’re thinking about working for yourself here are Jayde’s insights so far:

Don’t stress about having an original business idea

Jayde grew up in a family of business owners, and was inspired by her sister’s entrepreneurial spirit. But first she needed a business idea. So many would-be founders obsess about creating a “unique” service or product, but really all you need is to solve your potential customer’s problem for the right price. 

You don’t need to be the only one doing it and actually if no one else has the same business as you, it probably means that customers don’t really need what you’re offering, or they’re not willing to pay for it. 

Jayde’s cleaning business ticks all the boxes here: everyone makes a mess and not everyone enjoys cleaning up after themselves, leaving plenty of potential customers for her.

A mid-career change doesn’t mean you’re starting from scratch

One of the biggest objections to leaving a ‘job’ and starting a business is the niggling feeling that any time you spent studying or working in previous roles will be 'wasted'. In fact, it’s the opposite. 

When you start a business later in life, you bring all the skills, experiences and even some helpful contacts into your new business. Jayde says working closely with the owner in her previous job helped her when it came time to run her own show, and she still gives her a call if she needs advice as her business expands.

Get a clear view of business costs before you commit

Before you get started, research how much you are going to need to spend upfront and ongoing so you can calculate what cash you’ll need flowing in. Make sure you think beyond the cost of materials or buying equipment and consider the costs of getting customers in the first place. AKA: Marketing. 

V.I.P. franchisees have access to Marketing support including a tailored local area Marketing plan to help them become the face of V.I.P. in their town/city. For Jayde, this investment makes financial sense. 

"As a busy mum running a business, it’s well worth buying into the V.I.P. franchise just for the marketing support alone. Time is money and the boring marketing side of things is all taken care of for me. New leads get sent directly to my phone or email, and from there it’s easy to convert them into new clients – I probably spend 30 mins max on this side of the business a day. That was very appealing to me as it meant more time I could spend getting out there and making money."

Think flexibly to retain good staff

Anyone trying to hire right now knows it’s a tough market. Jayde says her biggest business-owner struggle is finding good staff who will take care of her rapidly growing client base, so she’s focused on retaining stars when she finds them. 

Jayde employs three other mums, and has been able to offer them the same flexibility she now enjoys, part-time hours that work with their own family needs. "If you take the time to understand your team and let them have as much autonomy over their own schedules as possible, then they enjoy their work more and will help take care of the business as partners rather than just acting like employees."

She also shares the spotlight with her team and makes sure they feel celebrated as her business succeeds. Her easy (no extra time, no extra cost) tip to do this? 

"When I get messages from clients about our cleaners, I always screenshot them and share with the team so they can see how valued their hard work is." 

Have you recently started a business? Share your tips for our Lady Startup community in the comments below.

Do you dream of owning your own business? Get started today as a V.I.P. franchisee.

Feature Image: Supplied.