Ecowash Mobile
Smart50 rank: 11
Revenue: $7.50 million
Growth: 89%
Founders: Jim Cornish, 37; Stewart Nicholls, 34
Based: New South Wales
Employees: 0
Industry: Personal and other services
Website: www.ecowash.com.au
Winner:
NAB Top Franchise award Former race and rally car drivers, Jim Cornish (left of picture) and Stewart Nicholls knew how much water it takes to wash a car; about 180 litres for a good wash. With water restrictions becoming tougher around Australia and a population becoming increasingly time-poor, car owners have started considering smarter ways to keep their cars clean and help the climate.
The racing car drivers found some European technology that used a 2-1 biodegradable wash and polish sprayed on the car’s exterior. Surface dirt is then removed with a soft cloth.
The pair, who developed the business from home, ran the first site themselves to refine the business model. Now they have 54 franchisees operating 60 mobile washes across Australia washing cars seven days a week. Revenue has increased from $3.4 million to $7.5 million. There are 40 franchises worldwide.
The hardest part of the start up phase was the selection of the right franchisees who would take on board and duplicate the prescribed system, Cornish says. “There were several occasions where franchisees developed non-approved materials which did not reflect the brand or the operational requirements of the business – it was very important to identify these occurrences and diplomatically bring the franchisee back in line with the objectives of the business,” he says.
It was important to ensure that the franchise protocol (branding, marketing, procedures etc) were implemented and maintained from the very beginning. “This consequently led to development of further systems (assessment procedures and the Ecowash Support Program, or ESP) to ensure the support and development of franchisees was given top priority,” he says.
The website has been designed as an operational tool for the franchise system and Cornish estimates it has increased the efficiency of system operation by the equivalent of at least two full-time administration staff. It enables franchisees to order all products, marketing materials and apparel and have them delivered directly to their door and access a comprehensive list of downloadable files for use in developing and growing their business. They can also access a secure area and all operations and training manuals to use in the training and development of franchisees within their master franchise area.
“Customers who book online have their booking request sent immediately to the operations coordinator for their state (SMS is state specific). They can also customise their own 12 month car washing program and set up monthly reminders via email,” he says.
Prospective franchisees can access a secure area of the website (following the execution of a confidentiality agreement and the issuing of a username/password) giving them access to all prospective franchisee information. “This has greatly streamlined the franchisee recruitment and disclosure process,” Cornish says.
The company has also introduced the latest technology from the US for online franchisee support. “This technology, supplied by IFX International, includes a complete internal franchise communication system (internal email, helpdesk, forums, questionnaires, surveys etc) and an auditable online library; a complete franchisee directory.
“The website has been the focal point of all our PR and advertising activities. In order to have maximum control we purchased our own server and we host all our own sites. We also have a dedicated IT manager who overseas all our IT projects,” Cornish says. In the next three months the company will introduce a SRM (sales reporting module) that is currently used in the US. “We will use this to monitor franchisee financial performance and the payment of franchise fees – we believe this will be a first in Australian franchising,” he says.
Cornish has big ambitions. Ecowash Mobile is already the number one waterless mobile car washing and detailing franchise system in Australia, he says. “We have our sights firmly set on being the number one car detailing franchise, irrespective of technique, in the world.”
The company already operates in the Middle East and Europe. The big focus for the next 12 months is on growth in Europe and the US. “The USA is potentially our biggest market. We are first to market and we aim to create the waterless car washing segment and establish dominance within the next 12 months,” he says.
