Commercial Cleaning Auckland Franchisee - Ankit Patel and Palak Barot

Cleaning in: Auckland CBD, Panmure

Ankit Patel and Palak Barot didn't know each other when they left India to further their educations in New Zealand. Today they are life partners, have a child and are the debt-free owners of a very successful Paramount Services commercial cleaning franchise.

Bachelor of Business Administration graduate Ankit left his home near Mumbai in 2002 to complete postgraduate studies at Massey University. At that time, owning a business was a long-held ambition for him. Having completed a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in English, Palak came to New Zealand in 2005 to study early childhood education at Manukau Institute of Technology.

As students they both worked part-time, with Ankit commercial cleaning and Palak doing restaurant work. They were introduced by friends and became a couple. Ankit's cleaning experience showed them that many businesses employ cleaners and they could see a bright future for the industry.

"We approached a number of cleaning franchises and Paramount impressed us most," says Palak. "We were impressed by the way Paramount gets franchisees started by providing commercial cleaning contracts as well as doing the invoicing, making prompt payments and debt collection."

The couple's first cleaning contract in 2007 was Wilson Parking in the AMP Centre in Auckland. To this they added a suite of offices occupied by Fletcher Construction and intellectual property lawyers and patent attorneys AJ Park. When baby Aanya was born in January 2008 the couple employed staff and the business kept growing.

Today their customers include a government department, a finance company, a consultancy and a couple of advertising agencies. In three years Ankit and Palak have gone from start-up business with a loan to a debt-free well-founded family business.

AJ Park administration manager Kiri Bush says their success is well deserved. "They're so reliable, completely trustworthy, and give it their all. On one occasion we had some carpet layers who left a real mess. Without being asked Ankit stayed on an extra hour or so to clean it up. That sort of service makes all the difference."

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