Give the gift of free time...

We're really excited that our brand new gift vouchers have arrived just in time for Christmas!

They are perfect stocking fillers for friends, family or colleagues and can be bought in two hour increments. Now obviously we are a little limited by geography as we only cover within a 15 mile radius of Wetherby or Tadcaster but lucky recipients can choose either cleaning or ironing, whichever they prefer, and we can provide service in Wetherby, York, North Leeds and Harrogate so plenty of lucky friends and family to choose from!

And the best news of all is that our current regular clients can have them for FREE to give to their friends, family and colleagues! That'll make Secret Santa more interesting in the office!

And if any friends or family decide they'd like to book us as a regular thing then we will give a £5 Marks and Spencers voucher as a thank you for the referral.

I think we're getting carried away with this Christmas spirit!!!

Best Wishes to all for a fantastic Christmas and an amazing New Year

xx Diane xx

www.freshlymaid.co.uk

Christmas is Coming!

Well the coke advert is on TV and the Freshly Maid phones are ringing so it must be that time of year again!

Our clients can relax though, safe in the knowledge that we will take care of the guest rooms, changing beds and pulling out furniture. We'll be making sure there are no hidden ironing piles lurking in airing cupboards, cleaning ovens and generally helping prepare for the festivities and the arrival of friends and family.

Our regular clients often book extra time during Christmas week and our fortnightly clients who would otherwise miss out are also booking a top up visit to make sure all is well and they can concentrate on the shopping!

One off cleans are also popular at this time of year but make sure you call as soon as you can or we'll be fully booked and we won't be able to help.

Simply call us on 01937 520356 to book an extra visit or a one off cleaning and ironing session. Make sure that this Christmas you can welcome your guests with both you and your home looking suitably refreshed and gorgeous.

Best Wishes

Diane @ www.freshlymaid.co.uk

£6100 raised for local children's charities

Just wanted to let everyone know because I am so excited about it, that I helped organise a charity dinner and auction on Friday last week and with about 120 people attending and having what I hope was a fantastic evening, we raised over £6100 for Martin House children's hospice and Candlelighters children's cancer charity. Wow!

Thank you to all the local businesses who donated such amazing gifts for the auction and thank you to everyone for attending and making the evening such a success.

Thank you also to Zena Bentley of Inside the Box Interior Design, my partner in crime who worked so hard to get everyone there and ensured it was a brilliant night.

Team News

Welcome to Elaine Hall who joined our team recently and is settling in well and has become a great member of the Freshly Maid team.

We are going from strength to strength now and I am really looking forward to the next 6 months where we look at how we can grow again but keep the quality of our service consistent and cover a wider geographic area.

Johanne Lickers and Adele Bradley have stepped up to share the role of Duty Manager to ensure the team are well supported every day and to make sure our clients homes are maintained to a sensible housework routine and with a view to them developing within the business to help us grow.

Our new Home Health Checks have got off to a great start with the whole team joining in and scheduling tasks together and the weekly briefing for the team is highlighting areas for improvement and also celebrating our achievements.

Best Wishes

Diane @ Freshly Maid

www.freshlymaid.co.uk

Race for Life

Well some of the team and I are taking part in the Race for Life at Temple Newsam in Leeds tomorrow afternoon. We hope to enjoy the sunshine, have some fun and raise lots of money for a great cause.

Its taking place on a very apt day for me as tomorrow is Fathers Day and I lost my Dad suddenly 3 years ago following an operation to remove a tumour, so I'll probably be a bit teary all day, but I feel as though I'm doing something positive in his name.

Good luck to everyone taking part and if you would like to donate you can do so at http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/freshlymaid.

Diane @ Freshly Maid

www.freshlymaid.co.uk

Another new team member!

Well we're continuing to grow at a pace and are happy to welcome Natasha Elvidge to the office cleaning team. Debbie and Linda are helping her learn the ropes and looking after her and she'll be a great new asset to the ever growing Freshly Maid team.

Best Wishes

Diane @ Freshly Maid

www.freshlymaid.co.uk

New Team Members!!

June Thompson, who started in May, is now a fully trained member of the Freshly Maid team. She has settled in really well and the feedback from both clients and her team mates is really positive.

Vicky Gaddas is starting her induction and training on Monday and we're all looking forward to working with her. She's a friend of Annette so she's more than likely bonkers but she'll fit in well!

We've also got Wendy Hill joining us a week on Monday in the office to help me with book-keeping and administration so I am really really looking forward to her arrival!

All in all its been a great year so far with great new team members and lots of lovely new clients to help with their cleaning and housework.

Best Wishes

Diane @ Freshly Maid

www.freshlymaid.co.uk

Newsletter headed to printers...

Well, our very first newsletter has been sent to the printers so should be on its way to clients in the next week or so.

Contents include:

• Freshly Maid Turns Two…
• An Award Winning Business…
• Frequently Asked Question….
• Top Cleaning Tip…
• Meet the Team…
• Celebrations…

We'll be looking forward to client feedback on this new way of keeping in touch!

Best Wishes Diane

It's Our Birthday!!

Well on 7th April it's our SECOND BIRTHDAY!!

Wow, what a two years it has been! We've come a long way in such a short time really. In our first month of trading in April 2008, we cleaned for a whole 46 and a half hours and this April we expect to complete at least 950 hours of cleaning so quite a difference really!

Our team has grown from 1 to 13, including myself and we are hoping to increase that to 14 in the next couple of weeks.

We've learned a lot in the past two years but I would say our number one learning is that its all about people. Its about having a great team who are as committed to the business as I am, and its about helping our clients to enjoy a great service. We still can't spring clean a house in 2 hours, but we can help new clients plan how we will first get on top of the cleaning and ironing and then plan how we will maintain it.

Our regular cleaning and housekeeping clients will all be receiving something special during April so they can share in our birthday celebrations and we will also be launching the first of our brand new quarterly newsletter, which will be full of cleaning tips and news about our team and the business.

Best Wishes

Diane @ Freshly Maid

Freshly Maid joins new Wetherby Networking Group

Enjoyed a lovely breakfast yesterday at Le Bon Appetit in Wetherby along with about 30 other local business people. This was the launch meeting for 4Networking, a national networking group that has just started a group in Wetherby.

What a great meeting, with some great people there, all as enthusiastic about their businesses as I am about Freshly Maid. There were no other cleaning and housekeeping service businesses there so even better!

So, I've taken the plunge and joined this new group and will look forward to meeting more interesting people over the coming months.

Best Wishes

Diane @ Freshly Maid

Freshly Maid goes Networking

Freshly Maid is proud to have joined Wetherby Business Association this week and we are looking forward to working with local businesses to promote the local area.

This evening, I've been to a networking event organised by the Association. A great meeting with 17 people in the room from a diverse range of local business, from Insurance to Interior Design, from Banking to Business Support Services. We had a great meal at The Bridge Inn and I enjoyed meeting some new people and have made some great contacts.

I'm also a member of Wetherby BNI, which meets every Friday morning over breakfast, so if you are looking for a local tradesperson or business just ask, as I can recommend some fantastic people who offer great services. See my website www.freshlymaid.co.uk for more information.

On Monday Shirley and I attended a quarterly business planning day run by Business Coach Hayley Erner www.greatbusinessevents.co.uk. This was an amazing day and has given me the focus to move the business forward, whilst also providing a great opportunity to meet other local business owners to share ideas and advice.

More Soon....Diane @ Freshly Maid

www.freshlymaid.co.uk