How did the business start?
I met my business partner, Anton Skarlatov, at a party five years ago. At the time, I was moving house and was desperately trying to find a decent cleaner – all the companies I called quoted too high or wouldn’t do the full job. When I met Anton, we decided to create a domestic services company (building on the idea of Anton’s cleaning company) that provided excellent services, maximum flexibility and understood how to market itself effectively. We launched later that year.
Can you describe what Fantastic Services does?
We offer a range of domestic services that can be booked by phone, online or on our app. They include gardening, removals, pest control, handymen, builders, pet care and waste clearance – but our speciality is cleaning.
Was there a gap in the market when you started the company?
Yes – we felt that everyone was offering cleaning services, or DIY services, but nobody was providing a range of services.
And how is the business going?
Our GoFantastic app launched in October. We saw 2,000 downloads in the run-up to December, then ran a Christmas offer that included oven cleaning, which alone added another 1,000 downloads. We are increasingly seeing people who usually just regularly book one service, such as basic cleaning, trying out our other services.
Did you have a lightbulb moment?
After coming up with our business idea, our second lightbulb moment came when we had been working together for a couple of years and were expanding. We had more staff and more jobs but needed to make sure we were being cost-effective as it was still early days for our business. We decided to “hack” our Fantastic Services cars – namely redesigning the interior to fit in more staff and more equipment. This saved us money on fuel as teams could make the trip to a job in one car, with all their equipment. We now have more than 200 cars.
How do you maintain a work/life balance?
For me it’s all about having a change of scenery regularly to refresh my mind – having offices across the globe means that I can visit for business and take some holiday time, too. Having an office in Australia is great, especially at this time of year – I can go to the beach before work.
What are your plans for the future?
We have offices in the UK, US, Australia and Germany, and this is only the beginning. We’re also expanding across the north and west of England.
What would your advice be to budding entrepreneurs?
The most important question you should ask yourself is: “Do I really want to do this?” You need to be aware that you are going to sacrifice a great deal of your time (and your sanity at times) building a company, and nothing worth having comes easy. If there is no doubt in your mind, then go for it.
Rune Sovndahl is the CEO of Fantastic Services
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