WITH a U in business studies, nobody in Rachael Flanagan’s life thought she was in a position to start a multi-million pound business.
But the Welsh mum-of-two, 38, proved everyone wrong with her in-demand company which currently brings in £833,000 every single month. And with no qualifications needed, she reveals how ordinary mums can do the same.
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Rachael, who is from Swansea, started her business when she was 17 years old, spending just £20 on flyers which she could only afford in black-and-white.
It grew into the cleaning company Mrs Buckét – pronounced Bouquet – which is on track for a projected £20 million turnover, with 500 staff members on the payroll.
But things haven’t always been easy for Rachael, who is mother to Sophia, eight, and Spencer, six, and she was initially faced with negative opinions from every corner of her life.
The entrepreneur tells us: “I definitely did feel judgement. There was a presumption that I wasn’t gonna be growing my business in the early days. People thought that I was gonna be ‘just a cleaner.’
“People said, ‘why on earth wouldn’t you go to university?’ and ‘why do you want to become a cleaner?’ They said ‘don’t be so stupid, you’ll never be a businesswoman’. But I could see further than that and I was very determined.
“I suppose some of the negative energy spurred me on. I knew I wanted to prove everyone wrong.
“I got a U in business. When I look back, that was probably the most defining moment in my life. If I’d got a C, I might have gone down the university route and wouldn’t be in the situation I am now – but it gave me a drive to prove people wrong.
“Those comments continued for a couple of years, but that was the grit inside me which got me up every morning at 5am.
“Now we’re on track to grow the business to £20 million and next year we’ll have around 600 members of staff.
“Obviously we’ve had dips, but we’ve had steady, consistent growth for 20 years.”
‘Couldn’t afford a hoover’
When Rachael launched her business, she couldn’t even afford a hoover. She explains: “I did little jobs and stuff for pocket money but I hardly had any money.
“My mum was paying her cleaner £40-a-week for four hours and I was coming back for a two-hour lecture and she’d be walking home.
“My mum wasn’t happy with the standard, so that’s where I got the idea for my company, it was during the final stage of my A-levels.
I was inspired to know that there was another route, not university
Rachael Flanagan
“I could see the stress it put on my mum, because she was busy with two children and a teacher herself, working long hours further away.
“I said ‘I’ll do it for a bit of extra money’ and when I was sitting my business A-levels I started writing all of my ideas for this cleaning business I was going to grow.
“I was inspired to know that there was another route, not university.
“I spent £20 on 5,000 black-and-white flyers – at the time I thought that was a lot of money. I couldn’t even afford a hoover, I just had to use other people’s stuff.
“I went flyering constantly to try and start the business and waited for phone calls to come in.
“For the first couple of weeks I was quite nervous, but then the calls started to come in and soon I was getting referrals too.”
Making cleaning ‘sexy’
Rachael, who’s married to fellow entrepreneur Daniel Stanley, 41, was cleaning for 20 customers a week at first and by the age of just 21, won a UK Young Entrepreneur Award, which was when she made a promise to herself.
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She continues: “I felt then that I belonged in the business community and stopped thinking ‘just because I’m young no-one will take me seriously’. It was amazing.
“I made a promise to myself to stop cleaning, so I could really grow the business.”
Rachael sold the business’ domestic arm in 2018 and now, Mrs Buckét Cleaning Services has 185 commercial clients, including Brains Brewery, schools, warehouses, offices and community facilities, across Wales and Bristol.
Cleaning hacks and tips
Here are some tips to help you clean your home like a pro:
With hundreds of members of staff, Rachael is desperate to prove that being a cleaner can be “sexy.”
There’s no tabards in sight with Rachael’s employees, as she shares: “My colleagues are the directors of first impressions. And we’re changing the perception of the cleaning industry.
“We’re making it sexier, making it a wanted career path to go into.
“And let’s face it, with AI and everything like that, people are still going to need their sites cleaned.”
‘Hard lessons’ and ‘constant curveballs’
But it’s been far from plain sailing for Rachael and the business has had “loads of hiccups.”
She continues: “We nearly went bankrupt when I was 22 because I wasn’t looking after my cash flow enough in the early days.
“I had a day to turn around £16,000 worth of money and was crying on the end of my bed thinking ‘what the hell am I going to do? How am I going to pay all these staff?’
“I had to borrow the money from my family and pay them back when I could afford to, with interest.
Half of our business was falling off a cliff – we had to put people onto furlough and offices shut in. There were constant curveballs
Rachael Flanagan
“It was a hard lesson but a good one, because now we’re a cash rich business, we don’t have any investors and we know our business.”
And then there was the Coronavirus pandemic – another big challenge for this entrepreneur.
She adds: “Half of our business was falling off a cliff – we had to put people onto furlough and offices shut in. There were constant curveballs.
“But the other half of the business just went absolutely crazy, because we were doing all of the COVID cleaning.
“We actually won quite a lot of work in COVID and our business went 24/7 overnight.
“Sophia was about four and Spencer was one, so it was obviously very challenging. I worked from my bedroom and juggled it all with small children.
“We were cleaning for the NHS, for Royal Mail, manufacturing plants. If those places weren’t clean then they couldn’t operate, so it was critical for cleaning, which I think put cleaning on a different map.
“It was still really hard financially but we got through. We survived because we diversified with COVID cleanups.”
‘Trying our best’
Despite the struggles, Rachael loves being her own boss and although she doesn’t clean anymore and is taking part in more of the “strategic conversations,” she appreciates the flexibility her job gives her.
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As a result, Rachael thinks going into cleaning and starting your own business is great for parents, as she explains: “Cleaning is usually used as a stopgap, but there’s lots of flexible roles with cleaning and in the right companies, there’s opportunities to grow.
“You can come in, do a cleaning job, and then go home with no emails, no stress, and be present with your family.
“You’ve got that flexibility and it’s great if you don’t want that stress in your life.
“But I think parenthood is definitely my hardest job, it’s always a juggle. We’re all just trying our best, aren’t we?”
How to get FREE cash to start your business
Research by Enterprise Nation shows that nearly half of all UK adults are eyeing up a business or side hustle this year.
And there’s cash galore out there to help budding entrepreneurs, from free grants to easy-access and low-cost loans.
The Government-backed British Business Bank has a war chest of £25 billion to hand out, whilst charities like The King’s Trust and local councils across the UK dish out up to £5000 in start-up grants.
Martin McTague, at the Federation of Small Businesses, says: “Starting your own business can be incredibly rewarding, allowing you to follow a passion, solve a problem, or carve out your own career path – but you must be prepared. It can involve challenges like uncertainty, long hours and financial risk.”
Here’s how to kickstart your dream venture.
First you need a plan. Whether you want to open a nail bar or build an online brand, work out how your idea will stand out.
Does it have the makings of a viral hit? Fulfil a local need? Or is it something totally new?
Do your research: 42% of startups fail as lack of research means they launch products nobody wants or needs, according to CB Insights.
You’ll need a name that stands out and is easy to remember.
Check that it’s available to register as a domain online – rebranding later can costs a bomb.
You can build a site for free or low cost with Wix.com or GoDaddy.
Remember, there are restrictions on what you can choose as a company name: it can’t be too similar to others already out there.
The full rules are on the government website.
No savings? No problem – there are loads of sources of cash for startups. Whatever you scoop, remember that a new business, you’ll need to be lean: keep costs as low as possible and spend on things that will bring in more sales.
Options to consider for financing your business:
Grants: there are more than 100 government-backed grants for UK start-ups.
The best place to start is the Business Finance Support Finder. Welsh startups use the Business Grants website, and for Scotland it’s Funding Opportunities.
More cash for startups is available from loads of local councils around the UK, so check if yours can help. In London, for example, the GLA lists grants.
If you’re under 30, the King’s Trust (formerly the Prince’s Trust) might be able to help support your new business idea.
And if your business aims to make a profit and a positive impact, UnLtd funds and mentors social enterprises
A bank loan – usually “secured”, meaning your home or another asset backs up the loan. This can be risky if things go wrong.
The Government-backed Start Up Loans Company offers up to £25,000 as an unsecured loan, with a fixed 6% interest rate. Comes with a year’s free mentoring from a business expert.
Angel investors – Wealthy individuals who swap their own cash for a slice of your firm (usually 10–25%).
They’re often former or current entrepreneurs and now the UK’s biggest source of early-stage funding. The British Business Bank, which is backed by the Government, has lots of information on how to find them.
Sharing her top tips for those looking to start their own company, Rachael explains: “Only take advice from people that have been there and done it and believe you are a success.
“In the nicest way, your auntie Pam saying, ‘I don’t know if that’s a good idea,’ – she’s never run a business. Your environment of where you get your advice from is really important.”
Rachael also stresses the importance of being “resilient” and “passionate,” as she adds: “Be confident and believe in yourself – it starts with you, you’re the one that’s going to take that step forward, nobody else.
“Make sure you’re in the right environment, you’re speaking to the right people, you’re networking with other like-minded people.
“But at the end of the day, the person staring back at you in the mirror is the one that’s got to execute it.
“Have that resilience – pick yourself up and then have that belief in the bigger picture.”
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How to start your own business
Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis revealed his tips for budding entrepreneurs:
- One of the biggest barriers aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners face is a lack of confidence. You must believe in your idea — even more than that, be the one boring your friends to death about it.
- Never be afraid to make decisions. Once you have an idea, it’s the confidence to make decisions that is crucial to starting and maintaining a business.
- If you don’t take calculated risks, you’re standing still. If a decision turns out to be wrong, identify it quickly and deal with it if you can. Failing that, find someone else who can.
- It’s OK not to get it right the first time. My experience of making bad decisions is what helped develop my confidence, making me who I am today.
- Never underestimate the power of social media, and remember the internet has levelled the playing field for small businesses.
- Don’t forget to dream. A machine can’t do that!
