Jaymak is an Australian-owned company that has been offering hygiene and energy saving solutions in cool rooms and commercial kitchen areas since 1998. Their Mission is to develop and implement the highest quality preventative maintenance programs and ensuring clients’ needs are met to the highest standards. In this interview with Mark Mackenzie – CEO for Jaymak, we discover more about his brand story and its rapid growth. The other brands under Jaymak are Jayfresh and Coviclean.
1. How did you enter the franchise business?
A significant amount of work was carried out in 2005 and 2006 when we first achieved ISO9001 Quality Management System and ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System accreditation. The ISO framework has been the key compliance structure to maintaining operational consistency with our products and services in the Jaymak business. We chose franchising for our business model in 2006 after achieving our ISO accreditation as franchising provides us with a structured and systemized process to recruit other like-minded entrepreneurs to expand our brand throughout Australia, and around the world without losing control over our established products and services. The franchise model also provides us with the necessary contractual mechanisms to ensure our existing reputation and image are appropriately managed throughout our network. This has been critical, as the franchise framework aligns with the requirements of our many compliance obligations to the ISO22000 and ISO9001 management systems.
2. Where and how did the idea of your concept come from?
The seed was planted for the Jaymak business in 1996 when I started working as a chemical salesperson in the hospitality industry and quickly developed a great relationship with a number of my key Sydney customers. During one of my monthly sales calls, a customer said to me “Mark, if you could find a way to stop mould from growing inside cold rooms….you’d make a fortune!”….and this began my R&D journey.
I used my father to bounce business plans off and my wife provided our income during this transitional phase. After several years of product research, experimentation, and business model creation, Jaymak was formed.
Fast forward 24 years and now Jaymak is one of the biggest commercial HVAC&R hygiene companies in Australia.
3. What inspired the brand name?
My wife –
J. Mackenzie…..Jay Mak
4. What is the story behind the brand’s logo?
Most of our initial work was in cold rooms and working on cleaning fan units. The brand’s logo incorporates four blades of a fan unit on a block of ice to symbolize the fan units in a cold room.
5. What makes your brand different from your competitors?
In simple terms, Jaymak is a B2B commercial cleaning business that has been providing hygiene and energy saving solutions for the hospitality, healthcare, and food industries since 1998.
Jaymak is the only hygiene company with an internationally recognized certification ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System and ISO 9001 Quality Management System. Our ISO accreditation and cleaning processes make us a far superior service provider to any of our competitors in the hygiene and infection control industry.
Our products and services are fully customized with all our service work complying with ISO 22000:2018 and ISO 9001:2015, covering a risk management system based on the principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) for the provision of specialized cleaning services to the hospitality, healthcare, and food sectors.
We are able to provide certificates and post service reports to our clients which are critical to their food safety and compliance audits.
We have also developed our own Business Management Software which includes a Service App, our own customized online quoting, scheduling and reporting system as well as an online training and resource system for our franchisees and master franchise licensees. This ensures ongoing compliance and consistency with service deliverables.
6. What are the essential qualities that you look for in a franchisee?
To try and ensure all our business partners and franchisees are successful, we like to offer Franchises and Master Franchises to people that share our values and beliefs.
These include:
• A passion for life and people
• Willingness to try new things
• Entrepreneurship
• Positive and Optimistic
• A team player
• Treating adversity as a challenge
• Service and quality orientated
• Sincerity in their approach
• Willingness to comply with systems and procedures
• Being passionate about Food Safety and Customer Service
7. How long does it take, on average, for your franchisee to realize their investment?
Our franchisees have the capacity to grow very quickly in the current market. For example, a new franchisee took over an existing Jaymak business and within 12 months they have grown the business by 400%. Another franchisee took on several territories within the Sydney market and has doubled the size of that business in the past 18 months. The key to this kind of growth is dependent on the drive and commitment of the franchisee.
8. What was the major challenge you faced in your career and how did you overcome it?
The biggest challenge was separating myself from the core day to day operations of the business. I spent too much time working in the business rather than on the business during the first 10 years. Over time I learnt to delegate and employ staff with different skill sets to grow the brand. It’s essential to have the right management team around you. I believe we’re in the most exciting phase of the business to date with an excellent head office team who are all extremely driven, knowledgeable and have great vision.
Surround yourself with good people who share your dreams and keep you balanced throughout the journey.
8.1 What is your best achievement?
For the Jaymak business it was achieving our ISO certification in 2006. It enabled Jaymak to grow into what it is today and with the increased demands for hygiene, having certified cleaning processes is paramount for our customers in healthcare, hospitality and the food manufacturing and distribution sectors.
For me personally – having an amazing family!
9. How does your business day start?
Taking the dog for a walk along the beach with my wife.
10. What was your best moment throughout your franchise career?
I feel that it is still yet to come. I have so much more I now want to achieve with Jaymak especially with all that has happened around the world with Covid and how are business is positioned post-pandemic.
11. Where do you see your brand in the next 5 years?
The 24 years of experience and expertise in the hygiene industry provides Jaymak with the ideal platform in this post-pandemic period to not only grow our brand throughout Australia but throughout the world.
We have commenced discussions already with potential franchisees in New Zealand and have also engaged franchise consultants to assist us in offering Master Franchises in the UAE, Singapore and Malaysia.
We are expecting double-digit growth again in Australia next year and there is no reason this will not continue in the following years.
The biggest issue we are faced with now is the recruitment of enough franchisees and employing enough staff to manage the growth!
Over the next 5 years expect to have all of New Zealand franchised and at least 5 Master Franchises in other countries.
12. Any tips you want to impart to our readers who want to be in the franchise industry?
Running a franchise business is not easy and success is seldom built overnight. It is often a rollercoaster ride with some amazing highs but also some lows. As the Franchisor and entrepreneur, the best part about it for me was that I controlled the ride. It’s important to enjoy the journey and celebrate the various milestones along the way.
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