When Orpington resident Stuart Kenwood was made redundant, he faced the difficult choice of what to do with his severance payment. Following a chance encounter with a My Property Pros (MPP) advertisement, he decided to make his dreams of business ownership a reality and launched MPP in his local area. Now, he has big ambitions of giving his wife the opportunity to step back from work and turn the franchise into a family business.
The journey to business ownership
Since leaving school, Stuart has had an incredibly varied career. After dropping out of college, he decided to work in the hospitality sector in Tenerife for a year. Upon his return to the UK, he felt it was time to settle down and get a job that could support his growing family.
For 15 years, Stuart worked his way up the corporate ladder at a national broadband provider as a trainer and manager. Although he had a high-earning position, Stuart found his work wasn’t mentally stimulating, so he sought out new challenges by regularly moving within the business. Following the pandemic, the business he was working for decided to close its London office, resulting in Stuart being given a significant redundancy payment.
This gave him two options: pay off his mortgage or start his own business. By chance, Stuart came across a My Property Pros advertisement, promoting its franchise business model. Being a business owner was something that Stuart had always dreamed of, but he knew that he could now make it a reality with this financial backing.
Becoming an entrepreneur
After speaking to MPP owners, Karen and David Prewer, Stuart decided that the opportunity matched what he was looking for and proudly joined the network. Before the official launch date in August 2024, Stuart received training from the team, but he found that he finally mastered his services while on the job itself.
“When I first launched, I’d been hired to do a driveway cleaning,” explained Stuart. “It was the first one I’d done so I was incredibly nervous. It just so happened that a fellow franchisee was in the area and decided to give me a ring to check in and see how I was doing. We’d only met once previously, so it was an incredibly kind thing to do. I explained that I was nervous, so he offered to come along and help. That kind gesture gave me such a confidence boost to put my skills into action.”
This is just one of the ways that Stuart has been supported since he launched the business. “I regularly keep in touch with the other franchisees – we have several group chats for advice, support and even socialising. When you’re in between jobs, sat in your van and the rain is pouring down, it’s great to be able to chat to others going through the same and having a laugh about it.
“If I’m ever on a job and I’m unsure on the approach, I can always pop a message in the chat, and someone will always come back in a matter of minutes. They understand what I do, day in, day out, and know how to help.”
Since launching My Property Pros Orpington last year, Stuart has been able to offer his customers a more personalised experience. “When I worked in my corporate job, customers were just numbers on a spreadsheet. Now I can offer them a complete service that leaves their home looking its best all year round. I feel like I’m a positive part of our community, developing strong relationships with my customers that I see on a regular basis.”
Big ambitions
Stuart has some significant plans for his family’s future that he’s aiming to make possible through his business. This includes paying back his family for their ongoing support by offering them opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have.
“When I launched MPP Orpington last year, my family were my biggest support. For the first 12 months, we planned to live solely on my wife’s income while we grew the business, which did mean making some sacrifices. This is why one of my main goals is to earn enough money so that she can take early retirement. It would be the best way to thank her for her ongoing support – I simply wouldn’t have been able to get this far without it.”
It’s not just his wife that Stuart wants to give back to. “Both of my boys have ridden along with me to experience what it’s like to offer this level of service – and they’ve been impressed! Although they are both developing their own careers, I would love for them to come work for me full-time one day and truly make this a family business.”
