It’s only their second year as CrestClean franchisees, but Shu-Chun Ma and Karina Garcia Loloy have already made their mark, winning Franchise of the Year for Central Otago.
The announcement came as a surprise for the hardworking pair. When Central Otago Regional Manager Danny Mastroianni began listing off the winners’ traits at the award presentation, including the fact they’d been working seven days a week, Shu-Chun and Karina realised he was talking about them.
“We didn’t expect it,” says Shu-Chun.
“There are so many franchisees who work hard, so we were surprised to get the award.”
They may be humble about the win, but there’s no denying the dedication that’s gone into their journey. For the past six months, Shu-Chun and Karina have been working seven days a week to grow their business.
Shu-Chun and Karina met while working together in the bakery department of Wanaka’s New World. They often discussed their dreams for the future and agreed that being their own bosses was the ideal scenario. So, once they both received their residencies in 2021, they started planning. They initially considered opening a bakery together, playing to Karina’s talent for baking, but ultimately decided they needed a business with a more stable income.
While catching up with a friend in Christchurch, they started chatting about their plans to start a business. The friend mentioned his cousin had bought a CrestClean franchise and absolutely loved it.
“He said it was really flexible. He worked five hours a day and had a good turnover every year,” recalls Shu-Chun.
That conversation jogged a memory. While working at New World, they remembered seeing the cleaners come through, and one of them was Danny, who they realised had gone on to become the Regional Manager for Central Otago.
“We remembered Danny, so we Googled it and said, ‘wait, Danny’s the Regional Manager?’” Shu-Chun laughs.
After reaching out to Danny, everything fell into place. He explained the franchise model in more detail, and they quickly realised it was the opportunity they’d been looking for.
“We had known about CrestClean for a long time ago, but we never clicked that it was something we could try,” says Shu-Chun.
Since joining CrestClean, Shu-Chun and Karina say the flexibility and financial stability have been major benefits.
“We have the freedom to make decisions and manage our time. We also have a good income,” says Shu-Chun.
“We’ve had a good experience with this company. We feel safe,” adds Karina.
Just two years in, and Shu-Chun and Karina are already shining. We can’t wait to see what they achieve next!
