Mr Green – Brian Milne

AMY RUSS

Twenty years ago, Brian Milne and wife Dawn traded in their North Island farming life to purchase a Mr Green franchise in the Marlborough region.

Fast forward to now, and Brian, the regional owner of Mr Green Marlborough can still be found with his ‘boots on the ground’ and getting stuck into the work.

“I’ve been involved in farming most of my life and always enjoyed working outdoors. When we left our farm, I looked into a couple of different lawnmowing businesses as this type of work was something that interested me.

“I bought a round from an existing Mr Green franchisee. I knew that I could grow it with the existing team of experienced Mr Green’s. Led by the original area owner Alan Gare to fall back on, it didn’t take long to grow my client list.”

Brian manages the lawn mowing team across the region, while Dawn manages the cleaning team, and say that their mantra is, ‘the brand will get you in the gate then it’s up to each individual franchisee to carry on with what the brand was set up as - a service provider who you could depend on for reliability, honesty and a fair price.’

Providing services to get a property sparkling again, Brian says they are a one-stop shop for their clients, and their experienced and insured professional team can do the ‘whole job’ from getting the inside cleaned, from floor to ceiling, to mowing the lawn, tidying the garden, gutter cleaning and removing rubbish.

Brian and Dawn are passionate about the franchise, and its franchisees, and truly want them to succeed.

“It’s a brand that I really care about and will do whatever it takes to see that it continues to be the premier home and business provider for Marlborough.

“I really enjoy going into sections, and gardens that have got beyond the capability of the property owner to remedy and turn it around for the owner. These jobs give me enormous satisfaction and to see a client break down in tears is a tremendous feeling of pride in a job well done.”

Covering the wider Marlborough region, the couple are currently looking for new franchisees to join the team as Brian says the demand for quality services is always there. “When we set up a new franchise and help the new owner go about growing their own business, our motto is, ‘You’re in business for yourself but not by yourself’ The success of the brand is not just the hard work Dawn and I have put in but also is reflective of our franchisee’s determination to do a good job.

“We are quite open that in the service industry, we will not be the cheapest BUT we will be the best no exceptions.”