Two years ago Turangi locals Betty Larsen and Rachele Da Ros-Tiopira spotted a business
opportunity. “I’d been working in real estate and could see there was a lot of growth
happening in the holiday home market. House sales were increasing and many of the buyers
were from out of town” says Rachele. A local cleaning business was up for sale, and Betty
and Rachele could see the possibilities. “With the arrival of companies like Airbnb and Book
a Bach, Home Away just a few to mention, we were pretty confident more and more people
would be looking for house cleaning services that were based in the area” says Rachele.
Betty and Rachele were right. Since buying Turangi Cleaning they have increased their
employee numbers from five to fifteen. After several requests from clients they’ve also
added a lawnmowing, gardening, and water blasting service to the business. Each day is
different for the pair, with enquiries, referrals and regular cleaning jobs bringing in plenty of
work. “Along with holiday homes, we also manage almost all the commercial cleaning jobs
in the local area. We cover the southern end of Lake Taupō and work right up to Kurutau
and Omori and Pukawa. There’s always plenty to do” says Rachele.
Betty and Rachele love living and working in Turangi. “People here are real. We work as a
community to help each other out and do our best to use local companies whenever we
can. We have all the essential business services and a good internet connection for anything
online. It’s a great location too – half way between Auckland and Wellington and
surrounded by some pretty amazing scenery” says Rachele. “It’s an adventure playground
for everyone”.
Their advice for those thinking of making the move to Turangi and start a business? “Go for
it! There is so much potential here. The business community is really welcoming and
supportive - we’ll be right behind you each step of the way” says Rachele.
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