While knocking on doors near Silverstone (home of the British Grand Prix), he was unaware that a few miles away, his wife Ruth had suffered a cardiac arrest in the local doctor's surgery in Northampton, while there on a routine appointment.

Ruth died... literally died. But there is no better place to be than a doctor's surgery if your heart stops and they were able to resuscitate her. But she died again. The paramedics were able to revive her - again - and she was immediately flown to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where the prognosis was that she wouldn't make it through the night. All the while, Freddie had no idea this was happening. That evening, he arrived home to find no Ruth. He had to use some logical thinking and eventually tracked her where-abouts, learning of the day's events via the staff at the doctor's surgery. Thankfully, Ruth did make it through the night. However, the specialists were concerned that the lack of oxygen to her brain during the cardiac arrests meant she was likely to suffer complications.

The Rayners' "annus horriblis"

The troubles continued. The 120 mile round trips to the hospital Freddie had to make every day for many weeks meant a complete drop in earnings for the couple. To the point where they had no money at all. Freddie took on local contract cleaning work as soon as he could, which he describes as some of the grimmest work he’s ever done. He hated it.

A couple of months later, as Ruth started to recover mentally and physically, they decided to work together as a cleaning duo - so Freddie could keep a watchful eye on her. They took on 'end of let’ cleaning for local estate agents. They settled back into a routine of earning 'just enough to get by', and Ruth continued to get stronger.

A new direction ended in disaster

They decided to focus on commercial cleaning and were subcontracted to clean a hospital undergoing refurbishment. It was weeks of hard but rewarding work.

Finally, it was finished, and the £8,000 payment (a lot of money back then!) was due.
But no money came. The main contractor had gone bust. No payment.

Freddie held what he refers to as one of his Alcohol-fuelled ‘Pity Parties'. He was skint, completely broke. He allowed himself to sink into desperation as he considered the sad truth. At age 50, he had no money or qualifications to get a better job than the one he had as a cleaner.

Time for some 'do or die' decisions

It's not part of Freddie's make up to wallow for long. So, with new determination and £200 from his mother-in-law to get some leaflets printed (she also agreed to pose for the pics in those leaflets!), Maid For You was born (no it's not a typo - the business was originally called this!) With not one but two HUGE differences to his operations. This time ALL payments were taken in advance.

Freddie's idea was to act as a 'broker' for clients. He tried his theory out one Saturday. He booked two appointments on the same day – because he couldn't afford to travel to the location on separate days. He told both potential clients what he was offering: to provide them with a perfect, fully vetted and reliable cleaner. For that, he would be charging a small fee, and the client would be responsible for paying the cleaner.

They agreed! Leaving both houses with cash from one and a cheque from the other, Freddie headed to the newsagent to find ads for local cleaners. With all the necessary due diligence, he chose a lovely lady who agreed to take on both cleaning jobs.

A franchise business in the making

In 2000 Ruth asked for guidance from professional franchise consultant nervously parting with £10,000 for his advice. It was a huge risk, and Freddie thought there was every chance he wouldn't see the guy or the money again. But they did, and it turned out to be the best investment of their lives. Among the many gems, he suggested changing the business's name from the old fashioned sounding Maid For You. Freddie wanted something that described what they were offering. It was more than cleaning; it was giving clients back valuable time. And so Time For You became the company name.