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Top Handyman Franchises

We live in a different era. This era is characterized by fast paced and busy lifestyle, long commute time to work and less time available for getting acquainted with the family and for taking care of personal and family matters. The pressure is getting higher and higher and the limited time we have during the weekends and vacations for getting relaxed and rejuvenate ourselves for the upcoming week has become more and more precious. In this condition a “Honey Do” list is like a pain in the back when it comes to doing the mundane tasks of repairing a leaking facet or changing a hard to reach light bulb and maybe that’s why such a list doesn’t exist anymore in many families. Nevertheless, still things break in homes and someone needs to do the fix-up work.

For many families also age is catching up especially with the Boomers who made Do-It-Yourself so successful. Instead of getting up on a ladder to install that new ceiling fan, they’d now rather pay someone to do it. This shift has created the skyrocketing Do-It-For-Me market-and it’s huge. Over 80-million Boomers have turned 60. Add dual income families with time constraints and upwardly mobile young professionals, and you have a North American market that will spend over $150-billion annually on home repair services.

Home repair and maintenance franchises have been among the most popular franchise concepts in the U.S. in the past 10 years. These franchises are mostly designed to address a list of common problems that need to be fixed around the home. They do not usually do projects or anything that requires a general contractor’s license, but rather focus on fairly common repair tasks that still require experience and takes a lot of effort and time from the property owner to get fixed.

Here on the bottom of this page you can find our list of handyman franchise businesses. It is very important to note that as with any franchise, the secret to success is to do your research before deciding to enter into the franchise agreement. We have explained in detail six different steps that you should take when investigating a franchise. You need to talk to franchisor to discover how effective the franchise system is in helping you succeed in your business. Does the system have a great marketing program to attract customers and employees? Does it have an automated scheduling program (perhaps with a national call center) to make sure the employees are busy generating revenue for the franchisee all day every day? Make sure to contact a number of their franchisees and ask them all about the business. What’s good and what’s not? What kind of numbers are they producing, and what are their major difficult issues with the business? Finally, if they had to do it all over again, what would they change and would they get this franchise again?

franchise opportunity for sale mr. Handyman

As a part of ServiceMaster family of brands, Mr. Handyman is the recognized industry leader in home repairs and maintenance with more franchises units than another handyman service. The business requires minimal inventory and few employees. Mr. Handyman provides maintenance and repair services to residential and commercial markets. Prompt, safe and reliable technicians focus on completing their customers “to do” list including caulking bathtubs, carpentry work, assembling furniture, hanging pictures, installing shelves and closet organizers, putting up trim or molding, installing window treatments, baby proofing and painting. Request more information →

Handyman Matters Franchise

Handyman Matters is a high energy handyman business that cares for peoples’ homes and commercial properties. Their customers are seniors, busy working professionals, single male and female home owners, and all commercial properties. The tasks they perform are plumbing, electrical, drywall, tile, carpentry and any miscellaneous task around a property in a Time Plus Material contract with the client. The typical day in the life of an owner operator is 7:30 – 5:30 Monday through Friday. They have a strong proprietary database that integrates with an accounting package. Advantages include low overhead and quick ramp-up time. Request more information →

House Doctors Franchise

House Doctors can help clients with all home repair and improvement needs. There’s no need to call several craftsmen to complete various projects around the house. With House Doctors, one call does it all! House Doctors provides handyman services such as Drywall repairs and installation,  flooring installation and repair, bathroom repairs and remodeling, kitchen remodeling and repairs, door installation and repair, window repair, ceiling fan installation, painting, independent living and aging-in-place modifications, home energy efficiency upgrades, deck repair and installation, and many other home interior and exterior remodeling and repair services. Request more information →

Handyman Connection

Handyman Connection is a home repair company that specializes in small to medium home improvements, remodeling jobs and total home renovations. Whether it’s paint to plaster, drywall to decks, fences to faucets, our handymen get the things you want done. Handyman Connection works with a number of affiliates such as CertaPro Painters, Floors Covering International, and California Closets to ensure only the highest quality for your home improvement projects. Request more information →

HandyPro Seniors Handyman Franchise

Handy Pro is unlike any other program in the country. The Other side of Senior care, providing Home modifications for the dissabled. At Handy Pro, the difference is that they are committed to providing franchisees with the highest level of personalized service and systems. You will always have the benefit of dealing directly with the people who have made a success in the handyman business. Handy Pro’s concept is a comprehensive management system which provides ongoing training, support and guidance to all franchisees. The staff will work directly with you to insure your business will be up and running successfully within the first 60 day’s of training. Request more information →

 

Please call us at (949) 228-6639 or simply fill out the form on this page to get more information or schedule your free consultation for buying a handyman franchise.

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Six Steps to Buying a Franchise

Investing in a new business always is full of stress and needs you to investigate various aspect of the business and to ponder a lot. When it comes to investing in a franchise business, part of your concerns can be taken care of by following a standard route for investigating the opportunity. Also there are a lot of information available to you as the franchise industry is a highly regulated market by federal government. Also some States add more regulations to the ones required by Federal Government and as a result of that if you intend to buy a franchise you should be given access to a lot of information that might not be available to you in case of starting a new business on your own.

For buying a franchise you really should start with evaluating yourself and your current condition. Factors such as goals, interests, passion, skills, desired lifestyle, family members, etc. can affects you being a successful business owner in the future. Also your financial situation including available liquid capital that can be comfortably utilized for the purpose of your new investment plays a huge role in selecting a franchise for consideration.  Sometimes it is hard to come up with some good franchise options because of some uncovered requirements or because there are many franchises in the industry. At this point use of a franchise expert can be a great help in finding some good options for you.

Upon finding one or two options to consider you normally enter a standard process for investigating that franchise. Here is six step process that you should take when consider investing in a franchise business:

  1. Initial Interview
  2. Qualification
  3. Reviewing the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) and Franchise Agreement
  4. Validating the Franchise
  5. Visiting the Franchisor’s Home Office
  6. Taking the final Yes or No Decision

Step 1: The Initial Interview

In this step you will be contacted by a franchise sales representative (or a franchise consultant) and will have an initial interview and presentation of the franchise concept. Keep in mind that investing in a franchise is a two sided way: both you and the franchisor need to know about one another. This initial contact will be made by telephone and you might be asked questions about your background, your skills, the reasons for considering the franchise, what makes you successful and what you are looking to accomplish. In turn, you will have a chance to ask questions and get to know the franchise better including what makes the franchise unique and if it is the opportunity you are looking for or not. Normally for  moving to the next step you need to confirm to the franchise representative or consultant that you have enough amount of liquid capital to invest in the franchise and that your networth amount also meets the franchisor’s requirement.

 

Step 2: Qualification

In this stage the franchise development manager in your area will contact you either by phone or in person to gather more information and offer more specific details. The overall objective of this step is to determine if there is a fit from franchisor’s perspective and to develop a kind of rapport with the candidate. Please note that you are not obligating yourself to buying a franchise by answering the questions or filling out the application forms. Franchisors use these forms to determine whether from their prospective you match their profile of a successful franchisee or not. Some franchisors ask you to disclose information such as social security numbers, banking account numbers, and other detailed information. At this stage they really don’t need this information and generallt it is OK if you leave this information blank for now. Typically they don’t run credit reports or validate banking account balances until they are ready to either invite you into their office or offer you a franchise.

 

Step 3: Reviewing the Franchise Disclosure Document and Franchise Agreement

Normally franchisors require you to fill out an application form to get to this step. The purpose of this application is to get more information about you and for you to show that you are serious in considering the franchise. in this step you will be handed over a document called Franchise Disclosure Document or FDD and you will conduct a thorough study of the document to make sure you and the franchisor are in material agreement on major points. From a business perspective, you might want to know if the disclosure makes sense or can you live with the terms and commitments of the agreement?

Also you can bring the FDD to an attorney who will review it from legal perspective. At this stage however, conducting a legal review may be premature and an unnecessary expense, according to some experts. They recommend postponing this to a latter stage until you gather more information and evidence about the franchise and make sure that is a perfect match for you investment. Nevertheless, it is important to know about the legal issues of the agreement and it is completely up to you to use legal expert advice at any point in the process. If there are any commitment and obligation that you can’t live with, it is better for you to end the process here.

 

Step 4:  Validating the Franchise

Validation of a franchise is the process of calling or meeting with exiting franchisees and the ones who left the system to discover more details about the franchise and to see if they validate the franchise for you. In this step you will interview franchisees, gather data, compare the information you receive from franchisees with what you received from franchisor, and determine whether the franchise system will produce your desired result with high degree of probability. Here is where you test the veracity of the franchior’s systems and determine whether the franchisor provides you with enough support and training and whether the business model helps you to develop your own business with the profitability you expect to have in the short and long run. If the franchise appear to produce you desired lifestyle with a high degree of probability, it’s time to invest in professional advice from a franchise attorney and an accountant.

 

Step 5:  Visiting Franchisor’s Home Office

Many franchisors set aside one or two days a month to host prospect franchisees in their headquarter. Go to their corporate office and meet with their decision makers. Shake their hands and look them in the eyes and ask them tough questions that you might have. It is not logical to do business with people you have not met yet. You need to know the franchisor’s leadership team and see how much effort they have put into developing a system for the franchise.You must have already evaluated the business model against its ability to produce your desired results. Now it’s time to evaluate your trust level of the franchisor’s leadership and key management.

 

Step 6: Taking the final Yes/No Decision

If you have gone through the previous 5 steps diligently, you have done an outstanding job of taking close look at what takes to win as a franchisee. As you get closer to the end of the process you will experience intense emotions such as fear and anxiety. This is normal and they will be disappeared as soon as you make a decision. Now it is time to put everything together and to use the information you have gathered so far to make the final decision. Notwithstanding what your final decision is, it is more important to have a defendable decision. That’s why it is important to base your decision on facts and data you have gathered so far.

 

 Please call us at (949) 228-6639 or simply fill out the form on this page to schedule you free consultation for buying a franchise.

 

Reference: Street Smart Franchising

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Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD): What You See!

Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) provides prospective franchisees like you the information you will need to make informed decisions. In the United States, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires every franchisor to disclose information about its past including any history of litigation or bankruptcy and franchisees who left the system. Also franchisors should disclose information about many other factors including costs, territory, the franchise program, and the franchise agreement you will have to sign. The FDD has to meet federal regulatory reporting standards in order to protect you from fraud. Misrepresenting material information in the FDD is a crime, so franchisors are very careful to be complete and truthful.

There are 23 items in FDD that disclose various information you need as a basis for further investigation and taking the final decision. Fortunately FDDs are uniformly organized to be the same in every state for every franchise opportunity. In this article we outline different items within a typical FDD and give you a general overview about them.

THE SUMMARY PAGE
This page tells you how much your total investment in the franchise should be and the services or products the franchise offers. A typical franchise fee for a unit franchise is between $35,000 and $50,000, but could be much more for some
high-value franchises or for some prime territories. The summary also includes and estimated range for start-up fees, which might include build-out and operating capital needed to start the operation.

Item 1 – THE FRANCHISOR AND ANY PARENTS, PREDECESSORS, AND AFFILIATES
This section of the FDD should tell you if the franchisor owners or executives are qualified by personal experience to teach, train and advise you on the business. Do the executives of the company actually operate the same kind of business or location they are franchising? Do any of them own franchised locations in the same company? Or is the franchise a new concept with short track record? Look to understand who the franchisor operators really are, as individuals. You also want to know specifically what key individuals would be responsible and available to help you if something goes wrong.

Item 2 – BUSINESS EXPERIENCE
This section will also tell you if the franchisor owners have an active location to test products, services and developments. It’s also an indicator of the commitment level those individuals, because if they own their own stores they probably believe strongly in value of the investment. How long have the executives been with the franchise? Are there corporate stores, or do the president and key members own stores as separate franchises? That could be a good sign.

Item 3 – LITIGATION
This section is an indicator of how the franchisor might handle conflicts. How many lawsuits, if any, have they had? They should not have had many. Is there a paAern to the types of lawsuits? Are there any open lawsuits? If so, this section can give you some idea of future financial pressure on the franchisor if they lose the litigation. Also look for any cases of fraud or felonies. You may want to conduct Internet research on the franchisor as well as key principals to determine if there any legal issues that might interfere with your potential for success.

Item 4 – BANKRUPTCY
A bankruptcy in the distant past is not necessarily a drawback if the company ended up coming out of it stronger with provisions for curing what caused the bankruptcy in the first place. If there was a bankruptcy in the past has the company reorganized and revitalized since? Has ownership and management changed since the bankruptcy? The financial reports will tell you the story.

Item 5 – INITIAL FEES
The franchise fee is supposed to cover the cost to get a franchisee signed and then trained. Franchise Fee is used to help cover training, legal fees, and other costs to adding a franchisee.

Item 6 – OTHER FEES
The other fees section outlines any other fees involved. You need to check if these other fees are reasonable compared to similar franchises. You need to consider these as you prepare your own business plan.

Item 7 – YOUR ESTIMATED INITIAL INVESTMENT
This section should include three months of estimated operating expenses as it often takes this long to start building your business and start making enough revenue to cover monthly overhead. Look at this chart carefully.

Item 8 – RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Check to see if there are restrictions on sourcing. There may be a good reason for this if the franchisor has a proprietary formula or recipe, or special quality requirements, or if the franchisor has negotiated volume discounts that they pass on to the franchisees. Determine if what you must pay the franchisor for supplies or inventory is high for identical items you could buy for less somewhere else. Does the franchisor overcharge you for products you are required to purchase through them or their designated vendors? Are you allowed to purchase from outside vendors? You should consider if the franchisor getting rebates for making you use certain vendors. If so, are volume purchase savings being shared with franchisees?

Item 9 – FRANCHISEE’S OBLIGATIONS
This is a directory of where to find your various obligaSons throughout the FDD. You need to know these clearly before you accept a franchise award.

Item 10 – FINANCING
This section describes whether the franchisor offers financing and what kind. If you need financing you should take time to be sure you can qualify before you invest too much time.

Item 11 – FRANCHISOR’S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING
This is a very important part of the disclosure. These are the obligations the franchisor agrees to prior to your location opening. Look for a well-developed training program. There is a training chart that shows the training program and type of training you will receive. More support is always better.

Item 12 – TERRITORY
What is the protection for the territory you are buying? The territory should be clearly mapped, defined and agreed upon before you sign the franchise agreement. You want a protected territory for most retail and service franchises because it is common that as the brand gets larger, a franchisor may allow for more units in each territory. You want to make sure the territory is not over-saturated.

Item 13 – TRADEMARKS
Check to see if the company has any registered trademarks. A good resource for information and checking the trademark is www.uspto.gov. Who actually owns the trademark? If the franchisor has a license for the trademark owned by someone else, will you be able to use it if the franchisor’s license is terminated? Look at this carefully. You must have federal protections of the trademark to ensure brand value.

Item 14 – PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS, AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION
Are there patents? If so, how important are they for the success of the franchise? Are they critical? A patent only lasts for 17 years. Check to see how many years are led on the important patents. Consider the impact to your franchise when the patent expires.

Item 15 – OBLIGATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ACTUAL OPERATION OF THE FRANCHISE BUSINESS
This section is important if you would like to run your franchise as an absentee owner using hired management. The obligations about your degree of involvement in the day-to-day activities should be listed in this section.

Item 16 – RESTRICTIONS ON WHAT THE FRANCHISEE MAY SELL
Are there any restrictions on what you can sell at your franchise location? What restrictions will you have on advertising, soliciting and selling? Can you add products for retail sale or is it restricted to only what is offered by the franchisor? This is an important consideration which could impact your financial projections.

Item 17 – RENEWAL, TERMINATION, TRANSFER AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Renewals should be available so the franchise can operate for 20 years or more. Renewals in perpetuity are ideal. Check for renewal fees. Are they predictable and reasonable? The franchisor does not incur much expense when you renew, so the fees should be minimal.

Item 18 – PUBLIC FIGURES
This section lists any public figures involved in the promotion of the franchise. Are they owners, spokesmen, or actual franchisees? You will want to consider the length of contract and whether they are critical in having a successful business. What will be the impact if they stop promoSng the franchise? What happens if this high-profile person is involved in a scandal or lawsuit? What if their poliScal or religious views are controversial? Make sure you consider the ramifications of this agreement.

Item 19 – FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REPRESENTATIONS
This section contains the past earnings of individual franchise locations. You and your accountant should study these carefully so you can judge:

  1. What can you reasonably expect to earn from operating the franchise, both in salary and in profit?
  2. Is it in line with your goals?
  3. Is it worth the investment?

Be sure to look at the footnotes. Some of the most enlightening information is there. Also look at the individual location information to see if any of the units are struggling or showing losses. A failing franchise locaSon might be the caused by
the franchisee, the franchisor, by some extraneous factor that has nothing to do with the actual business, or a combination of things. It’s not always easy to tell in an FDD, however, you can ask questions about this in validation interviews.

Item 20 – OUTLETS AND FRANCHISEE INFORMATION
This is the list with all of the franchise units. Look to see if the location you are seeking is still available and to assess the health of the franchise. How many new franchisees are they selling? How many franchisees have left the program? How or why did they leave? Are there terminations initiated by the franchisor?

Item 21 – FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
These are the franchisor’s financial statements. This secSon helps you estimate the solvency of this franchisor’s system. If you like the other aspects then have an accountant review these statements with you, especially if you’re not expert at financial statements.

Item 22 – CONTRACTS
This shows all of the contracts you will need to sign to acquire this franchise. If you are serious about pursuing the franchise, you will need to read these contracts yourself, and also have your franchise attorney advise you. If you intend to operate this business with your spouse or a partner, both of you need to do this.

Item 23 – RECEIPTS
The government requires a cooling off period of 14 calendar days after receiving the FDD before any transaction is allowed to take place. You must sign, date and return a receipt acknowledge for the FDD to the franchisor. Franchisors need this document from all candidates in order to stay compliant with Federal Trade Commission regulations. You should return the FDD receipt to the franchisor at least two weeks before the discovery day.

 

 Please call us at (949) 228-6639 or simply fill out the form on this page to schedule you free consultation for buying a franchise.

 

Sources:

  1. Buying a Franchise: A Consumer Guide, Bureau of Consumer Protection Business Center
  2. How to Buy a Franchise, Legacy Franchise Group
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Use Elevator Pitch to Improve Your Relations!

It happens to all of us; our boss doesn’t understand that we are doing our best for the company, our wife or husband doesn’t get the brilliant idea behind our decision, the corporate doesn’t care with our great idea, and too many other similar situations. What is the reason for that and what would be the solution?

We are living a life full of new information coming to us every second. We don’t have an hour to sit and chat about another person’s thoughts and ideas. Lack of communication between people in this condition creates a high potential of misunderstanding. Your boss doesn’t value what you are doing because you are not given a chance to sit and explain for him/her the reason behind our actions. We get into argument with our spouse, because we don’t have a chance to talk enough about ourselves with one another. It happens always, whether it is in our office or at home.

What can we do?

You may have heard about elevator pitch: brief explanations of our product, service or our experience that we tell someone in less than one minute (sometimes 30 seconds) to give him/her the best understanding of what we offer. The idea behind elevator pitch is that you have to be ready to sell yourself, your product or service to a prospect while you are with him/her in an elevator going from ground floor of the building to the top managerial floor in approximately 30 seconds. As a sales person you always should be ready to capture such opportunity.

What I want to suggest is to use the same concept and give short reports of what you are doing or what you have in your mind to your spouse, your boss and generally everyone that needs to be informed about or engaged in what you are doing. Prepare several 30 second pitches to sell your ideas, your works and most importantly yourself. Use every short opportunity to communicate those pitches with the person who is somehow related to you or to what you are doing. By doing so, you will have yourself always in their minds. It becomes clear for them that you are doing what you should do.

For example, usually your boss is not aware of what you are doing in your project. Don’t wait for the works to get finished. Have 30 seconds elevator pitchs ready to report him whenever you get that chance of an elevator ride. Update him/her about your daily works. Don’t forget! Your report must be genuine and should not to be seemed that you want to complain. So if you talk about any problem you have in your works, talk also about your approach for solving the problem. In this way, he or she always knows what you are doing your best and not just hanging out in the company!

The same concept can be used in dealing with every other person that you want to have a good relation with.

Always have your short elevators pitches ready and customized for all the stakeholders in life. Use every elevator like situation to communicate them. After getting use to do that regularly, you will find out how these short pitches help you to improve your relations and to make your communications effective.

 

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Are you a project manager? Consider starting your own business!

Why considering starting your own business?

Not in every stage of our life, we can take decisions that move us and the generation after us to a better condition. When working for corporate America, your future is not in your hands. Even by working harder and wiser, you may end up jobless due to downsizing or retired due to your age.

When you have your own business, YOU can decide on how far you can go. Even if you are not successful, you can get help from coaches, sales people, and experts to get back to the track. It will be up to YOU to decide on your success. You can make more money by putting more time and effort on your business or you can have a limited income by working less. You can make a job for someone you love and engage them or you can make a better life for them just by spending more money for them. It will be up to YOU to decide on that.

What helps you as a project manager to make a business?

As a project manager you have learned how to plan for a job to get it done on time, within budget, within the exact scope, by needed quality ,cost effective and most importantly by considering all of the stakeholders viewpoints. Besides, you have learned how to lead your project members to do the job for you.

What is our suggestion for you?

If you have worked as a successful project manager in any business, we suggest that you start your own business by finding a franchise business which matches your earned capabilities or a business opportunity which uses them. Our reason is that you won’t need to invent the wheel again. You get the whole business model, add it to your own PM capabilities and start your own business. As you may know, in this case your success chance will be much higher!

Why can we help you?

Our consultants other than being certified franchise consultants, all are PMP. So beside having enough knowledge in franchise industry, they exactly know what capabilities project managers have. That’s the reason why we can help you in finding your best business.

Want an example of a business opportunity which works for project managers?

Signworld, which has been doing the business for more than 26 years.

Signworld is a national organization with more than 240 independently owned sign companies, which provide commercial custom signage and graphics. Having a Signworld business is like being in charge of a light manufacturing business. You need to meet your client’s time, scope and quality while managing your cost and leading your people. Who can do them better than a project manager? That’s the reason their founder believes that their best licensees will be project managers.

Want an example of a franchise opportunity which works for project managers?

Crestcom, which has been doing the business for more than 25 years.

Crestcom International franchisees have trained business people across the globe in the areas of management and leadership. If you have worked as a project manager and lead a group of people in a group setting, you have the potential to become a good franchisee of Crestcom.

Where you can get money needed to start your business?

A good percentage of the past business owners have used their 401K moneys. You can roll over money gathered there to your company and use it completely tax free.

Where can you get more information?

Fill out the following form and you will be able to connect to one of the MSc, MBA, CFC (Certified Franchise Consultants) for a free consultation.  Why not try it?

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Business Opportunity for Project Managers

When working for corporate America fear of ending up with losing your job, whether it is because of company downsizing or not getting new project or even because of a conflict with your boss is always with you.  If you are lucky, in demand and expert in your field, then you might end up with  retiring at an age which is not considered a happy ending by many people in these days of high expense.  So why not considering another alternative to release yourself from such daily stress and make a more secure career for yourself.

Why not considering another option?

Specially as a project manager, you have gain a lot of experience and several skills that give you the opportunity to work for different companies and on different projects. You know how to deal with elements such as Time, Cost, Scope and Quality. On top of those you know how to manage and lead people for getting the best result. You know how to negotiate and get the best out of a meeting with client. Some of you even might have received your PMP certificate awarded from Project Management Institute (PMI). With all of those skills and experience the question is: Why not using your best energy and time early on to start and grow your own business? At least you can decide when to actually retire!

No experience in business?

You might say: “That is a very nice option but I don’t have any experience in establishing and running a business?”. Ok! Just imagine that as a project manager you can start a light manufacturing business for yourself! A business that needs you to use your project management skills to get the job done within time and budget and in a good quality. And suppose a reputable and successful brand gives you all his support and training needed for establishing that business. You will have ongoing monthly educational sessions and weekly collaboration sessions with other business owners of the same type. And above all of those, except for the start-up costs of the business you won’t need to pay any ongoing fee to this successful business for his supports!! Is it a dream? Fortunately not!

There are some franchises and business opportunities that specifically demand your project management skills and in return help you with starting your own business under their brand name. An example of these companies is Sign World. Sign World is a national organization with more than 240 independently owned sign companies, which provide commercial custom signage and graphics. Read and watch more about Sign World here.

No enough liquidity available?

How much money you need to start this business? The total investment is $185,000. However, more than 90% of the past business owners have started this business using the money accumulated in their 401k account. You have the opportunity and right to roll over your retirement money and invest it into “your company” by buying stock in your new company, tax-deferred, penalty-free, and potentially start your company debt-free.

Take a look at it! What to lose?

Join tens of other project managers, engineers, etc who once had your condition and now are having their own successful businesses. You can participate in the discovery day of this company, visit their training facility, talking with other business owners, reading their documents and having a day full of fun in a welcoming and friendly environment.

It is completely obligation free! The only thing you are investing is a day of your time and probably a trip. What you may decide to do can change many aspects of your life including the moments you have to spend with your family. Why not give it a try?

 

Please give us a call at (949) 228-6639 or use the form on the Sign World page bellow to receive more information.

Top franchise opportunities for sale SignWorld Sign World Franchise

 

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Business Opportunities for Toastmasters

Being an employee and owning a business are two extremes of career spectrum. On one side you work for another company which might be owned by one or more entrepreneurs. On the other side you are the entrepreneur who is in charge of the business and should take every effort to have the business up and running. Starting a new business is a tough job and that’s why many people would rather to stick to their job than setting themselves up for dealing with various issues associated with staring and owning a business. In addition to passion, you need many skills for starting a new business. If you have the right skill and feel passionate enough about the kinی of business you want to start, probably you will become a successful business owner.

As a toastmater, I have always been looking for opportunities to get the best out of the skills I learned through my dedication to Toastmasters. The skills we learn in Toastmasters are useful in many occasions and events.  For example we can speak for a group of audience; we can manage a meeting as a facilitator; we can present a sales training seminar for a group of business owners; we can engage the audience with my story telling techniques in a marketing ad and a lot more. We can do all of these because wee learn many skills as a toastmaster.

Franchise Business opportunities for Toastmasters

As a franchise consultant I know that a franchise business owner is somewhere in the middle of the before mentioned spectrum. A franchise owner doesn’t start his/her business from scratch. It is not necessary to be worried about many issues such as setting up the company, establishing the marketing system, creating brand awareness and corporate image, etc. that a start-up business owner might face. In the case of a franchise someone else has done the hard works before: the Franchisor.

Considering above mentioned  points, I was wondering if I could find franchise opportunities that can be a good fit for a Toastmaster?! Franchise businesses that demand the same skill set that  a toastmaster earns through dedication to the Toastmasters activities without needing to spend time on the part that franchisors have already taken care of. And guess what? After reviewing hundreds of franchises I have found franchise businesses that can be good choices for Toastmasters because the skills they request for is the same as the skills we gain in Toastmasters. The interesting point for me was that some of them even provide a comprehensive training before asking you to commit yourself to buying the franchise.

If you had the same question as I did in mind, you must have gotten the answer by now! There are franchises that demands your toastmasterial skills but still you need to choose the one that is a good fit for your condition. Take your time and look at following examples. They might be good options for your skills.

 

sandler training franchise for toastmasters
Crestcom Franchise For Sale
Top franchise opportunities for sale

 

Please call us at (949) 228-6639 or simply fill out the form on this page to schedule a time for a table topics on finding the right franchise for you.

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Five Important Concerns When Buying A Franchise

On of the biggest steps in buying a franchise business is to review documents provided by franchisor including the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). Those documents usually are composed of several hundred pages and reading them all can seem a very daunting task. However, the contract governs the legal relationship between the franchisee and the franchisor and includes important provisions for future actions if the relationship doesn’t work out. So, it is very important to read and understand the documents before you sign the contract and become a franchisee. 

But, when you start reviewing a franchise FDD and negotiating the contract with the franchisor, you might find things that are very frustrating and that might give you cold feet in starting a franchise business. Here are five different concerns that every person like you might have while dealing with negotiating and signing a franchise agreement.

1- The agreement documents are drafted very one-sided!

You are right! Almost all of the franchise agreements are written in the same language. When you read the documents, even if you don’t have any legal background, you understand that the whole documents is prepared in a way that protects the franchisor and some times you see no room for words such as fairness and impartiality in there. When you add negotiation risks to this, it becomes a perfect combination of disappointment and anger!

What you need to notice is that one of the main goals of the franchise agreement is to protect the franchise system as a whole.The franchisor need to protect the brand, integrity of the operating system and franchisees’ businesses in the aggregate too. The franchise company believes it knows how to accomplish this task best, and that is how the contract is written. If you’re not comfortable with that approach, find a different franchise company with a different contract you are more comfortable with.

2- The agreement is packed with must, should and have to!

Yes! You are right. Upon reading the documents you realize that there are a lot of rules and obligations for the franchisee to follow. There are clauses that outline your obligations in starting and operating the business. However, those rules and obligations is part of a system that believes can help you have a successful business. Being aware of and understanding those rules clearly you will be in a better position in knowing about different aspect of running your business.

You can almost always can call a few existing franchisees and ask about how those rules and obligations affects their business. If you find yourself uncomfortable with any of these mandatory contractual provisions, even after discussing them with existing franchisees and the franchisor, don’t get stuck  find a different franchise to pursue.

3- The franchise agreement contains irrelevant restrictions!

The franchise company might include clauses in the franchise agreement that reflects their future plans, ideas or growth strategy and might ask you to contribute to the associated costs when incurred. The franchise attorneys might also add clauses to the agreement to protect their client (franchisor) in any unpredictable or predictable future situation. Always ask the franchisor to clarify those clauses for you before signing the contract.

 4- Do I have the right to sell the business?

The franchise agreement can contain clauses that restrict your ability to sell your business. These requirements will affect whatever exit strategy you may have in place, so review carefully. Often, prospective franchisees consider this the least important consideration, but don’t be fooled. In actuality, most franchise agreements are for an initial term of 10 to 20 years, and most franchisees leave before that term is completed.

The most common of these provisions explains that the person you sell your business to must meet the same requirements as all other franchisees that entered the system at that time. Another provision might require you to offer the franchise company a first right of refusal to purchase your business on the same terms and conditions you reach with a third party buyer. There are also usually some transfer fees you will have to pay the franchisor. You should carefully examine any clauses associated with leaving the system so you’re aware in advance of the rules you’ll have to follow in that event.

5- After All! Is he franchise agreement negotiable?

Both yes and no!

Agreements with well-established franchise companies are typically non-negotiable. If you are looking into buying a proven, successful system, where current franchisees are happy with their decision to go into the franchise, there might be no room for negotiation. Don’t be surprised if you’re told the franchise agreement “is what it is,” and that you have to sign the same contract as every other franchisee if you want to become one yourself. However, if there are provisions of the franchise agreement that prompt questions or concerns, ask the franchise company to provide you with a letter of clarification, addressing the specific point or points you have an issue with. This technique allows a level of comfort to be created, even with a non-negotiable contract.

You might be able to negotiate with some franchise companies. Test them by asking question about possibility of changing the contract in case you find something that really needs changing. If they were positive, it is time for you to use assistance of an expert to review the franchise agreement and to negotiate accordingly. Any change to the original Agreement can be made into an addendum. While you are clarifying different issues with the franchisor, take notes and ask them to put the important ones in the addendum to the main agreement. Be careful about order of priority of the documents and ask them to set the addendum priority higher than other documents in the franchise agreement.

 

 

 

 

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Is Your Franchise a World Class Marketing Machine?

For most owning a franchise offers numerous advantages over an independent business. Things like brand awareness, proven business model, initial training, ongoing support, etc. When researching a franchise these are all things you need to consider but of them all there’s one that needs to be at the top of your list… A serious marketing machine!

The truth is most of us can be taught to do just about anything. Whether it’s cooking delicious food, cleaning an office or restoring someone’s home from water damage a franchisor can teach just about anyone with average intelligence how to do it. The truth is with most business owners the biggest challenge is not providing the products and service, it’s acquiring the customers. Yes, like most other skills we can learn to market but lack of marketing or incorrect marketing is sure to lead any business to failure. Trial and error marketing can be costly and ultimately do more harm than good and marketing in one industry may be different than marketing in another. The point is that unless you are a serious marketing guru you need to make sure that the franchise you invest in offers a top notch marketing machine.

When you research a franchise you need to ask specific questions of both the franchisor and several of their current franchisees about their marketing machine. Don’t buy smoke and blue sky! Buy into a system with proven results. Here are some specific questions you need to ask your potential franchisor.

1. What will the franchisor do to help me build my brand?
Brand awareness is a very powerful competitive advantage and one of the most compelling reasons for choosing a franchise. What is your potential franchise doing to build its brand? Only a small percent of franchises are household names like Subway or McDonalds but you want to be a leading brand in your industry.

2. How does the franchise help me acquire customers?
Without customers a business can’t exist so obviously this is critical. What does the franchise do on the franchisor level to help you acquire customers? What sort of system do they provide? How do they teach you to acquire customers on a local level? Do they have personnel who will come to town and help you gain momentum acquiring customers?

3. Does the franchise help me acquire the right customers?
Acquiring customers is important, but acquiring the right customers is paramount. I have actually seen franchises with a so-called marketing machine that acquired $50 customers at a cost of $100 per customer. While the franchise felt they were growing their marketing machine was actually putting them out of business. A real marketing machine acquires the right customers at a cost that makes a profit.

4. How does the franchise help me retain customers?
Depending on your industry it can cost a business up to 6 times as much to gain a new customer as it does to retain one. Not to mention depending on why you lose a customer could be damaging your reputation thus making it even harder to acquire new customers. Ask your prospective franchisor about their methods of retaining customers, creating repeat business and up-sells to increase your revenues.

In summary, when it comes to franchising, and most businesses in general strong sales and marketing are an element that all success stories have in common. A world class marketing machine can and should be one of your greatest assets in the franchise you choose. Ask very specific questions of your franchisor about their marketing machine then speak with their franchisees to see just how well they really do stand by their promises. A world class marketing machine can send your franchise to the top – lack of it will most likely lead to failure.

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Why On Earth Would I Pay A Franchise Fee?

In dealing with clients, without a doubt the most common objection to choosing to purchase a franchise is the concept of paying a franchise fee. To many, especially those that have never owned a franchise, the concept of paying a franchise fee can be puzzling, overwhelming and sometimes even borderline insulting. Before I address the value in franchise fees and some tips on comparing them, I’d first like to make a few points about franchise fees in general.

What is a franchise fee?
A franchise fee is a one-time fee charged to a new franchisee when purchasing a franchise. Franchise fees can range from a few thousand dollars to over $50,000 depending on the franchise, with an industry average currently around $30,000. Franchise fees are usually paid at the time of signing a franchise agreement and in most cases, non-negotiable, at least in the case of single unit franchises. Provided the franchise is truly a strong opportunity the franchise fee is a legitimate fee and despite what many people believe are rarely a profit center for the franchisor.

What does one get for the franchise fee?
When exploring a franchise opportunity it is important that you know exactly what you are getting for your franchise fee as what’s included and the true value of each will vary from franchise to franchise. The most common things that are offered in return for a franchise fee are inclusion in the system, rights to use a franchisors brand, trademarks, marketing materials, etc. Franchise fees also typically include comprehensive training to run the business, access to proprietary systems and business processes, rights to utilize negotiated vendor products and services, software, operations manuals and location selection and build-out assistance. While these are the more common things included with a franchise fee sometimes franchisors will include other items and services such as a grand opening campaign, computers, software and supplies for the trade.

Is there really value in a franchise fee?
The honest answer is with all franchises, not necessarily, but for a true world class franchise the answer is almost always a resounding yes. What I like to have my clients do is create a comparison checklist of what’s included with a particular franchisor’s franchise fee and the costs associated if they started an independent business and went out and purchased equivalent products and services.

Some Examples…

How well known is this franchisor’s brand? Not just across the country, but in my desired market. How much would I invest to create a brand this well known in my market place? Branding is not cheap nor created overnight so sometimes the answer to this question is in the millions and would take years to achieve.

Knowing what I know now, how much teaching and training would I require to be as prepared and educated to run my business as competitively as if I were a franchisee? There are consultants, courses, associations, books, etc. to teach just about anything these days. If you did enroll in some sort of educational service or hired consultants to teach you this business how much would it cost you? A few hundred? A few thousand or tens of thousands?

Who will help me design my corporate identity, logos, color schemes and marketing materials? Could you just sit down at your computer and create your own or would you hire a professional agency to assist you with this?

Who will help me choose and design my store or location? Provided your business is a location based business you will want it properly designed so that it flows correctly for your customers, while also meeting any safety requirements for both clients and employees. How much will an architect or consultant charge for this?

How much will software cost to run my business? Does your potential franchise offer you proprietary point of sale and operations software or is it off the shelf? If you went the independent route how much would this software cost?

What’s the value of any pre-negotiated vendor and supplier services? Many franchisors have the ability to leverage group buying to negotiate attractive rates for products and services required to run your business. What is the value of that? If you didn’t have the group buying leverage how would it affect your break even point and profit margins?

What else is included in the franchise fee and how much would it cost if I just went and bought it? Take a look at anything else included in the franchise fee and simply tally up the retail prices for such products and services. How much would you be investing?

Maybe that franchise fee isn’t such a bad deal after all?

Yes, there are plenty of franchises out there that consider their franchise fee little more than the price to play but with a strong franchise opportunity I find that far more often than not, the independent route would cost exponentially more to acquire the same products, services, training, branding, etc. that’s included with a franchise fee. Of course you can always just “wing it” and build a business on a shoe string budget but most consumers are attracted to polished and professional products and services and tend to be brand loyal shoppers. If you are wanting to start a business on the same competitive level that a world class franchise can offer I think you will find that most franchise fees actually offer a tremendous bang for your buck!

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Top Down Vs Bottom Up Franchises

With over 2,000 franchise opportunities to choose from researching for the best opportunity can be a confusing and overwhelming task. Before deciding which franchise is the best fit for you, it’s important to determine which franchises are best for anyone and truly provide a proven successful business model. While there are many factors used in determining this, one key element I look at is a concept I like to call “Top Down Vs Bottom Up” franchises. While there are always exceptions to the rule I’d like to share with you this theory on top down vs bottom up and explain why “bottom up” franchises are generally a much safer investment and offer that critical element of a proven successful business model.

Top Down vs Bottom Up

When you look at the history of most successful franchises, they almost always are the evolution of a very successful independent business that chose to grow through franchising rather than through opening and remotely managing corporate owned locations around the country or globe. This is what we refer to as a bottom up franchise. A bottom up franchise is in fact a proven business model, even to the very first franchisee that enters the system. As a young franchisor they may still have things to learn about selling and supporting franchisees, national vendor contracts, national marketing efforts, etc. but they have been striving to perfect the core business model for years before offering it as an investment to a new franchisee. Look at McDonalds, KFC, Subway and the countless other brands that are among today’s largest franchise systems… They all started as small independent businesses that operated and thrived long before moving into franchising and offering their brand and business model to other investors.

On the other hand we have what I call “top down” franchises that grow their business in an almost opposite fashion. Top down franchises are usually franchise opportunities started by franchising experts who identify hot markets or trends in franchising and jump in the race with their own invented brand, despite having little or no actual experience owning and operating the actual business which they are franchising. They know the industry is hot, they know how to sell and support franchisees, but for lack of a better word they are using their new franchisees as guinea pigs or beta testers to learn how to own, operate and succeed with the core business model. While there have been cases of top down franchises becoming very successful for both franchisor and franchisee, more times than not these are recipes for failure. After all, when you buy a franchise you are supposed to be buying a proven business model from an organization that can lead you from inception to success. If a franchisor has no actual experience building and operating the core business then where is the proof of a successful business model? Who is going to teach you to be successful if they themselves have never actually been successful with this business?

When looking at a particular franchise opportunity one key factor I look at right away is when the business was founded vs when the business was franchised. I like to see the business founded no less than 3 years before it was franchised which means it had at least 3 years to focus on the core business model before offering the opportunity to other investors. Some experts believe this period should be no less than 5 years. When researching a franchise you always want to know the history of the business before it was a franchise. Obviously the longer a franchise has been in offering it’s opportunity, provided its franchisees are successful the less this may matter, but so many of today’s hottest franchises are less than 10 years old and are not the mega brand opportunities most think of when they think franchising. One should never discount a franchise because they are young or don’t have hundreds of franchisees, after all, at some point the giants like McDonalds and Subway also were young and had only a handful of franchisees, but when exploring a young franchise take careful consideration of whether or not it’s a top down or a bottom up franchise system. This alone could be a big determining factor of your chances of success or failure with your next franchise!

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