Franchises

[SMRBAP]

Forgetting start-up costs, and forgetting the gimmickry some employ, would you ever consider buying into one, and why or why not?

 

[Desk Jockey]

I doubt we ever would but yes I can see the value in doing so.

Systems both technical and management
Spoonfed work through nationwide contracts
Better than market pricing on equipment & chems
Possible extra income by assisting other franchises both regionally as well as national scale.
Brand recognition

 

[mirf]

Was looking into one the the food field. The restrictions are hard to deal withon there own. This clause about having to use a real estate agency to find a location for $10,000. after I become a franchisee with no conditions on the sites I want is to much for me. If I do it I'm going alone!

 

[Desk Jockey]

We looked at sandwich shops a few years back. Problem was you need several to pull out decent money and the headache of multiple micro businesses looked like a lot more work than this business.

David I agree that would be a pain but it's how to control consistancy across the franchise.

 

[Willy P]

Yep - franchise. Somreone I know paid $60 k for one of these. He didn't read the fine print and after 5 years, got stiffed for EVERYTHING. Truck was "leased" from the company, so he was left with Sweet Fanny Adams.And it wasn't just him, but a whole bunch of other guys that got stiffed the same way, the generous "owner" let them come back as employees. No phuck that, I like being captain of my own ship.

http://www.citrusocarpetcleaning.com/franchise-opportunities/

 

[ACE]

I started out with a Jani-King Janitorial Franchise. They took on average 30% of gross revenue. Their business model has been copied by hundreds of companies and has just about destroyed the janitorial industry by cutting each others throats and exploiting owners . There is now a warning about janitorial franchises on the Federal Trade Commission’s website.
I don’t think franchises have any place in the service sector. I avoid them as a customer and would never invest in one again.

 

[Desk Jockey]

 

[pinosan]

Doc mentioned some benefits. May be but at the end of the day you end up being an employee for those blood suckers.
can't make decisions for your own company, everything has to be through them, the products that they tell you even if those
suck, even the tools and TMs as long as they get a cut from the manufacturer.
they spy on you. their freaking mystery shoppers and random truck inspections.
I'm happy the way I'm still broke ass CC but happy and on my own I love freedom

 

[Steve Toburen]

I doubt we ever would but yes I can see the value in doing so.

Systems both technical and management
Spoonfed work through nationwide contracts
Better than market pricing on equipment & chems
Possible extra income by assisting other franchises both regionally as well as national scale.
Brand recognition

Don't forget, Richard, that probably the single biggest advantage of belonging to a quality franchise is your company is much more desirable and easier to sell when it comes time to retire. Oh, wait a minute- you are already "retired on the job"!

Steve Toburen
www.SFS.JonDon.com

PS Just like Doc, I'm not beating the drum here for joining a franchise. I never did. Just like so many other things in business... it all depends.

 

[Desk Jockey]

LOL How about semi retired?
j/k I still work everyday!


As a startup I think there is value there, they can give you a head start over the learning curve. However the longer you remain in business the less you need them and their value to you diminishes.

The one thing I'd do if I bought a franchise is it would be "---------- by Chavez", not lose my entire identity.

Like everything there are good and bad franchises, I'd do my research and check with franchisees and listen and learn from their their experiences.

 

[trojancarpetcare]

I started out with a Jani-King Janitorial Franchise. They took on average 30% of gross revenue. Their business model has been copied by hundreds of companies and has just about destroyed the janitorial industry by cutting each others throats and exploiting owners . There is now a warning about janitorial franchises on the Federal Trade Commission’s website.
I don’t think franchises have any place in the service sector. I avoid them as a customer and would never invest in one again.

I had a jani king franchise also complete waste of time and money

 

[dealtimeman]

i have owned and or operated three franchises with three diferent companies in my time in the janitorial cleaning game. Also have "partnered" with two others along the way. i must say i learned a lot from each experience some good and most bad.

if you have no idea what you are doing or how to run a particular biz, a franchise might be a good way to go. but like someone stated above their cut is too high in my opinion. to make it work for us we had to take on a lot of volume of work just to try to get out ahead. By taking so much work we also spread ourselves thin and the quality of work went down and the amount of liability and overall exposure went thru the roof. it just got to the point that if the main office sent the main monthly check a week late it would throw us in a financial bind and felt helpless financialy until with no recourse but to wait. when you have a lot of employees and they are expecting their check for the work they have performed inorder to provide for their families it was a great burden for me at the time. (keep in mind i was young and still a bit green when it came to running a biz) this only happened a few times but it was enough for me to say enough is enough so we sold for whatever we could get and i started LCS.


now on the other hand.


I have pondered and considered getting a restoration franchise like servpro or service master over the few years we have been in the restoration side of the industry. a restoration franchise has a huge advantage as they service multiple insurance companies thru prefered service provider programs and the likes. this is huge when it comes down to the difference in a start up stand alone restoration co and a franchise co that will have work from day one thru the various programs. as i understand it, with restoration franchises the franchise recieves the checks directly then pays the master their cut.

that said i have many friends with franchises that are doing great with steady growth. they say that if you play by their rules you will come out ahead.

 

[Giorgio]

reminds me of the local Stanley Steamer Franchise. After many years corporate took over and the owner commited suicide.

 

[Buck1955]

The one here that has been successful is Langenwalter. They lied when they started telling fellow cleaners they would never do cleaning, only dyeing, course now they do everything.

 

[Shane Deubell]

Yeah i started with one of those crummy janitorial franchises also, but i was a total pain in the ass.Harassed the office constantly, followed the salespeople around hounding them for information.
Learned a lot about commercial marketing/sales from them actually.

Today i would definitely still buy a franchise but only a handful.

 

[juniorc82]

I know a lady that owns a rainbow franchise and she told me they really helped her when it came to procedure ,invoicing and the business end of disaster work

 

[J Scott W]

I did buy a restoration franchise. I went with the organization I did in part because they offered flexibility in the products we could use. The main enticement for me was the national plans they had with certain insurance companies to send work your way.

They also provided some good software for running the business and making quotes / estimates. We got better marketing materials and contracts than I had as an owner / operator.

We did get significantly more business. But they took a good chunk of the profits. Eventually I decided to sell. That is when I feel I really got the bad end of the deal.

If I was looking at franchises today, Professional Cleaning Systems is what I would look at.

 

[SMRBAP]

I did buy a restoration franchise. I went with the organization I did in part because they offered flexibility in the products we could use. The main enticement for me was the national plans they had with certain insurance companies to send work your way.

They also provided some good software for running the business and making quotes / estimates. We got better marketing materials and contracts than I had as an owner / operator.

We did get significantly more business. But they took a good chunk of the profits. Eventually I decided to sell. That is when I feel I really got the bad end of the deal.

If I was looking at franchises today, Professional Cleaning Systems is what I would look at.

Why is that?

 

[J Scott W]

Why is that?

I know two of the key people at Professional Cleaning systems - Craig Jasper and Fritz Thompson. Both are carpet cleaning industry guys not just someone who wanted to start a franchise business. They are good, honest people.

If you have an existing business, they only charge royalties and fees based on how much your business increase with their help. You don't pay fees for the level you already got your business to.

They allow you to be flexible in what products you use and how you clean carpet as long as the final result meets their standard. They are more about helping to market your business than micro-managing it.

 

[steve_64]

when i worked for a chem dry i read the manuals the owner left in the office. lots of good information from the business end but im not disciplined enough to follow the rules to the letter. it would drive me bonkers to do everything they wanted and expected. im sure i would make a lot more money than i am now but i doubt id be happier.

 

[Lars]

I completely agree with you Michael.. Maybe for restoration

 

[ACE]

I also owned a Bonus Building Care Franchise from 2007-2008. Bonus was started by the Ex Wife of Jani-King Founder. Since the economy tanked the Jani-King business model went from bad to worse. Most of the franchises were Ethiopian immigrants. It was the most exploitive thing I have seen in my life. I just got a letter from an attorney who gearing up for a class action lawsuit against Bonus Building Care.

I was disgusted to see Steve Toburen quote Jani-King executives in one of his articles. The article suggesting promoting professionalism by polishing shoes. Heck, most of their current franchises use their hand instead of toilet paper and have never touched a stick of deodorant.

 

[Shane Deubell]

I also owned a Bonus Building Care Franchise from 2007-2008. Bonus was started by the Ex Wife of Jani-King Founder. Since the economy tanked the Jani-King business model went from bad to worse. Most of the franchises were Ethiopian immigrants. It was the most exploitive thing I have seen in my life. I just got a letter from an attorney who gearing up for a class action lawsuit against Bonus Building Care.

I was disgusted to see Steve Toburen quote Jani-King executives in one of his articles. The article suggesting promoting professionalism by polishing shoes. Heck, most of their current franchises use their hand instead of toilet paper and have never touched a stick of deodorant.

Pretty much, all cleaning franchises prey on immigrants now.