[NWH]

I can't believe people with half a brain still go for this there obviously is but how long before they think this is a joke it's human nature,as well as having to fill up at home pay there monthly fee for the work etc at the end of the day they will think bigger this the wait for the monthly rent would get longer and longer surely. Most people I've had soon grasp they could do this on there own or would like to try to but soon realise it's not as easy as first thought,with this in mind though although they have no work to find as soon as the novelty has worn off and they jack it in you'll be left with a load of work to service. Most domestic customers like the personal touch they like to choose who they have,we haven't quiet reached that milestone yet in this job like a firm of plumbers etc whe the customer just wants there boiler fixed in this job they like to know who's cleaning there Windows you will be calling round to do them on a regular basis and some people don't like to much change.

[NWH]

How many people do you know honestly in this job who have started by investing thousands of pounds,most I know that start this job don't have a pot. Is this a reality or are some on here just giving there ideal business scenario for there business.

[SeanK]

NWH there are people who will buy used poles on Ebay for more than their new price, never underestimate the power of
stupidity or the ability of somebody to exploit it.
By the way I invested thousands of pounds in this job before I had one customer or knew a single thing about wfp and yes it did come from a redundancy package
There are plenty of people out there willing to take a risk if the idea sounds good

[NWH]

I agree it does sound good but we all know about things that sound good don't we,I'm not saying people don't or won't do it all I'm saying is if they have any clue after a while they will get there own work and stop paying the fee it's human nature how long is it going to be before they think about doing all the graft and paying you for he privelidge. It may work for a while but I reckon once they say you can have it back I'm not paying you anymore can you imagine the agro you'll be left with trying to take him to court etc it would take months and cost money to get a small amount of money back from them and be left with a demolished round of work.

[8weekly]

Many window cleaners are charging ridiculously low prices.  Given a choice of charging £10 a house and keeping the lot or £23 a house and paying over 20%, I know which I'd choose. 

[NWH]

Sorry I didn't get that last post

[8weekly]

Sorry I didn't get that last post

http://www.perfect-windows.co.uk/pwpricing.html

When a franchisee starts with Perfect Windows, that's what they charge. Loads of windowcleaners earn £100-£150 a day and think they are doing ok because they don't have the knowledge, confidence and wherewithal to earn that sort of money. A franchisee at Perfect Windows is buying into a well priced business model.

[NWH]

See what you mean but you would like I say be very green to buy into that.

[Ian Lancaster]

I've often wondered about Franchises, what happens come tax return time? For example, lets use "Ian Lancaster". One of his franchisees filling in his tax form answers the "what name do you trade as..?"   Ian Lancaster , yes ? Are you in a partnership ? Answer is yes, or sort of ?

No.  That's the whole point about franchising.

Each franchise is a separate business in its own right.  Franchising has been around for an awful long time, so any problems like that were ironed out long before I got involved.

Each franchisee fills in his own tax return, based on the value of the work he has done in the accounting period.  My income is royalties from the franchisees, for which I invoice them.  Because we are all separate businesses we only attract VAT if our individual turnover exceeds the limit.  It is quite possible for a franchisee to be VAT registered but the franchisor (me) not - the total I receive from all my franchisees doesn't exceed the VAT limit.

In reply to all the people who can't understand why anyone would want to buy a franchise as it's "so easy to start up for yourself" when we take on a new franchisee, I tell them exactly that - there are thousands of window cleaners out there who all started up by themselves, anyone can do it, so why would you (the prospective franchisee) want to pay to join us?  The answer is always "because I like the idea of you guaranteeing me as much work as I can handle and I worry I wouldn't be able to manage that on my own".

I then tell them that if they do join us, there is no way they will ever own any of the work we find for them and even more, any work that they pick up is ours, not theirs.  Even after this (and I try very hard to dissuade them - I don't want people who aren't committed) they still want to sign up.  I've only ever had one who thought it over then decided to go it alone.

[David Kent @ KentKleen]

Hi again Mick, the substantially sized unit with fenced and gated car park costs me very little. It took me a year to find the right spot at the right price. We run a hot tub hire business from it to so need the storage space. Each franchised van buys water from me. (they can make there own if they want too) I intend to let the business pay for the unit and land (why wouldn't I) Having a central unit/office base, branded vans, uniforms etc etc all helps with attracting new custom.

As regard to the VAT level. You cant avoid it if you want to grow a big business. Personally I could survive on royalties just a couple of grand short of the current VAT threshold. Maybe if the wife had a separate business  turning over just below it as well we could go on holiday.

[NWH]

Hi Ian I'm interested in what you do but I cannot see over time how you can keep complete tabs on what there all doing day in day out,if there knocking the odd 50-100 you would never know

[NWH]

How much is your unit a month.

[Ian Lancaster]

It may work for a while but I reckon once they say you can have it back I'm not paying you anymore can you imagine the agro you'll be left with trying to take him to court etc it would take months and cost money to get a small amount of money back from them and be left with a demolished round of work.

Why would I want to take him to court?  He is entitled to resign if he wants to, or more realistically to sell his franchise.  As for just walking away, after he's done that I would simply sell the franchise as a fully developed business with potential to earn a new owner an income way above what he may be earning now.

It's happened, more than once.

[NWH]

The customers I do would never accept any Tom or dick turning up it wouldn't happen,they need to be able to trust people who work round there houses,this is nothing detrimental to you or your work but on my particular work it wouldn't be doable not in a million years. If I sent a new bloke round most of them would be straight on the phone to me,I've had it in the past even on commercial work.

[Ian Lancaster]

Hi Ian I'm interested in what you do but I cannot see over time how you can keep complete tabs on what there all doing day in day out,if there knocking the odd 50-100 you would never know

We use Aworka.  As franchisor I have access to each franchisee's Aworka account so I can see on a day to day basis what they are doing.

Moonlighting is a problem that affects all aspects of business, not just franchising.  If you employ your employees will be tempted on a daily basis to cheat on you.  How would you manage that?  Would the prospect dissuade you from employing?  If so then expansion is probably not for you.

I use a spreadsheet devised for me by my daughter-in-law which shows me at a glance how my franchisees are performing - some have higher expectations than others but over time I know how much each wants to earn per week.  If I see a franchisee is turning over less than is reasonable there are various things I can do.  The most effective is to canvass over an area that the franchisee has work in - if he is moonlighting I will soon knock on the door of one of his "black" customers, all I need do then is warn him I'm checking on his work and offer an 'armistice' - over the next few days a load of 'new' jobs will appear on his Aworka.

I will probably never stop the odd 'back pocket' job but the longer they do an undeclared regular job, the more likely they are to be caught out.

[Ian Lancaster]

The customers I do would never accept any Tom or dick turning up it wouldn't happen,they need to be able to trust people who work round there houses,this is nothing detrimental to you or your work but on my particular work it wouldn't be doable not in a million years. If I sent a new bloke round most of them would be straight on the phone to me,I've had it in the past even on commercial work.

Of course, but then your customer know you are a 'one man band' and would rightly be suspicious of anyone strange.  We have changed franchisees many times.  Before the new man starts we write individually to every customer and explain the situation, a carefully worded letter will work every time.  There are usually some who refuse the new man, but they are the ones who were looking for an excuse to cancel anyway.

[8weekly]

Hi Ian I'm interested in what you do but I cannot see over time how you can keep complete tabs on what there all doing day in day out,if there knocking the odd 50-100 you would never know

That's because you are thinking about the kind of people you employ.

[NWH]

No it's not they never lasted long because they were not right I had 1 for 7 years all the others have been useless,if I need help I sub it these days.

[Tom-01]

The customers I do would never accept any Tom or dick turning up it wouldn't happen,they need to be able to trust people who work round there houses,this is nothing detrimental to you or your work but on my particular work it wouldn't be doable not in a million years. If I sent a new bloke round most of them would be straight on the phone to me,I've had it in the past even on commercial work.

But they are ok with you turning up?

 

[Tom-01]

The customers I do would never accept any Tom or dick turning up it wouldn't happen,they need to be able to trust people who work round there houses,this is nothing detrimental to you or your work but on my particular work it wouldn't be doable not in a million years. If I sent a new bloke round most of them would be straight on the phone to me,I've had it in the past even on commercial work.

To be fair I do agree to a point with what you're saying. I think we may have similar customers, and I know the ones where I should be there, and the ones I don't.

However I still think I could build a good business for a franchisee. There are those who want to work as a window cleaner but have no idea how to build such a business, and feel comfortable working with someone who can show how good their business is and why its worth investing. Just look at Ian Lancaster, KentKleen, Perfect Windows etc...