Iowa Interstate All Battery franchisees, Matt and Nancy Breen, helped Al Roker of the Today Show deliver much needed batteries to a youth center facility in Des Moines, Iowa. This contribution was Interstate All Battery Center's part in providing products to selected charities for the "Today's Lend a Hand" tour.
There are plenty of franchise opportunities in the cleaning services and maintenance sector. They vary by many aspects including investment level, commercial vs. residential services, the amount of support the franchisor supplies and several other factors...
Take a look at our annual Top Franchises Guide for 2010! We are proud to announce 133 franchise companies - out of over 500 brands surveyed this year - that are doing things right and putting their franchisees first.
I received an email from someone researching franchises the other day, and since we seem to get quite a few touching on the same topic, I thought it was a good topic to share:
I just found your site and was listening to your podcast on 1-800-radiators. I think what you all are doing is wonderful, but I have a question. Why during the interviews don't they talk about what the franchise owner makes. Why don't they talk about specific financial figures. What it costs to start up, how much you can expect in your first year. What your costs are. Etc. To me, it seems like this is the most important information of all. Is it that your site does not want to discuss such figures or do the businesses you interview not want to discuss the figures and what is the logic behind that?
If you are doing your homework on a franchise, financial information can be the biggest thing you want to know, and it's usually the hardest to track down! The easiest place to start is asking the Franchisor. If they have an Earnings Claim in their UFOC they can share some data there and share the document with you. But if they don't have an Earnings Claim, their hands are tied by the law... there isn't much they can tell you. In all cases your BEST source for this information is existing franchisees. You will find some are open and willing to share the details, and others might not. If you are serious about investing, don't give up- find someone that wants to share the information, don't start with financials but ease into the conversation. Talk to franchisees that have been in the system a long time, as well as franchisees new to the system to get several perspectives. When the talk turns to money, here are some great topics to cover with franchisees:
- Was the amount you spent to get started in line with what the Franchisor told you?
- How much can you expect to make in the first year?
- How long did it take you to become profitable?
- How much money did you have in the bank to cover expenses?
- Are you earnings in line with what you expected?
It may be hard, but you should be able to gather enough information to help in making your decision.
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