Mr Electric Franchise
Options
Comments
-
I would avoid it like the plague. I've never heard of them, and if I wanted an electrictian, Mr.Electric would be my last port of call. Everything they're offering you can pick up for next to nothing or even free. Accounting can easily be outsourced to an accountant for a lot less than 18K. I would definitely prefer to choose you as an individual over a branded franchise.0
-
For £18k you get training to operate the franchise, ongoing support to run the business for things like marketing and accounting, access to national accounts, a local website, manuals to run the business. In short a business in a box, lots of things I don't know.
All things very easy to source yourself. Accounts/tax support from a local accountant is more than adequate and is what most new start ups will do. Plenty of local website firms can create a basic website for you and do SEO etc. What manuals do you need if you're already a qualified electrician? Usually plenty of marketing support/advice from local organisations such as FSB, chambers of trade, BNI networks, etc.0 -
For £18k you get training to operate the franchise, ongoing support to run the business for things like marketing and accounting, access to national accounts, a local website, manuals to run the business. In short a business in a box, lots of things I don't know.
Ongoing costs are for supplies, employing sparkys and other employees as the business grows, marketing costs, van, tools. So for £18k you get the resources to help you run the business but it is your responsibility to pay for the things associated with that advice if that makes sense....@phill99 Thanks for the advice, if you never heard of them and you are in the trade perhaps not a good sign....
Based on what you say you are hoping to obtain from spending over £20k (inc vat) then I don't really understand what the importance is of whether or not anyone else has heard of them.
I would suggest you instead possibly invest about 10 or 11 of your hard earned pounds in something like this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1118837347
(or even better, see if your library will lend you a copy for FREE :money:)
and then take it from there.
That seems to cover most of the things you are hoping for.0 -
For £18k you get training to operate the franchise, ongoing support to run the business for things like marketing and accounting, access to national accounts, a local website, manuals to run the business. In short a business in a box, lots of things I don't know.
Ongoing costs are for supplies, employing sparkys and other employees as the business grows, marketing costs, van, tools. So for £18k you get the resources to help you run the business but it is your responsibility to pay for the things associated with that advice if that makes sense.
I will assess the options away from Mr Electric as well but the offer does seem tempting with all I get. As for controls I have to pay fees on jobs, use their systems and obviously follow technical regulations.
If you are having to buy supplies, hire vehicles etc from them then this is significant controls over your business.
Its up to you to do your own due diligence on the offer but on the face of it nothing looks closer to the fees that are seemingly involved.0 -
Thanks for the continued responses. very interesting indeed.
I understand the logic of the responses so far and it appears more sensible to get a local independent electrician. In my research, I've got the impression that running a small business is more complicated these days, so a franchise could solve that. Given the choice of software to use (job deployment, accounting etc), seo rather than simply booking the Yellow Pages every year and more it led me to believe that all the answers could be there in a franchise. You may say, well it's a small business how complicated can it be but if you are not efficient and using the right systems you will not be profitable in an era where if you want to grow and not just be a one man band these things have to be tight.
As just one question, which of sage, quickbooks or xero would you choose? This combined with many others is what got my mind working towards a franchise. How do you make the decision and are you qualified to do so?
Regarding a business for dummies book, I'm not sure that will be in depth enough if you want to prosper and develop a business that stands out.
Finally though (I can’t add links so I’ll describe what I did), do a google search for “endole” and then “dwyer uk franchising limited”. It kind of says it all, the company selling the franchises has been operating for 3 years and 3 months with a net worth of £-583,677. Following the phone calls from Mr Electric I have had, I am guessing this is a subsidiary company of the main Dwyer Group organisation in the states.
So it leaves me with one comment.
STAY AWAY AND RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN!0 -
As just one question, which of sage, quickbooks or xero would you choose?
Again, that's something your accountant will help you with.
But, I'd run a mile from Sage - truly horrible, expensive and hard to use for someone who's not a book-keeper. Quickbooks is fine, as is Xevo, but there are plenty of other options more suited to a tradesman new start-up business.0 -
As just one question, which of sage, quickbooks or xero would you choose?
Have a look at VT Cash Book, dead easy to use, and free.
http://www.vtsoftware.co.uk/cashbook/
VT have other paid for software that will sort out year end, and is more complicated. To be honest you are better off giving your bookwork to an accountant to sort out the years end fun and games.0 -
Another 'thing' worth a mention is that franchises often tie you into certain suppliers, and there's no guarantee that those suppliers aren't taking the mickey.
OK, so for food franchises, consistency is their biggest value - Domino's Pizza may not be the greatest pizza ever, but it will be consistently OK. This is important as people might order a pizza every week. (How often do you order an electrician? ;-) ) They certainly should have a few nominated suppliers and trusted supply chains.
For a spark, if you have to buy your van from XYZ, and it comes with full branding livery where you could get a white van for 20% less, is it worth it? Maybe a suitable secondhand white van for a third of the price is more appropriate for a couple of years as you find your feet.
Maybe you have to buy your cable and trunking, or stationery, or whatever from some 'approved supplier' who is the franchisor's brother. Maybe the service is unreliable and you get trapped between unreliable parts and official invoices and not being able to invoice!
Have a look at services like 'crunch' - they'll take most of the misery out of accounting for you for very reasonable fees, or better still get a local accountant who can talk you through everything and hold your hand through the early years!
But £18k + VAT I'd be expecting a LOT more supplied than a few leads. Only ones of interest are the national account ones, and there's no guarantee they exist, will remain, will expand, or even pay the same as private ones.0 -
The other thing which I don't think has been mentioned is that tying yourself to a brand is good if that brand has a good reputation. However if one of the other franchisees is a muppet and ends up in court for killing someone or on Watchdog for being a ripoff merchant - that's your business name dragged through the mud. You have no control over who else is using that name.Adventure before Dementia!0
-
As regards other information I have found with reference to the Mr Electric franchise, here is a legal case from the US (This is just for guidance so people on this forum have a wider understanding of what may happen, if indeed you did not already know):
Go to texa pplaw usual domain ending forward slash "cases" and scroll down to Mr. Electric v. Brian Clark and then on Transcript of Jeff Myers.
Of course this is in America, where as we know they have a bigger suing culture but I’m sure the UK operation will operate in a similar fashion.
In summary this case related to a franchisee who operated outside of his territory after a new franchise was sold in that area. Granted, you are not supposed to do that as part of the contract but if you read the link, it is more complex than that and highlights the relationship between franchisee and the franchisor (the one who owns the brand, in this case the Dwyer Group).
The key points are as follows:
1. It shows how messy things can get between the 2 parties if their requirements are not met or contracts are used to leverage a result for either party. Sounds like a risky situation to me.
2. They don’t write the marketing plan for the franchise but expect them to the work with their guidance instead. I would have thought this should be prescribed for the franchisee, so not happy with this approach.
3. The franchisor keeps a detailed log of conversations with franchisees. This sounds good and logical but can be used to challenge the franchisee on their conduct and therefore applicable for use in court cases. They recorded the content of phone calls to the franchisee but failed to detail phone calls asking the franchisee to stop advertising in the area he was not permitted to do so. I wouldn’t be very happy if I was the franchisee they were encroaching on that they failed to log the right information.
4. So much time was spent compiling a case against this franchisee with numerous individuals involved and so much data collection for what looks like approximately 3 years. Wow, a lot of effort.
5. The new franchisee, not involved in the case bought a franchise, only to discover that another franchisee was actively marketing in their area. I would not be happy if I spent £18,000 only to find out that another franchise was operating in my area, advertising and taking my customers.
6. The franchisee in question who operated out of territory was operating another electrical business alongside Mr Electric and so the accounting of these companies needed to be separate. I did not like this, in short the franchise only pays so much to the franchisor, so if that is the case and other franchisees do that, no money gets back to the franchisor. How are they supposed to market Mr Electric without money from franchisees?0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
- 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 449.7K Spending & Discounts
- 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 608K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 173.1K Life & Family
- 247.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards