Franchise Fee- Worth it ?

paulwf

heretolearn speaks a lot of sense!

zackary71

lincroft1710 wrote: »

There are at least 4 companies offering oven cleaning franchises. I presume you've investigated them and decided on Ovenclean. Was it because they charge the cheapest franchise fee? As other posters have said why not just set up on your own.

Thanks,I have researched them all and the fee was not the defining factor...rather the territories that the others cover. Must say that the more I look at it (and the longer the "cons" list grows) the more sensible option is DIY !!
Thanks again

zackary71

heretolearn wrote: »

Franchises can be an excellent way into business - but you need the mindset that you are setting up a business, not 'buying a job'. If you don't take it seriously as a business and be aware that it takes just as much work, really, as running a business independently, then you are going to fail. Yes, there ARE some services provided by the franchiser, and what they are varies, but a lot of people think they can buy a franchise and sit back while work just falls in their lap. And go broke pretty quickly.

I think it's only worth buying a franchise that you couldn't set up yourself, so for example a market leader brand, or a niche market where you are really going to benefit from their expertise/support/training. Any one can clean an oven. No one cares about the name of the company that cleans there oven. The only small advantage I can see is that you'll benefit from a national advertising campaign, but what is that exactly and is it worth the fee? How much business do you need to do after paying their fees to turn a decent profit? Would you be better off setting up independently, having higher marketing costs but keeping what you earn.

Really appreciate the excellent advice...like you say, anyone can clean an oven.

highestb1d

I know this is an old thread but for anyone still looking at this franchise....

They take a set monthly fee from day 1 so they couldnt care less if you do 1 or 10000 ovens a week.
They actively find you NO business contracts and use their website as a business generator and simply text you a customer phone number if anyone contacts them from your area usually due to your costly local advertising.
They tell the customer you'll ring them back by which time many customers have contacted competitors & received an instant quotation.

They also saddle you with a 17k van on a 5yr locked in lease from VW when your competitors will be running around in 2k vans.

calculate your overheads and costings very carefully and learn the pit falls of this business instead of being dazzled with £1000 per week OTE

Also if you manage to find the necessary customer numbers and want to wear out your shoulder and neck scraping out a sickening amount of ovens each week just to attain a living equal to 15k a year then this is the franchise for you.

Mistral001

highestb1d wrote: »

I know this is an old thread but for anyone still looking at this franchise....

They take a set monthly fee from day 1 so they couldnt care less if you do 1 or 10000 ovens a week.
They actively find you NO business contracts and use their website as a business generator and simply text you a customer phone number if anyone contacts them from your area usually due to your costly local advertising.
They tell the customer you'll ring them back by which time many customers have contacted competitors & received an instant quotation.

They also saddle you with a £17000 van on a 5yr locked in lease from VW when your competitors will be running around in 2k vans.

calculate your overheads and costings very carefully and learn the pit falls of this business instead of being dazzled with £1000 per week OTE

Looks like Op was wise not to go ahead with this one. Especially since few people can afford to get their oven cleaned for them these days. in fact few people can even afford to use their oven!

Christheuke

Does anybody have any experience in owning a MoneySave franchise?

I've got all the bumpf that I need and it looks OK but one would expect it to.

What I really want is someone who has had or has currently got a MoneySave franchise.

Brassedoff

I have done a lot of Franchise newco's ranging from £360K down to £10K. I know of Ovenclean, they like many of the same model, plus the car dent/scratch mobs really are only sucessful if its in a very heavily built up area. You have to consider where in the country you are. In London you have a better chance, right up north or in mot of Wales where incomes are less or someone's at home the figures show there is less sucess.

If you are only looking to pay that small amount,I would recommend a mobile locksmith. The only ones I see fail are the ones where people want to work 9 till 5.

BigBoy1

heretolearn makes some valid points, as does Brassedoff. One of the key things to going into a franchise business is being certain its a career you can thrive in, something you enjoy doing. Regardless of the brand, if you hate the work you won't succeed.

Also, make sure you understand what is required to be successful, and what support you will receive from the franchise HQ. As an example, I know of a franchise setup who used how2franchise to "help" them get going, providing them with "documentation" and advice on how to help their franchisees get going. The problem? The document is a cheap joke, not worth the paper its written on. It contained literally hundreds of pages of useless "information" that is freely available anywhere you care to look, like your bank, internet, etc. They said things like "don't forget to pay tax", "you have to open a business bank account", even included the tale of Father Time!! Pages of drivel that actually couldn't help you set up a business at all. The cost? £6000 no less! If you just want to buy the 300 page "guide", you can have it for £500. No, really, not joking, and its not worth 50p!

So, be sure you understand how HQ will support you, be sure they are savvy and have a system in place to help. If they umm and aah when you ask them about ongoing support, think again. There are a lot of people trying to set up franchise companies who are incapable of supporting their franchisees, and if they took their direction from how2franchise or a similarly incompetent advisor, they will definitely struggle.

So, is the brand you want to sign up with recognised? Do you believe they will still be going strong in 20 years time? Is the market you want to enter right for you and your skills? Do you need to lead people? Is there genuine demand for what you want to do? What is their track record like right now? Is the franchise fee a fair one in your opinion?

If you are going for it, good luck and may you have plenty of success. Just don't dive in out of desperation to build an income stream. It's your money, so be certain.

highestb1d

Brassedoff wrote: »

I have done a lot of Franchise newco's ranging from £360K down to £10K. I know of Ovenclean, they like many of the same model, plus the car dent/scratch mobs really are only sucessful if its in a very heavily built up area. You have to consider where in the country you are. In London you have a better chance, right up north or in mot of Wales where incomes are less or someone's at home the figures show there is less sucess.

If you are only looking to pay that small amount,I would recommend a mobile locksmith. The only ones I see fail are the ones where people want to work 9 till 5.

This is sound advice except I would advise against London in running a mobile van business unless the van is always in your sight otherwise you will be picking it up from the car pound every day.
The problem with franchises like Ovenclean is the initial projected figures.
As Brassedoff points out, it will work in some areas and the franchisor uses these flagship areas to project earnings potential on their open days.
Its utter rubbish, projected figures are meaningless, its total guess work as to whether your area has potential and you are the best judge of that, not the franchisor.
This Ovenclean franchise has a good name on the side of the van and thats it!
They dont even take and book appointments for you, just a text with a customers number is shoddy customer service and will impact on your business. You can't clean and manage customers at the same time, it will drive you insane.
They run the operation with skeleton staff to keep their overheads down and their only advice when things go pear shaped is advertise more.
Tread carefully

prosaver

I hardly clean my oven.. sometimes i scrape the burnt big crumbs off the bottom but thats it ... germs cant live in there when cooking as its too hot..


am i doing something wrong?