Cleaning and Maintenance franchise opportunities can be extremely rewarding. If you open a franchise in this industry, you’ll almost always reap the benefits of repeat customers and great profits. There are many different opportunities available to choose from, including: Sears, Merry Maids, Sure Step and EcoMaids. Take for example, Von Schrader Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning (video below). Von Schrader offers theses things to their franchisees:  low-costs, no franchise fees, free marketing aids, and a risk-free money back guarantee.

Pros to owning a Cleaning/Maintenance franchise:

• Training and Support- Almost all franchises in this industry provide some type of support and training, whether its instructional DVDs and workbooks, or training you how to use the machines.
• Supplies- Cleaning franchises will usually have a list of vendors to use or vendors they use. This takes a lot of the guesswork out of what you should buy. This also allows to take advantage of group discounts that may be in place for certain distributors. But some companies may not allow you to use anyone

Veterans and anyone else who’s looking to learn more about running a franchised  business should attend the Franchise Expo South in Miami Beach, January 20-22.

The franchise show will be free for veterans and $10 up front or $15 on-site for anyone else interested in learning more. Look forward to seminars on buying and operating franchises (an additional price). Lots of franchises to choose from; everyone from the UPS Store to No+Vello will be in exhibition.

Check out the Franchise Expo South website.

It ain’t easy being green- Kermit the Frog

Eco-friendly franchises are everywhere

Okay, now that we’ve enjoyed the holidays and enjoyed that great song, let’s talk franchising! People often ask me if I can refer them to eco-friendly (green) franchises. These people want to start a business but don’t want the large footprint it leaves on the environment.

Here’s a great video by Bloomberg on Demand. This video covers the basics of franchising, from typical costs to the FDD (franchise disclosure document).

Video Summary: “Franchising lets people own and run a business without all the risks of a typical start-up. Learn what you need to know about the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), the costs of buying in and a lot more!”

http://youtu.be/aSXLltHsY_o

Costs for starting a franchise can range anywhere from less than $10,000 to over $1 million, with a majority of them in the range of $50-100,000. Determining what you can afford should be one of the first things you do when you start your research. Knowing how much you can invest in the business or how much you’ve been approved for, will help you set an overall budget.

WOOOHOOO!  You can win your copy of  The Franchisee Workbook here before you can even buy it!  The Workbook is Rick Bisio’s follow up to his best selling franchise book The Educated Franchisee.   The hottest how to on picking a franchise available.

How to book for picking the right franchise

Starting a franchise is a pretty big commitment for any entrepreneur new to the industry but if given the chance, a franchise business can prove to be very rewarding (both personally and financially). Here are a few things you should stop and think about before starting a franchise.

If you are reading this blog the there’s a good chance that means you submitted your information and requested to learn more about one or more concepts found on Franchise Gator.  First of all, thank you very much for using the site.  We hope that you continue to lean on us as you search for  the perfect opportunity.

So what’s next?  Well, I’m glad you asked.  Let me help you answer that with yet another question – are you ready to get on the phone with the franchisors?  If you answered “yes”, then you probably know what you want in an opportunity.  You know what questions to ask to help you find the concept that fits your needs.

But if you answered “no”, it doesn’t mean you aren’t serious about your pursuit.  It just means you aren’t educated on how to properly shop for a franchise.  Do you know what questions to ask?  Do you even know how to spot a good opportunity if you come across one?

I will cover these subjects in future posts, but know these 2 things:

1) The key to finding the right opportunity is to educate yourself on the buying process.

2) Franchise Gator can help you get the education you need.

Our chief resource is The Educated Franchisee – by Rick Bisio.  Rick is a good friend of Franchise Gator.  His passion for helping entrepreneurs find the right franchise rivals ours, and we’re excited to incorporate his information onto the site.  You can find summaries of his writings in our article section.  I recommend starting here – What’s Stopping You?

One last note, regardless of where you are in the decision making process, you’ll start to hear from the companies that you requested information on.  Make sure to respond to them promptly, either informing them of when you are free to speak or that you are not ready to do so at this time.  When you request information on Franchise Gator, the companies that receive your request assume you wish to speak.  If you don’t respond otherwise, they will continue to call and email, assuming you are just hard to reach.

Back before the financial crisis in the US, franchisers rarely got involved with the loan process. It wasn’t needed; Franchisees had few issues going through banks and getting approved. Today is vastly different. Banks aren’t lending as much and in many cases, have upped requirements. So what’s a franchisee to do?