PROSHRED - Franchise Q & A

John Prittie is no stranger to the world of franchising having been instrumental in establishing more 500 franchises domestically and internationally for a select group of start-up franchise concepts over the past 25 years, including competitive operations in the shredding industry , Mini-Tankers®, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®, East Side Marios®, TCBY®, Jumbo Video®, Mother's Restaurants® and Dominion®.

What has been the key to your success in franchising?

"The key to success in building any successful organization is people" and John believes in surrounding himself with the best. Prittie's partners, investors, management team and staff, suppliers and franchisees "are among the finest and most capable in the industry".

Tell us about your industry experience?

PROSHRED® franchisees really benefit from the depth and breadth of franchise and shredding industry experience that Prittie and his management team have garnered over their 75+ years. "New franchisees get particularly excited about the fact that 3 key members our PROSHRED®'s management team developed one of the largest most successful competitive organizations in the industry and we are back now building a better mouse trap".

John is actively involved in both the IFA and CFA and was a speaker on "International Franchising" at their most recent annual conferences in Las Vegas and Niagara Falls respectively.

"Timing is everything"

According to Prittie, "there has never been a better time to get involved in on-site shredding as Federal and State governments are enacting new legislation, almost on a daily basis, to protect consumers and the environment". He goes on to say that "identity theft and corporate espionage are real issues and quite problematic" and as global citizens we can't move quickly enough to protect the environment". It is believed that 1 out of every 23 consumers in the US is now a victim of some form of identity theft. PROSHRED® franchisees recycle just about everything they shred for their customers. Businesses that are "green are growing". Prittie gets particularly excited about the fact that "the customer pays for the service of shredding and PROSHRED® also gets paid handsomely by recycling facilities for the sale of the waste materials". "There aren't too many businesses around where you get paid on both ends of the transaction!"

The National Association for Information Destruction (NAID) confirms industry growth at 35% for last year.

Tell us About PROSHRED®

"PROSHRED® was established in Canada in 1986 and is known as the pioneer of the booming multi-billion dollar shredding and recycling industry. Prior to launching its current USA expansion in 2003, the company opened franchises from coast-to-coast in Canada. PROSHRED® shreds confidential documents and proprietary materials for thousands of customers in all industry sectors, including medical, financial, insurance and high-tech industries and is the first mobile shredding and recycling service to have earned the ISO 9001 certification, meeting the rigorous quality standards of the International Organization for Standardization. PROSHRED® is also the first company to offer service for home based business, decentralized work forces and residential consumers with its RISC Management ProgramT."

Why is PROSHRED® such a unique franchise opportunity?

"Our Franchisees tell us frequently how lucky they were to discover our franchise offering. It's a pretty unique business, in that it is a B2B franchise opportunity. They like the fact that there is a strong demand for the service, there are recurring revenue streams, customers pay their bills, they get to work business hours and spend evenings and weekends with their family. It's clean, fun business to work in and manage. There aren't too many business opportunities where you don't have to work weekends, worry about 'best before' dates, worry about employees, and where you don't have to pay the high costs of real estate and be concerned about 'location-location-location'". Prittie indicates that most of their franchisees are "white collar business professionals that have had their 'fill' with corporate America". "They have the sales, management and business acumen necessary to grow a business. PROSHRED® gives them an opportunity to utilize the skills they have learned in a business which has both high volume and high margin potential".

What makes PROSHRED® a leader in the Industry?

One of the most important differentiators for PROSHREDÃ�® is the fact that our branches are locally owned and operated yet they are part of a national system. We can outperform the competition locally yet service regional and national accounts professionally. PROSHRED® franchisees and their management and staff participate in extensive telemarketing and sales training, which proves at the end of the day to be the real differentiator. PROSHRED® utilizes the best equipment and technology available in the industry and shred's on average seven times faster than its largest direct competitor. This results in real savings for PROSHRED® customers who are always looking for ways to improve their productivity. PROSHRED® offers the most secure and fully automated shredding and recycling program in the industry."

What's next for PROSHRED®?

"We still have quite a few major markets to develop in the United States. Markets such as Atlanta, Dallas, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, St. Louis and Detroit represent huge potential and are still available. In conjunction with our ongoing USA expansion, we are also preparing plans to expand internationally. Our management group sees PROSHRED® not only as a national account solution but an international service provider. You can expect to see PROSHRED® in every major market around the globe sometime in the not too distant future."