Tired of employing have franchising questions.

[NewGuy]

They cannot be a very reputable franchise if they are supplying back packs sound like a right bunch of cowboys to me ???

You took the words out of my mouth. I'm not going to name them but you all know of him ?

 

[Pjj]

You took the words out of my mouth. I'm not going to name them but you all know of him ?

???

 

[Part Timer]

Well done for going it alone and making a success out of it.

In my case I basically have a chunk of work that I have to choose either to re-employ someone again or look at this route, thinking back it must have taken me about 5 years to realistically consistently make a 60k turnover.

So many trial and error so many mistakes things I did I wish I did sooner took me time to figure it out so supposed the idea would be the franchisee would get there sooner with guidance and also hopefully solve my problem with staying on top of the work and keeping it all in check.

One of the downsides is apparently you have to give the franchisee exclusive rights to at least one postcode or more and if I get any enquiries that I wouldn't mind doing myself from his main area I would need to pass it on regardless. Although I see the logic in this I somewhat not sure about restricting myself exactly but perhaps if I go down this route I need to think bigger scale as there still will be a royalty fee.. in turn he would need permission to work outside his area so I suppose he's much more restricted.

So the problem there would be be the extra workload I have have even hits areas where I work so I was thinking for example of building up his particular list of customers whether or not a few are within my area even though the areas are very big and very dense apparently it could be a problem with solicitor's.

So obviously I've got some concerns and questions but it's either that or just consider selling the round off that I cant handle but it's a good earner still so I wouldn't do that and it seems you could ask for 4x so say 8k for 2k then a 20 percent cut to sell it as a franchise and selling it out right you probably wouldn't get much more then 4x anyway so it's a no brainer.

Another question I've got is for example that route has direct debits BACS transfers but there's always one or two people that just want to pay on the day or next time basically there will always be some **** to deal with it's never going to be all Roses so probably want to know how that goes down.

Obviously I'll have a responsibility to make sure he's functioning so I don't want to over commit myself as I'll be doing this to improve my lifestyle not to work harder. Should he require help building his business and use me to actively get more customers maybe there can be something in the contact where I can do it at x cost as it takes money and time and the 20 percent of clean wont cut it.

Still need to learn so much need to learn what I'm considering is the right move indeed.

Sorry hope this wasn't too long.

It sounds a little bit like you want your cake and eat it. You can't really sell someone an area and then cherry pick the good work generated in it. It would be easy to write something into the contract regarding extra fees if you do more work by getting him extra work.

Unfortunately there's pros and cons in everything you look at. Finding, and accepting, the right one is the hard part. Good luck and let us know what route you decide to go.

 

[Quickwindowclean]

It sounds a little bit like you want your cake and eat it. You can't really sell someone an area and then cherry pick the good work generated in it. It would be easy to write something into the contract regarding extra fees if you do more work by getting him extra work.

Unfortunately there's pros and cons in everything you look at. Finding, and accepting, the right one is the hard part. Good luck and let us know what route you decide to go.

So the only issue is a certain route which goes through a handful of postcodes. So essentially what I have is a business and too much work and tired of unreliable staff. So I need to figure out how that works also it can be a bit difficult to only build up work in one postcode sometimes on the other side of the road there is another postcode..  it would need to be over several postcode realistically for an absolutely full round. Building it is random and when hes full the next van might also cross over so I was kind of hoping stick to your own customers.

But as you can see I'm just starting to learn..

 

[Pjj]

So the only issue is a certain route which goes through a handful of postcodes. So essentially what I have is a business and too much work and tired of unreliable staff. So I need to figure out how that works also it can be a bit difficult to only build up work in one postcode sometimes on the other side of the road there is another postcode..  it would need to be over several postcode realistically for an absolutely full round. Building it is random and when hes full the next van might also cross over so I was kind of hoping stick to your own customers.

But as you can see I'm just starting to learn..

How many staff have you got ?? It’s not easy to get good staff you have to hire and fire a few but there are gems out there , from experience of this I feel the key is a list of appropriate questions at interview stage if they are total strangers , Ime very lucky all mine are trustworthy, good time keepers and conscientious workers , they look after me and I look after them , but I have got rid of ones that haven’t had these qualities, turning up late going home early , on there phones , and slow work rate , I have personally trained each one the way I expect them to clean each type of window etc and had them with me for 3-6 months before letting them go out with other staff . I have also been considering franchising but all seams to complicated to me when I down size hopefully in the near future my guys are going to be having there vans and the current work they do for  a set fee and it will then be there’s , I will still continue to take on work and then stuff I don’t want myself they will have off me , all of them are happy with this and so am I , it works well for all of us . 

 

[Part Timer]

So the only issue is a certain route which goes through a handful of postcodes. So essentially what I have is a business and too much work and tired of unreliable staff. So I need to figure out how that works also it can be a bit difficult to only build up work in one postcode sometimes on the other side of the road there is another postcode..  it would need to be over several postcode realistically for an absolutely full round. Building it is random and when hes full the next van might also cross over so I was kind of hoping stick to your own customers.

But as you can see I'm just starting to learn..

Can you not franchise a set area that's full and then build another round in the multi postcode area. When you can then sell that as a franchise build another one.

Might mean more hours but less manual work. I appreciate the idea is to do less work but you're trying to build a different type of business so it might need a bit more of your time to get to where you want to be.

 

[Quickwindowclean]

How many staff have you got ?? It’s not easy to get good staff you have to hire and fire a few but there are gems out there , from experience of this I feel the key is a list of appropriate questions at interview stage if they are total strangers , Ime very lucky all mine are trustworthy, good time keepers and conscientious workers , they look after me and I look after them , but I have got rid of ones that haven’t had these qualities, turning up late going home early , on there phones , and slow work rate , I have personally trained each one the way I expect them to clean each type of window etc and had them with me for 3-6 months before letting them go out with other staff . I have also been considering franchising but all seams to complicated to me when I down size hopefully in the near future my guys are going to be having there vans and the current work they do for  a set fee and it will then be there’s , I will still continue to take on work and then stuff I don’t want myself they will have off me , all of them are happy with this and so am I , it works well for all of us . 

1 long-standing we are very close and myself in van 1 we can manage a very big workload but still at capacity obviously with electric reels perhapes its like having a third and we do long hours. 

Van 2 is the problem. So we're working Saturdays at the moment ... which isn't really good in the long run he also needs his holidays and so do I to be fair...

The total staff required was at one point 2 in my van 1 in the other and a 1 In third van.but electric reels seems to have coped to only needing 1 in the 2nd so got rid of the third. I also started having some issues so decided to hold off expanding which is crazy really but.

It just seems that if you take someone on with no experience and they realise how much money is involved ok don't understand VAT and other various liabilities so they can end up quitting giving a go themselves. Or just simply getting let down like you say it's just a constant job isn't it which is a little bit annoying especially after you train them up I suppose you've experienced many of these things yourself just need to keep at it?

Obviously I'm not going to necessarily jump into franchising but I just pick you the time I'm it's just frustrating if you know what I mean and after working out the numbers after all the the financials employing probably works out 50/50 if you're paying about 25k a year or maybe 60-40 in the employees favour they get to go home and you have to continue working making sure fans are working making sure customers are paying and then they may decide to leave randomly ? the franchise idea would be a staff member locked in to a contract where he has financially committed

Looking at the franchise model though it does look like you can really upscale it if you have a good model in place..

Did you have any tips and tricks for employing do you go for inexperienced if you do how do you handle it when they realise what sort of turnover they have to produce? Because nine times out of ten it's usually like the only see the turnover not the costs not everyone obviously

I have had some stuff that stay that reasonable time obviously I've got one long-term at the moment so I know it's not impossible it's just really frustrating

Hope it all makes sense!

 

[ched999uk]

You have probably looked at this but maybe some sort of profit sharing or bonus scheme might help employees motivation. i.e. maybe a monthly attendance bonus or a bonus after x jobs per day type thing? The targets need to be seen to be achievable otherwise the employee won't care. 

Franchising is a risk to your company name and reputation! Just because someone has some money invested doesn't mean they will do as good a job as you or be a credit to your brand. If you go down franchising route remember to have leaving clauses in place so you don't lose the work!!! 

Good Luck.

 

[Pjj]

1 long-standing we are very close and myself in van 1 we can manage a very big workload but still at capacity obviously with electric reels perhapes its like having a third and we do long hours. 

Van 2 is the problem. So we're working Saturdays at the moment ... which isn't really good in the long run he also needs his holidays and so do I to be fair...

The total staff required was at one point 2 in my van 1 in the other and a 1 In third van.but electric reels seems to have coped to only needing 1 in the 2nd so got rid of the third. I also started having some issues so decided to hold off expanding which is crazy really but.

It just seems that if you take someone on with no experience and they realise how much money is involved ok don't understand VAT and other various liabilities so they can end up quitting giving a go themselves. Or just simply getting let down like you say it's just a constant job isn't it which is a little bit annoying especially after you train them up I suppose you've experienced many of these things yourself just need to keep at it?

Obviously I'm not going to necessarily jump into franchising but I just pick you the time I'm it's just frustrating if you know what I mean and after working out the numbers after all the the financials employing probably works out 50/50 if you're paying about 25k a year .

Looking at the franchise model though it does look like you can really upscale it if you have a good model in place..

Did you have any tips and tricks for employing do you go for inexperienced if you do how do you handle it when they realise what sort of turnover they have to produce? Because nine times out of ten it's usually like the only see the turnover not the costs not everyone obviously

I have had some stuff that stay that reasonable time obviously I've got one long-term at the moment so I know it's not impossible it's just really frustrating

Hope it all makes sense!

Yes I hear what you are saying , I had several younger ones ages 19-25 all absolutely useless , the ones I have now ages are 40-45 and all are ex emergency services or ex military they are a totally different kettle of fish to modern youngsters . One of my guys started his own round but didn’t know what he was doing and didn’t really make a success of it although he paid his bills , now he works for me and loves it some people are brilliant as employees but useless running there own business, he is the only one that had previous experience window cleaning , I now only take on people that I personally know or who come recommended from someone I know . I like to train them myself and feel this pays dividends if they do things the way they have been shown Ime not boasting but I try to teach them rather than let them make the mistakes I did when I started out , the key to this is finding the right people , treat them right and hopefully they will treat you right , I run a tight ship but they are all happy and know what expect and we have a good relationship more like friends than boss and employees, I expect a decent days work and know every job we have as I have done them all so know what’s achievable in a day , but I do allow for the fact that not everyone will perform the same , it takes time to build up a relationship with staff like this but I think after a couple of weeks maximum you should be able tk determine if they will be suitable or not , I sacked one lad on his first morning turned up 45 muinits late said he had had a hard weekend !!!! ????

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I believe the best thing to do is forget the expansion and just run one van. Make that van the most efficient you can and also make your run the most efficient. Then the van will always make good money without the headaches. That's what I'm striving for with only me and maybe a helper in the future. My van can turn a grand or over that in a week and I'm in complete control but what I have recently done is ditch the toxic customers. Ones that I don't make any money from because they order me about and then just become time vampires and I get left with material I have ordered for them. Best thing I have every done and wish I done it years ago but you need the experience to understand.

 

[Pjj]

You have probably looked at this but maybe some sort of profit sharing or bonus scheme might help employees motivation. i.e. maybe a monthly attendance bonus or a bonus after x jobs per day type thing? The targets need to be seen to be achievable otherwise the employee won't care. 

Franchising is a risk to your company name and reputation! Just because someone has some money invested doesn't mean they will do as good a job as you or be a credit to your brand. If you go down franchising route remember to have leaving clauses in place so you don't lose the work!!! 

Good Luck.

I give them a weekly target in ££ to meet then they get a bonus at the end of the month on what ever the figure above the target they have reached , if its add on jobs like gfs , gutter vaccing , softwashing etc then I pay them a % of each individual job they do extra this motivates them to do more work for more bonus ,but any legitimate complaints or call backs will result in the bonus being lost , it’s very very rare we get a complaint . Hope this makes sense .

 

[Quickwindowclean]

I give them a weekly target in ££ to meet then they get a bonus at the end of the month on what ever the figure above the target they have reached , if its add on jobs like gfs , gutter vaccing , softwashing etc then I pay them a % of each individual job they do extra this motivates them to do more work for more bonus ,but any legitimate complaints or call backs will result in the bonus being lost , it’s very very rare we get a complaint . Hope this makes sense .

I got a good idea what thier daily target is just curious if I'm in the right ballpark figure of salary which could help with stability it's about the uk average.

 

[Quickwindowclean]

I believe the best thing to do is forget the expansion and just run one van. Make that van the most efficient you can and also make your run the most efficient. Then the van will always make good money without the headaches. That's what I'm striving for with only me and maybe a helper in the future. My van can turn a grand or over that in a week and I'm in complete control but what I have recently done is ditch the toxic customers. Ones that I don't make any money from because they order me about and then just become time vampires and I get left with material I have ordered for them. Best thing I have every done and wish I done it years ago but you need the experience to understand.

To be fair this isn't a bad place to be be at all. In my case though it already expanded further than what I can handle unless I at least have a full time 3rd staff member to keep on top of the work .Working 2 men on Saturdays and we're still late. So the options would be sell what we can't handle but from a mental point of view its like admitting defeat so that won't sit well with me ! I would like to think I will either get another good staff member soon enough or learn more about this franchising option I got to do something. Also even if I did consider selling I would not like it because when you sell people can cancel and the new window cleaner depending how he runs it might have cancellations and I wouldn't want that.

 

[Damo]

Hi Guys

Up a bit earlier than normal so thought I would give some input. Before I go any further I will give some input but I’m not going to go into too much information. The simple reason is I don’t want my competition knowing too much. 
 

Why would anyone want to buy a franchise? 
 

Believe it or not people do want todo this. The guys I have working for me have no interest in setting up a window cleaning business (so far) and I’ve genuinely picked guys that I feel are suitable for the franchisee role. I’ve said NO to around 5-10 potential guys.

8% - 20%

I personally know franchisees of national companies and you cannot compare them to me. On Monday I went out to a van with a failed exhaust and a serious hose reel leak (failed swivel joint). So that van had two visits in one day and he managed to complete a lot of his work still. The failed swivel joint wasn’t just a simple replacement either. It not one of those £8.99 elbows that leak after a week!
 

Yes 10% sounds better than 20% but I’ve added value where the national companies can’t. I am building compact rounds over the whole of Bedfordshire for my guys. My second franchisee will be going to ONE town only within 6-12 months, my third one already does this and my 7th will be doing this as well within 12 Months. 
 

Franchisee turnover. 
 

I set out from the start that I wanted my franchisees to earn 20% more than joe blogs window cleaning. I wanted my guys to have the support, customers and equipment to earn good money. My first franchisee who’s been with me 5 years next week is going to hit the VAT limit soon. So he is going to sit under the limit but I do have a plan for him. 
 

Fill them up with ****
 

Not my style at all! The whole idea of my guys buying a franchise is so that they skip all the **** associated with window cleaning. 98% of new customers go onto GC, no dog poo filled gardens and no access issues. This year I think we’re on about 5 customers who won’t or cannot go onto GC. 

The only bad jobs I give them are through the house jobs, but we charge a premium for them. Usually £5 added onto the price BUT these jobs are rare and are quick terraced house. 
 

Equipment 

Grippatank, electric power up 3D reels, extreme poles and a good selection of brushes. Comes with my package as absolute STANDARD, need I say more? 
 

Buy in fee

Due to the unprecedented volume of work we’re seeing I have buy in packages from a £1, yes a £1! Pretty simple the % is higher than my normal guys. The last three guys have taken me up on this offer and they’re extremely happy with the arrangement and agreement in place. 
 

Don’t make the same as employing

Yep probably true, tried employing and it’s not for me. Simple as. 
 

Cash cows

I don’t see my guys as ££££ signs in my eyes. If one of my guys has a bad week I will do my up most to make sure the next week makes up for it. 
 

Successful franchise

Seen this thrown about a few times and had calls from larger companies wanting advice. I’m just doing my own thing and trying to help my guys with their goals. Within the next 12 months I should see my third guy get his own mortgage when they never thought it would be possible. 
 

Vat Registration 

Yes this is the thing i am facing within the next 12-24 months. My first goal and still is, is to have a turnover of 80k, run the company and not clean a window. Profit is extremely high as expenses are very low now. We don’t pay to advertise and I daren’t as we’re constantly bombarded with jobs. 
 

I want my expenses to be less than a £1000 for the year. Can I do that? Probably not but I’m going to give a go lol. 
 

My end goal is a Million pound turnover and I genuinely believe it’s possible and I’ve not even got started yet. I have SO many ideas for this company. 
 

Agreements, contracts, etc. 
 

I lucked out, simple as that. One of my customers is a franchisee Lawer for a multi, multi, multi, multi million pound company who operate across the world. So my agreement which is being re done now covers more or less everything. It’s also not only one way, my agreement protects the franchisee just as much as me. 
 

I could go on and on and on but off to work soon. 
 

I will PM you my mobile number and feel free to give me a call. I don’t mind talking about it all to people, as usually from every phone call I get a question I haven’t thought about or a scenario. So it’s good for me as well as you. 

 

[Quickwindowclean]

Hi Guys

Up a bit earlier than normal so thought I would give some input. Before I go any further I will give some input but I’m not going to go into too much information. The simple reason is I don’t want my competition knowing too much. 
 

Why would anyone want to buy a franchise? 
 

Believe it or not people do want todo this. The guys I have working for me have no interest in setting up a window cleaning business (so far) and I’ve genuinely picked guys that I feel are suitable for the franchisee role. I’ve said NO to around 5-10 potential guys.

8% - 20%

I personally know franchisees of national companies and you cannot compare them to me. On Monday I went out to a van with a failed exhaust and a serious hose reel leak (failed swivel joint). So that van had two visits in one day and he managed to complete a lot of his work still. The failed swivel joint wasn’t just a simple replacement either. It not one of those £8.99 elbows that leak after a week!
 

Yes 10% sounds better than 20% but I’ve added value where the national companies can’t. I am building compact rounds over the whole of Bedfordshire for my guys. My second franchisee will be going to ONE town only within 6-12 months, my third one already does this and my 7th will be doing this as well within 12 Months. 
 

Franchisee turnover. 
 

I set out from the start that I wanted my franchisees to earn 20% more than joe blogs window cleaning. I wanted my guys to have the support, customers and equipment to earn good money. My first franchisee who’s been with me 5 years next week is going to hit the VAT limit soon. So he is going to sit under the limit but I do have a plan for him. 
 

Fill them up with ****
 

Not my style at all! The whole idea of my guys buying a franchise is so that they skip all the **** associated with window cleaning. 98% of new customers go onto GC, no dog poo filled gardens and no access issues. This year I think we’re on about 5 customers who won’t or cannot go onto GC. 

The only bad jobs I give them are through the house jobs, but we charge a premium for them. Usually £5 added onto the price BUT these jobs are rare and are quick terraced house. 
 

Equipment 

Grippatank, electric power up 3D reels, extreme poles and a good selection of brushes. Comes with my package as absolute STANDARD, need I say more? 
 

Buy in fee

Due to the unprecedented volume of work we’re seeing I have buy in packages from a £1, yes a £1! Pretty simple the % is higher than my normal guys. The last three guys have taken me up on this offer and they’re extremely happy with the arrangement and agreement in place. 
 

Don’t make the same as employing

Yep probably true, tried employing and it’s not for me. Simple as. 
 

Cash cows

I don’t see my guys as ££££ signs in my eyes. If one of my guys has a bad week I will do my up most to make sure the next week makes up for it. 
 

Successful franchise

Seen this thrown about a few times and had calls from larger companies wanting advice. I’m just doing my own thing and trying to help my guys with their goals. Within the next 12 months I should see my third guy get his own mortgage when they never thought it would be possible. 
 

Vat Registration 

Yes this is the thing i am facing within the next 12-24 months. My first goal and still is, is to have a turnover of 80k, run the company and not clean a window. Profit is extremely high as expenses are very low now. We don’t pay to advertise and I daren’t as we’re constantly bombarded with jobs. 
 

I want my expenses to be less than a £1000 for the year. Can I do that? Probably not but I’m going to give a go lol. 
 

My end goal is a Million pound turnover and I genuinely believe it’s possible and I’ve not even got started yet. I have SO many ideas for this company. 
 

Agreements, contracts, etc. 
 

I lucked out, simple as that. One of my customers is a franchisee Lawer for a multi, multi, multi, multi million pound company who operate across the world. So my agreement which is being re done now covers more or less everything. It’s also not only one way, my agreement protects the franchisee just as much as me. 
 

I could go on and on and on but off to work soon. 
 

I will PM you my mobile number and feel free to give me a call. I don’t mind talking about it all to people, as usually from every phone call I get a question I haven’t thought about or a scenario. So it’s good for me as well as you. 

Amazing well done. Looking forward to having a chat seems like you've got a good plan to upscale

 

[scottish cleaning service]

To be fair this isn't a bad place to be be at all. In my case though it already expanded further than what I can handle unless I at least have a full time 3rd staff member to keep on top of the work .Working 2 men on Saturdays and we're still late. So the options would be sell what we can't handle but from a mental point of view its like admitting defeat so that won't sit well with me ! I would like to think I will either get another good staff member soon enough or learn more about this franchising option I got to do something. Also even if I did consider selling I would not like it because when you sell people can cancel and the new window cleaner depending how he runs it might have cancellations and I wouldn't want that.

At one point you have to say enough is enough. If you condition your mind to believe in enough then it's fairly easy to manage. If your mind is in expansion mode then there's not much you can do because it will never have enough. I have changed my mindset to ignore expansion and concentrate in my areas I clean. Even if old customers try and come back I won't have them because I'm in complete control now and don't need them back to mess with my business. Maybe its because I have bought all the equipment now and don't have any debt so its mostly profit now.

 

[NewGuy]

and don't have any debt so its mostly profit now.

Shhhhhh, don't tell the tax man that! 

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Shhhhhh, don't tell the tax man that! 

I've got to be above board as I have folk who will report me for the slightest thing. So I spent all my money on new equipment. The next thing on the agenda is a new van, hopefully. ?

 

[NewGuy]

I've got to be above board as I have folk who will report me for the slightest thing. So I spent all my money on new equipment. The next thing on the agenda is a new van, hopefully. ?

I simply inferred that declaring your assets on your books might make you go in the red, officially at least. Thus as far as the tax man is concerned, there are no profits, or at least limited. 

Agreed that we all need to be legitimate with our accounts.