Perhaps the most thrilling component of running a business is the opportunity to expand. If you dream of pushing your small house cleaning business to the next level, think about a franchise. The support of a successful brand will help your business expand. That means more revenue, which fuels more expansion, which means more customers reached and more lives benefited by your work.
If you are the owner of a small house cleaning business and you’re looking to convert it to a house cleaning franchise, take a look at the following critical steps.
1. Is your business ready?
Despite great intentions and wanting your house cleaning business to flourish, the existing framework of your business may not be ready for franchising procedures yet. A few vital questions to ask yourself:
- Is my business collecting significant revenue steadily?
- Can I identify a new niche within my market that needs my business?
- Is my house cleaning business able to expand regionally, nationally, or internationally?
Answering these questions will help shape what your next steps needs to be.
2. Be a master of your industry
There is nothing more discouraging or painful than trying to launch a business in a market or industry that you are not familiar with. It’s true, sometimes business owners have been running the show for months or years, but they are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with the details of their own products and services. A business should be successful because of the owner, not in spite of the them.
If you are new to your industry, take the necessary time to learn about its every nook and cranny, both on paper and off. It will save you many headaches down the road, is sure to make a great impression with the company you are franchising with, and will make the entire process far smoother.
3. Organize all documents you will need for franchising
The biggest obstacle to the success of franchising is the neglect or omission of essential details. Some of the must-have documents for your conversion include: a full business plan, all licenses and certificates relevant to your business and state, a standardized procedural manual, contracts, and a prospectus. The company you are franchising with should provide the majority of the marketing materials you will use. If not, it is worth reconsidering the company and assessing whether or not there is a mutual fit.
4. Contact a franchise lawyer or consultant
One of the easiest ways to make the transition from small house cleaning business to franchise owner as painless as possible is by discussing each step you will be taking in your first two years of business with a franchise consultant. This professional will be well-versed in all facets of the transition you want to make, will inform you of anything you missed during your individual preparation, and will help you to avoid as many costly pitfalls as possible.
5. Choose carefully who you enlist to help you
This takes precedence over almost everything else in moving forward with business. The people within your company, especially those directly on your team, are more responsible for how any operations pan out than any other factor. Clear and frequent communication is also of the utmost importance. Finding people whose enthusiasm matches their grit and work ethic will be necessary in ensuring that your new franchise sails vigorously and sustainably, instead of running aground with easily solvable problems.
6. Work with the best and only the best
When choosing a service brand to convert your business to, try to check out the brand’s reputation online from their website as well as public opinion expressed through reviews and blogs. Additionally, you can get a feel from the company’s personality from their interactions with the online community. If they are “discussed” or “reviewed” on different sites and you like what you read, they might be a company worth considering.
Check the following before converting your house cleaning business to a house cleaning franchise:
- Do they conduct themselves professionally?
- Do they care about their employees?
- What are their mission and vision statements?
- Can you see your business associated with that brand?
- Would you be proud to embrace that brand once you convert your business?
- Does the business engage with its community?
Old brands vs. newer brands
Older brands are not necessarily better brands. Since they have been so long established, they might be stuck in outdated formats and systems inadequate to today’s fast-moving world. Older brands are also more likely to have perfected a way to increase their royalties, not necessarily giving you an advantage as a business owner. Sometimes, after a business has increased its volume of franchisees, their primary business becomes the actual sell of franchises, not the industry in which they were originated.
Newer brands might lack longevity, but most of them are founded by individuals with a long-term reputation in the industry while still offering the advantage of belonging to a newer, cutting-edge, and innovative brand. As well as offering lower franchising fees and royalties, newer brands more likely to have current forms, formats, and contracts, reducing the liability for your house cleaning business. Check Maids by Trade’s newest franchise business model.
It’s a matter of reputation
Obviously a large factor in the success of your franchise is whether you have selected a reputable and already-successful brand with a sustainable business model. Learn more about Maids by Trade’s nearly two decades of customer satisfaction, quality work, and what makes it a sustainable business. Let us know how we can help.