A clean business is always a profitable business. And it’s easy to start-and not expensive to buy-a business that already has its foundation shored. The only exception to this if you’re looking for a franchise to own is the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE-F Fraud), which advertises that old scams and frauds have protected over 90% of franchise businesses.
Most startup costs for franchise opportunities are cheap-both in cash and time required to get your business set up and your staff trained. But the majority of franchise owners do not close their doors profitably, even with aggressive marketing and continuous mentoring. Let’s go over the most common “don’ts” for buying a cleaning business franchise:
- You’re not the boss. If you hire employees and hope everyone will be happy, you won’t. The first thing they do is do things they’re not supposed to do. So the next time your empty sink or monopoly of your bathroom are both unkempt; the first thing your employees will do is trash the places they weren’t allowed to trash.
- Contract complexity. Since so many franchises have to buy their cleaning products from janitor distributors, you need long sustainable contracts to keep your costs low and your profits high.
- Sometimes price is more important than quality. If you’re looking for mediocre janitorial expertise, seek a more experienced franchise owner (sense of professionalism). However, if sign on for one of the more prestigious franchises in your area, expect to pay a fair amount for the experience.
- Employees and lawyers. Due diligence is the only way to ensure an owner of a better janitorial franchise has the appropriate background. Although contract and employment agreements tend to be vague, you have no real way of knowing how you and your employees will be treated before you hire your franchisee.
- It’s not for the faint of heart. Run away from paying a few thousand dollars for a business that will be the first thing your employees say you “don’t need” when you don’t need them. The owners of the recite the wiped-clean mopping 5 rule:
- No accountability. Franchises tend to lack financial (or sometimes any) accountability. For instance, if your business isn’t bringing in enough money, you can’t show it on a tax return and request more money from the franchise.
- No ownership of your investment. Franchises are designed for corporate ownership, so when you sell your franchise, you own the business, but the company will not transfer ownership over to you.
- The best franchises have a higher initial franchise fee. The price for a franchise can range anywhere from 3 to 8 thousand dollars per year and more. While the initial investment may seem a lot, the ongoing fees to keep it running can be very cost-prohibitive.
- If your franchise has a store location, it will require a lot more work when it’s empty. Fr Eh proves to be very difficult and expensive for a franchisor to move your business as you are.
- Franchisees have little to no ability to run a business, even with traditional retail locations. The average owner can’t pay the rent. Many refer to this as “Profitless”.
It isn’t true that purchasing a janitorial franchise will enable you to have a six-hit wonder business. Although this point is certainly true, it is certainly not true that you need a franchise to have six Sigmagoal businesses and a wealth mindset.
A cleaning business involves a lot of hard work and whatever amount of work will take time to recover. A business with the right mindset will be willing to do the hard work by itself.