SMART franchise as first business
Discussion
I am thinking of buying one of the SMART franchises as a first business. i was looking at the AIR MEDIC franchise which is quite costly but i don't know if it is good value to start of with.
I would probably think abouyt running it for a while before trying to move onto something bigger and maybe more profitable
Now what does the PH lot think about these as a first business as i am currently employed and i am throughly pissed off with my current career
I would probably think abouyt running it for a while before trying to move onto something bigger and maybe more profitable
Now what does the PH lot think about these as a first business as i am currently employed and i am throughly pissed off with my current career
That Air Medic thing I had to look up, so its not a publically accessible brand as such (like traditional franchises such as Macdonalds or Dominos).
Given that, what is its value as a franchised concern?
Sure you could just go and buy a regasser and a van, create your own identity and crack on?
Given that, what is its value as a franchised concern?
Sure you could just go and buy a regasser and a van, create your own identity and crack on?
To be honest if you are starting a franchise at the small end of the scale, can be not much different to working for someone else anyway.
The only difference is of course, it would be like an employee having to pay £20k to start the job and then have no guaranteed wage at the end of the month!
I can't see that much about them on the net, but you do need to be wary. I am sure that there are good franchises out there for some things, and will offer a better income than a normal job albeit for a higher risk.
There are many franchises out there though which are run as nothing more than 'Get Rich Quick' schemes for the franchise owner. That is they have the idea, spend a few grand on the advertising etc then they make their money solely from the people paying £20k for equipment and training.
The only difference is of course, it would be like an employee having to pay £20k to start the job and then have no guaranteed wage at the end of the month!
I can't see that much about them on the net, but you do need to be wary. I am sure that there are good franchises out there for some things, and will offer a better income than a normal job albeit for a higher risk.
There are many franchises out there though which are run as nothing more than 'Get Rich Quick' schemes for the franchise owner. That is they have the idea, spend a few grand on the advertising etc then they make their money solely from the people paying £20k for equipment and training.
Don't go for Franchise - EVER!!!......a friend of mine who used to be Franchise Prinicipal, he has built a Thrifty Car Rental Franchise from 10 years ago and built it into a very successful business with a turnover of £1.5m, and recently he missed a couple of direct debits (loyalty fee) to Thrifty and he was ousted by Scot Group who owns Thrifty.
He got away with nothing after 10 years, it has made Thrifty a rich and successful business......he's now jobless.
Best if you could set it up YOUR OWN business and built from there - you could sell it for millions in a few years later if you are lucky!
Look at me - I built my own car rental Company and it is now very sucessful...I've had offers but turned it down.
He got away with nothing after 10 years, it has made Thrifty a rich and successful business......he's now jobless.
Best if you could set it up YOUR OWN business and built from there - you could sell it for millions in a few years later if you are lucky!
Edited by Tearz on Wednesday 9th January 11:51
Look at me - I built my own car rental Company and it is now very sucessful...I've had offers but turned it down.
Edited by Tearz on Wednesday 9th January 11:52
thinfourth2 said:
I won't be going into any franchise believing the 7 million a day blurb as i am a cynical bugger
But i am wanting to know how much support/interference do you expect when working under a franchise
It could literally be a lot or none at all depending on how much of a scam it is or isnt.But i am wanting to know how much support/interference do you expect when working under a franchise
On the one end of the scale, pretty much all you will be doing it the jobs they tell you, with their equipment, exactly how they tell you to their prices.
That is pretty much being like an employee except you have just spent £20k on your tools.
On the other as long as you work around their rules you can expand as you wish with their help - for example McDonalds.
My guess is since they are looking for one man bands it that it will be the former.
I have worked on the other side of franchising. I used to work for a franchising company, training and supporting franchisees.
Some people who brought the franchises made a good go if it, others were not motivated. I don't know about you, but if I had invested over £25k in equipment,licence fee, supplies and training I would be working bloody hard to make it successful.
Would I buy a franchise? No. Our licence fee for a guaranteed area was over £10k. I can't help thinking how much local advertising and promotion that could get you.
The businesses were only allowed to buy thier supplies from us (officially)
Don't forget the royalties you will have to pay every month. Usually somewhere between 7% and 12 & of sales.
If you can do it on your own, go for it.
The only positives I can see are that you get help and support when needed, some have a well know brand name so that may help attract customers. Some do have national contracts with customers so you may get some extra work out of this.
Some people who brought the franchises made a good go if it, others were not motivated. I don't know about you, but if I had invested over £25k in equipment,licence fee, supplies and training I would be working bloody hard to make it successful.
Would I buy a franchise? No. Our licence fee for a guaranteed area was over £10k. I can't help thinking how much local advertising and promotion that could get you.
The businesses were only allowed to buy thier supplies from us (officially)
Don't forget the royalties you will have to pay every month. Usually somewhere between 7% and 12 & of sales.
If you can do it on your own, go for it.
The only positives I can see are that you get help and support when needed, some have a well know brand name so that may help attract customers. Some do have national contracts with customers so you may get some extra work out of this.
JustinP1 said:
thinfourth2 said:
I won't be going into any franchise believing the 7 million a day blurb as i am a cynical bugger
But i am wanting to know how much support/interference do you expect when working under a franchise
It could literally be a lot or none at all depending on how much of a scam it is or isnt.But i am wanting to know how much support/interference do you expect when working under a franchise
On the one end of the scale, pretty much all you will be doing it the jobs they tell you, with their equipment, exactly how they tell you to their prices.
That is pretty much being like an employee except you have just spent £20k on your tools.
On the other as long as you work around their rules you can expand as you wish with their help - for example McDonalds.
My guess is since they are looking for one man bands it that it will be the former.
I would also add that in the accident repair business we currently use a mobile air-con guy to retrieve and recharge the rads so here's my take:
Your main customers are not going to be retail. It'll be trade. If a local dealer or accident repair centre is on your books then they will provide the bulk of your work and we don't pay £75 a job! Your average customer asks a main dealer to check aircon on a service. Most bigger main dealers have their own gear so its the smaller outfits that can provide a revenue stream. Equally (as a bodyshop) we are now at the tipping point as the cost of the fully-auto gear is now low enough to justify its purchase.
The cost of the equipment can be surprisingly low for a mobile operator. You don't need an all singing fully-automatic machine, <£2k will get a manual mobile set-up. You do now need to be licenced to handle the gas.
What that web site conveniently forgets is the travel time to each job. Insurance and fuel costs. Maintenance of the gear and that 30mins is optimistic for a recharge. There will need to be time allowed for diagnostics and there are always some jobs that require a 2nd visit. I'm always suspicious when a website says you work 50 weeks of the year. Thats illegal as you must have 20 days paid holiday even when self-employed. Equally what about the 8 bank holidays?
Personally I've never heard of air-medic and I would imagine that their franchise fee could be far better spent on your own equipment and some good advertising.
Your main customers are not going to be retail. It'll be trade. If a local dealer or accident repair centre is on your books then they will provide the bulk of your work and we don't pay £75 a job! Your average customer asks a main dealer to check aircon on a service. Most bigger main dealers have their own gear so its the smaller outfits that can provide a revenue stream. Equally (as a bodyshop) we are now at the tipping point as the cost of the fully-auto gear is now low enough to justify its purchase.
The cost of the equipment can be surprisingly low for a mobile operator. You don't need an all singing fully-automatic machine, <£2k will get a manual mobile set-up. You do now need to be licenced to handle the gas.
What that web site conveniently forgets is the travel time to each job. Insurance and fuel costs. Maintenance of the gear and that 30mins is optimistic for a recharge. There will need to be time allowed for diagnostics and there are always some jobs that require a 2nd visit. I'm always suspicious when a website says you work 50 weeks of the year. Thats illegal as you must have 20 days paid holiday even when self-employed. Equally what about the 8 bank holidays?
Personally I've never heard of air-medic and I would imagine that their franchise fee could be far better spent on your own equipment and some good advertising.
- edited for poor spelling
Edited by apguy on Wednesday 9th January 14:42
Eric Mc said:
Franchising can work - but it has many pitfalls.
Most usually when you're the Franchisor 
Look into setting up a similar business yourself. Why let someone else make a profit on stuff you could source from elsewhere, and then take a chunk of your profit for owning the brand name...
You won't need the backing of the brand to get started anyway... how much work can you do on your own / in a partnership?
Okay then it is possible to do the training etc they provide outside of the franchise
But it still leaves me with the fact i have bugger all idea on how to start and run a business
So where would be the best way to learn how to run a business or is there anywhere i can turn to that would help with running a business
But it still leaves me with the fact i have bugger all idea on how to start and run a business
So where would be the best way to learn how to run a business or is there anywhere i can turn to that would help with running a business
thinfourth2 said:
Okay then it is possible to do the training etc they provide outside of the franchise
But it still leaves me with the fact i have bugger all idea on how to start and run a business
So where would be the best way to learn how to run a business or is there anywhere i can turn to that would help with running a business
Ask.But it still leaves me with the fact i have bugger all idea on how to start and run a business
So where would be the best way to learn how to run a business or is there anywhere i can turn to that would help with running a business
You'll never prepare yourself for it without jumping in at the deep end. It's not just the legal stuff. That's the easy bit
Go and read a few basic books. 'starting a business for dummies' is a good one to start you off.
Learn about cashflow, P&L, VAT and employment regulations if you need staff (and do you? Really? Overhead walks on two legs
).Cost out everything whilst working out your business plan. Work out every possible 'what if' and see if you could survive it.
'What if' my supplier doubles his price? 'What if' my receptionist is off sick? 'What if' I only get one customer instead of 10? etc etc.
If it still excites you, do it. If it scares the shit out of you, your better off looking for a job
thinfourth2 said:
Okay then it is possible to do the training etc they provide outside of the franchise
But it still leaves me with the fact i have bugger all idea on how to start and run a business
So where would be the best way to learn how to run a business or is there anywhere i can turn to that would help with running a business
Do you kno anyone that runs his/her own business?But it still leaves me with the fact i have bugger all idea on how to start and run a business
So where would be the best way to learn how to run a business or is there anywhere i can turn to that would help with running a business
A friend of mine got fed up with his 5-9 (often 9-7) and now runs his own carpet cleaning business. It doesn't sound glamorous but in the 8 months that he waited to complete on his home he saved far more than I earn in years.
But he did work hard to get his business established....and still does.
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