[Ian Lancaster]

Surely the idea is to Franchise the lot or not franchise at all? Can't see how you can franchise and employ at the same time, nightmare.

Your right there mate!

I can't see why there should be a problem.  If you sell the franchise as a Window Cleaning Franchise and the franchisee is guaranteed as much window cleaning work as he can handle there is nothing wrong with that.

Take Servicemaster - they have a whole range of services on offer but they sell franchises in each of their brands, so some buy carpet cleaning franchises, some buy office cleaning franchises etc etc.  The individual franchisees do not have the option to 'cross' into another area of work unless they also buy a franchise in that area.

So you specialise in gutter/soffit/fascia and other types of cleaning.  As you've already said, your enquiries come from various sources including a regular leaflet drop.  Then you do the initial clean and pass the window cleaning element on to the franchisee to start cleaning from the next due date.  He's happy, he's got a new job but he doesn't have to do the hard graft of the initial clean.

With a (relatively) fixed customer base - the window cleaning round - the volume of 'add-ons' from regular established customers isn't going to be that many, how many time does the same customer want his gutters cleaning out?  We find that lots of new customers ask for soffit/fascia/gutter cleans when we first take them on but rarely if ever repeat the request..  You could either require the franchisee to pass the extra job back to you, or allow him to do it provided it doesn't interfere with the work he is supposed to be doing.  Our best franchisee turns over £1300-£1400 per week but still manages to do the odd gutter clearing or plastic cleaning job in his spare time.

Most franchising companies also have 'company owned' units which are run by employees.

A properly organised franchise will run itself with minimal input from the franchisor, leaving you free to run the 'employed' part of the business.

[Dave Willis]

Can a Franchisee have a helper or would that mean the second guy must pay to be a franchisee too? Or, can a franchisee employ?

[Ian Lancaster]

A franchise is a business in its own right, operating under the terms of a mutually agreed and accepted contract.  Provided the Agreement doesn't specifically prohibit it there's nothing to prevent the franchisee taking on employees.  Imagine if a McDonald franchisee wasn't allowed to employ!

[Oliver James]

To make an informed decision about what to do with this work I would consider the following:

1. Net profit daily
2. Net profit per job (you'll need timing data to calculate this).
3. Average job value
4. Specific data on which customer are causing issues like: debt chasing, upsetting staff, 'Not Today's', 'surprise 'backs, front only and gate laddering.
5. 'Flake' value on the work ie. amount scheduled vs amount completed.

[8weekly]

It might be an idea to sit down for a morning, work out what you want to happen then write down all the ways you can make it happen and the likely effects of all of those.  None of us know anything about your business so we can't really advise you.  In my experience once it's all written down the answer tends to be obvious.

Vin

Ideally I would like franchise it. But after everyone's comments that it may cause problems later on with them not allowed to do add-ons, as then they will be competing with us.

Eventually I will franchise the whole lot, maybe I should wait until I'm ready and get rid of the whole lot instead.

Looking after the window cleaning round has become a chore. 80% of my problems come from 20% of the work and having to do the window cleaning round is reducing our possible profit margin.

I think the only safe way atm is to offer a promotion to one of the guys. They will be employed and use all our equipment, fuel, insurances, call centre, etc. They will look after the rounds, organise, chase payments, book in jobs as they see fit. They can have any time off they want (as long as the work is getting done) and they will just concentrate on their part of the business and won't be asked to work with the other side.

Obviously, I'll still pay them their 28 days holiday, but if they want a morning off, they don't have to ask me (something like this anyway).

It gets the window cleaning out the way so I can concentrate on what i want.

Maybe 50/50 would be ok? The gu who currently does the work is on £9.00 ph, this will jump up to £16.00 ph.

Either I undercharge on the add ons or you don't charge enough for window cleaning. Either way, window cleaning is just as profitable (if not more so) than the other work.

[Smurf]

Either I undercharge on the add ons or you don't charge enough for window cleaning. Either way, window cleaning is just as profitable (if not more so) than the other work.

How do you work that one out?
I guess you've not done for example the likes of any render cleaning yet then as is way more profitable 

[8weekly]

Either I undercharge on the add ons or you don't charge enough for window cleaning. Either way, window cleaning is just as profitable (if not more so) than the other work.

How do you work that one out?
I guess you've not done for example the likes of any render cleaning yet then as is way more profitable 

Each van makes roughly the same each day whatever it does. That's more or less how I price. Works for me.

[ascjim]

Either I undercharge on the add ons or you don't charge enough for window cleaning. Either way, window cleaning is just as profitable (if not more so) than the other work.

How do you work that one out?
I guess you've not done for example the likes of any render cleaning yet then as is way more profitable 

You can easily earn a month on the glass in a couple of days render cleaning.

[8weekly]

Either I undercharge on the add ons or you don't charge enough for window cleaning. Either way, window cleaning is just as profitable (if not more so) than the other work.

How do you work that one out?
I guess you've not done for example the likes of any render cleaning yet then as is way more profitable 

You can easily earn a month on the glass in a couple of days render cleaning.

£6,500/7,000 for 2 days work? Doubt it.

[Don Kee]

Either I undercharge on the add ons or you don't charge enough for window cleaning. Either way, window cleaning is just as profitable (if not more so) than the other work.

How do you work that one out?
I guess you've not done for example the likes of any render cleaning yet then as is way more profitable 

You can easily earn a month on the glass in a couple of days render cleaning.

Depends if you stain the render after you 'clean' it

[Smurf]

Either I undercharge on the add ons or you don't charge enough for window cleaning. Either way, window cleaning is just as profitable (if not more so) than the other work.

How do you work that one out?
I guess you've not done for example the likes of any render cleaning yet then as is way more profitable 

You can easily earn a month on the glass in a couple of days render cleaning.

£6,500/7,000 for 2 days work? Doubt it.

Are you talking gross turnover per van/man or total monthly turnover here 8weekly as there is a big difference?
Take the likes of rhino man business for instance as I'm sure he can hit those sorts of figures easily in a couple of days with the type of work he takes on.

[8weekly]

Either I undercharge on the add ons or you don't charge enough for window cleaning. Either way, window cleaning is just as profitable (if not more so) than the other work.

How do you work that one out?
I guess you've not done for example the likes of any render cleaning yet then as is way more profitable 

You can easily earn a month on the glass in a couple of days render cleaning.

£6,500/7,000 for 2 days work? Doubt it.

Are you talking gross turnover per van/man or total monthly turnover here 8weekly as there is a big difference?
Take the likes of rhino man business for instance as I'm sure he can hit those sorts of figures easily in a couple of days with the type of work he takes on.

One man/one van gross turnover. We aren't talking about Rhino though. He isn't really a domestic window cleaner is he? We do gutters/fascias and conservatory roofs and as I said, these are no more or less profitable than window cleaning.

[Mick Kent]

Wheres that blog video of you James Purewash where your stoned going on and on  bigging yourself up? cant seem to find it anywhere, was a good laugh that 1.

[ChumBucket]

Might get mi popcorn, turning into a proper CIU classic this one!! Line up naked with your tape measures!

[Smurf]

Either I undercharge on the add ons or you don't charge enough for window cleaning. Either way, window cleaning is just as profitable (if not more so) than the other work.

How do you work that one out?
I guess you've not done for example the likes of any render cleaning yet then as is way more profitable 

You can easily earn a month on the glass in a couple of days render cleaning.

£6,500/7,000 for 2 days work? Doubt it.

Are you talking gross turnover per van/man or total monthly turnover here 8weekly as there is a big difference?
Take the likes of rhino man business for instance as I'm sure he can hit those sorts of figures easily in a couple of days with the type of work he takes on.

One man/one van gross turnover. We aren't talking about Rhino though. He isn't really a domestic window cleaner is he? We do gutters/fascias and conservatory roofs and as I said, these are no more or less profitable than window cleaning.

The point I'm trying to get across is that the op wants to get rid of the domestic window cleaning side of his business and concentrate on the more profitable work which I don't blame him to be honest.

Regards to manpower people can only work physically so many hours in a month so looking at it as a business point of view the more the workers can generate per person per month without killing themselves the more net profit a business will make surely.

I think people that get into specialised cleaning such as rhino man and others will make a darn site more than any domestic window cleaner could ever dream of generating. That's even with the normal add-ons they may or may not want to do.

[ascjim]

I heard from a contracts manager for a facilities company that we work for Purple rhino done £13,000 worth of Doff cleaning in one weekend for them.

He would of made more cleaning windows.

[ChumBucket]

I heard from the daughter of the guy who's brother's wife's auntie married a black man that their second cousin's dog knows another dog who's owner charges 15K per window and he's chocka!

[8weekly]

Either I undercharge on the add ons or you don't charge enough for window cleaning. Either way, window cleaning is just as profitable (if not more so) than the other work.

How do you work that one out?
I guess you've not done for example the likes of any render cleaning yet then as is way more profitable 

You can easily earn a month on the glass in a couple of days render cleaning.

£6,500/7,000 for 2 days work? Doubt it.

Are you talking gross turnover per van/man or total monthly turnover here 8weekly as there is a big difference?
Take the likes of rhino man business for instance as I'm sure he can hit those sorts of figures easily in a couple of days with the type of work he takes on.

One man/one van gross turnover. We aren't talking about Rhino though. He isn't really a domestic window cleaner is he? We do gutters/fascias and conservatory roofs and as I said, these are no more or less profitable than window cleaning.

The point I'm trying to get across is that the op wants to get rid of the domestic window cleaning side of his business and concentrate on the more profitable work which I don't blame him to be honest.

Give up his regular contracted work to concentrate on one offs? Personally, I think that's mad.

[Smurf]

Really?
I know a chap personally that owns a firm that is now a very wealthy man all from doing so say one-off add-hoc work.
I'm also betting the likes of Kev on here is not short of a few bob either going by how much he charges to do specialist floor restoration work.

You don't have to be brain of Britain to work out what makes the most profit in this industry and domestic window cleaning is not one of them compared to other specialist work. Look at rhino man for instance and the firm he has built from nothing in a very short time compared to the likes of jo blogs the domestic window cleaner which has been working his socks off for donkey years.

[Ian Lancaster]

Getting back to what the OP was talking about:  Franchising is much more about lifestyle than high profits.   I've no doubt that Purple Rhino etc are making fantastic money with their 'one-off' style of working, but that needs very high marketing input and constant management to maintain the level of top paying jobs and the quality of work to achieve the best profit from each individual job.

If James were to franchise his window cleaning then obviously he would not achieve the same profit that he would by being 'hands on' and paying employees, but when each franchise is 'full' there is a reliable income stream for very little input. 

Comparing franchising with high-end one-offs isn't the point, it's about not having to spend hours on end on marketing, admin (tax/ni deducting, vehicle maintenance, record keeping, allocating and managing daily workloads, invoicing, accounting, insurance, etc etc.) but providing franchise owners with the wherewithal to run a regular lucrative business of their own and paying a 'royalty' to the franchisor.

A properly organised franchise business will provide the franchisor with a very good income (keep appointing more franchisees till the desired level of income is achieved) with minimal admin requirement on the part of the franchisor, leaving him free to follow whatever other business activities he wants.