While not necessarily confined to residential, many construction and building franchises service homes. It’s a broad category, covering from the initial planning of a home build to renovations on existing homes. Here are some popular segments of the industry:
Construction Consultants
Franchises like UBuildIt and DirectBuild help owner-builders, people who own homes or property but don’t want to hire a traditional general contractor for a job, manage their own construction projects efficiently.
Home Inspection
Home inspection franchises help ensure that a home being bought meets the regulations of an area in various categories. For buyers, home inspection franchisees help them potentially avoid surprises that could cost them big money down the road on top of the purchase price. On the other side, a home inspection franchisee can give sellers a better idea of any problem areas that might exist so they can forestall any questions a buyer might raise.
Landscaping and Hardscaping
Landscaping franchises complete work on the exterior of a building to enhance its “curb appeal.” Landscaping includes work done with plants and other greenery. A related area, hardscaping, refers to things such as walls, patios, etc. built with stone, lumber, and other non-plant material.
Maintenance and Repair
Franchises in this area undertake work to correct issues that affect the actual day-to-day use of a property, or a part of it. Repair franchises can include handyman franchises, heating and cooling franchises, glass repair franchises, electrician franchises, and more.
Renovation
All of the discretionary work that usually isn’t necessary to the use of a property, or a part of the property, but can help increase its financial value and/or make it more comfortable to the homeowner falls under this category. Renovation franchises can include bath & kitchen franchises, flooring franchises, refinishing franchises, decorating franchises, painting franchises, closet & organization franchises, and more.
Restoration
A step above closely related cleaning franchises, restoration franchises complete work after a catastrophic event such as a fire, flood, or natural disaster has taken place. Franchises in this area also can be called upon after long-time neglect of a property.
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Other segments of the construction and building franchise industry include franchises that provide junk removal services and franchises that help homeowners make their residences more green or energy efficient.
Additionally, in the future, keep an eye on how technology advances impact the industry. For instance, a newer franchise named Lifesize Plans uses full-scale home walkthrough technology to bring architectural plans and future home renderings to a real-life size before thousands of dollars are spent on building.
Factors to Pay Attention to When Buying a Construction & Building Franchise
Regulations
Regulations have a large role in the construction and building franchise industry. Franchisees are ultimately responsible for following all laws, rules and regulations that apply to where their franchise is located.
Franchise system requirements may have slight variances, but most have many similarities. For instance, prospective home services industry franchisees may be required to obtain construction or contractor licenses or permits. Again, license and permit requirements vary depending on the laws, ordinances and regulations present where the franchised business is located.
Lack of Hands-on Experience? Not a Problem.
While some franchise owners in this area come into their franchise systems with industry experience, it’s not often required.
In fact, some franchise systems de-emphasize the technical skills typically associated with franchises in this area when seeking franchisees. Instead, these franchisors prefer to seek candidates with good interpersonal and team building skills in order to build a strong team they manage to do the actual tasks.
For instance, Paul Linenberg, president of window-covering franchise Gotcha Covered, tells us the franchise “[prefers] franchisees without any industry experience, and our franchisees come from all walks of life. Other than a strong work ethic and a high level of professionalism, our franchisees should be outgoing and enjoy building relationships with their customers and business partners.”
Don’t Want to Do the Labor? Also, Not a Problem.
Franchise owners in this field also can decide whether or not they want to be in customers’ homes doing the hands-on work, or if they want to focus on the executive functions of running their business and leave the physical work to a team they employ.
What Are Your Area’s Unique Needs?
Not all regions are equal in terms of service demand. Demand for these franchises can and will vary by region. In some areas, most of your business could come from new home construction. In other areas, most of your business could come from remodeling. Do your research to determine (a) what services your area needs, and (b) who your target market will consist of along with the viability of that market going forward.
The Initial Investment and Opening Costs
The initial investment costs vary for different franchises depending on their particular business system and execution requirements.
Common initial costs associated with opening a franchise include the franchise fee, training expenses (such as travel and living expenses, not the actual training courses), the purchase of equipment, insurance and licensing, grand opening marketing costs, and more. In many cases, a vehicle purchase or lease will need to be factored in as well for construction and building franchises.
Franchisors offer estimates on the opening costs in their franchise disclosure document (FDD) based upon their experience establishing, and in some cases operating, units. However, prospective franchisees should keep in mind these estimates are just that—an estimate. Prospective franchisees should review the figures presented with a business advisor, taking into consideration their unique circumstances, before making the decision to enter into a franchise agreement.
Top Benefits of Being a Construction & Building Franchisee
The benefits of owning a franchise can be numerous vs. independent operation. Here are a few of the top benefits for those who decide to own a construction and building franchise instead of going at it alone.
Name Recognition: When it comes to finding a service provider, people tend to deal with someone they have a familiarity with. Franchises tend to have established brand names that, in many instances, have been around for years. If you buy a construction and building franchise, you will be given the right to associate your business with that franchise company's name, trademarks, and logo.
Advertising: Getting your name out there can be expensive and sometimes it can be hard to know where to spend your advertising and marketing budget. With a franchise, national advertising is typically done by the franchisor. In addition, though local advertising is generally up to you, you’ll have guidelines in place to help guide you.
Training & Support: A popular feature with all franchises is the training provided. While in business, franchisees will have access to the franchisor’s operations manual, computer systems, and other items designed to help you successfully manage your construction and building franchise.
You can also check out many more categories of home services franchises here on Franchise Direct, such as: