Franchise Services

An auto body repair franchise has the potential for great success. There are so many drivers on the road today which means there are always vehicles that need to be fixed. Making sure that you have a well run auto body franchise is the key to success.

You want to make sure you offer a variety of services, have great customer service and be ready for anything that comes your way. You need to make your auto body franchise a one stop shop for all of your customers. Sometimes that may mean adding different services to your auto body franchise to make it better and as customer friendly as possible. One such service you could add is a towing service.

Many people today are looking for convenience in everything they do from getting gas to auto body repair. So, if you want to get customers to your auto body franchise you need to make it convenient. In striving to be convenient you will need to make your auto body franchise a one stop shop for all customers. Not all customers will be able to simply drive their car into your shop for repair. So, it would be very helpful to add a towing service option for your auto body franchise shop.

To add a towing service to your auto body shop there are a few options you could considers. First you may want to have an in house towing service that only works for you, you may want to get a tow truck and get the certification required and do it yourself, or you may want a towing service that will recommend you to their customers but is not only towing for you. Let's take a look at all of these options.

First you may decide to have a towing service on site that only tows for you. This can be great because you will always have someone to tow people if they call you. However it can be quite costly since they are only working for you they may ask you to pay a little more.

Next you could consider getting your own tow truck and all the certifications that are needed. This is great because you will always have the tow truck on site to go pick up cars. You will also be receiving the extra money that the customer pays for the towing service. However, it can be expensive to purchase the truck, insurance and whatever else you may need to operate it.

Or you may want just have an agreement with a towing company that they will recommend you to customers or you can recommend them to tow your customers to your shop. This is great for both businesses. The only down fall of this is that they will work for other business or independent car owners so they may not be as quick since they may be handling other customers. This is a great arrangement other than that.

So, there are many ways you can add a towing service to your auto body franchise. It will help to provide that one stop shop for your customers!

(ArticlesBase SC #608247)

Samantha McCartney

As one gets closer and closer to making a decision to purchase a franchise or start their own small business, there begins to be an uneasiness that comes with not knowing what it will actually look like in day-to-day operations once the business is up and running.

While you can begin to see the things that will need to be done overall according to your business plan, your work load, your tasks and assignments that are required to meet the needs of your franchisor, there is always that question when starting the first day of self-employment when no one is there to tell you what to do of; what do I do now?

Planning for that can help make sure that the progress you have made in researching, purchasing, training, and marketing for your franchise doesn't come to a screeching halt when it's time to actually run and operate that franchise. Believe it or not, sometimes there is a feeling of disappointment and depression associated with the actual running of a new franchise if a plan hasn't been made for what will happen after the franchise opens.

In discussing the actual working relationship of a small business franchise owner, David Spafford, the owner of an Aspray Property Services Franchise has these four points to make about the actual operation of the franchise to encourage future owners.

#1 - Best aspects of being self-employed as a franchise owner

Aspray provided an opportunity to run a business opportunity that was home-based yet provided a proven business model that did not have to be created or modified to be successful at the individual level. David, the Aspray Property Services franchise owner who offered this advice, described being able to work with back-up marketing, technical support and the ability to work at home rather than in an office setting; as the best aspects of owning a franchise business.

Each day having a proven business model and having received the training made knowing how to proceed with confidence easy. The added benefit of having access to franchisee support made being able to get resources and questions answered when complications arose simple and attainable.

#2 - Biggest surprises to working at home and as a franchisor

When storms and floods hit the UK, the Aspray Property Services business became increasingly busy. Referring business clients and customers and creating networks became a priority for many business. The boundaries in busy seasons begin to push the limits of work and home in the home-based business scenario where there is less and less distinction between "life" and "career." As things settle down into slower seasons, it's important to re-establish those boundaries so that work is distinguishable from home life.

#3 - Challenges to finding and operating a business for sale

Initially, the hardest part of starting a business and finding the franchise is knowing how to be successful at it. Not worrying about how much business the franchise generates in the beginning is a rare but valuable luxury that allowed this franchisee to be choosy in finding good contractors to work with. Making sure that the franchise owner doesn't seem desperate for connections and willing to work with anyone but maintains standards is extremely important in the long term health and success of any franchise, especially one that deals in credibility and referrals.

#4 - Words of wisdom for future franchise owners

David, owner of an Aspray Property Services franchise, stated that his words of wisdom for any future franchise owner are to "do their homework." Before buying a franchise, make sure that there is sufficient cash flow for the start up.

Contractors always want pay straight away and insurance companies can be slow in sending out cheques. Help build good business relationships by not requiring slower incomes to dictate the rate at which your contacts receive their payments. Being organized and prepared to work hard are also essentials in beginning a franchise; however, it's not a guarantee to earning lots of money unless a lot of hard work and effort is put into following the business model. Also be careful to avoid trying to re-create the business in a different image.

It is a successful franchise for a reason, and everyone needs to work together as a team to follow a business model that has built the franchise into success. One of the greatest assets available to a franchise owner is a healthy relationship between franchisor and franchisee.

(ArticlesBase SC #535912)

As a franchise sales consultant and an individual who grew up with a franchise business (my family owned a Dunkin Donuts for over 2 decades) I am often asked what type of franchise business I would personally recommend to buy. Although all franchise business categories have their inherent advantages and disadvantages, my personal preference would be to buy a service related franchise concept for a number of reasons.

Better Life style:

Service franchises in my opinion can generally offer the owner/operator a better life style, less stress, and more freedom for a number of reasons including the following. They generally require less operating hours, most can be operated on 5 day work week, they usually have lower staffing requirements with less employee headaches, they have no inventory spoilage concerns, and overall they are generally easier to manage.

Lower Investment:

Because they generally do not require the expense of building out a retail location or store front in a high traffic area, or have the equipment requirements of a food or restaurant franchise, service franchises on a whole generally require lower overall start up costs. You can get a general idea of the investment level of some service franchises for sale here.

Easier To Grow:

Unlike retail franchise businesses that are confined to a specific location and are dependent on foot traffic, service businesses offer the owner the opportunity to go out and generate new business in a large geographic area through a number of different marketing options. Expanding a service business to new markets is also generally a lot less capital intensive or expensive than adding a new physical retail unit.

Easier To Manage:

I can assure you from personal experience that managing a service business is generally a lot easier as compared to a retail food or restaurant franchise. Most small businesses today have challenges with finding reliable employees to fulfill their staffing requirements. But for a number of reasons retail businesses, particularly restaurants, have more employee turnover and headaches than most.

Better Success Rate:

Although all categories of business franchising have a statistically higher rate of success than non-franchise business start-ups, It’s been my observation that the success rate of service related franchises is generally higher than retail franchises. I believe this can be contributed to a number of factors including lower start up and operating costs, less staffing requirements, better profit margins, generally less overhead, and an overall better life style that can be maintained operating a service related business.

(ArticlesBase SC #395406)

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