2015 Guide to Today's Top Franchises

SPECIAL REPORT: Top Franchises
A variety of franchise
companies are enjoying
tremendous growth,
loans are more readily
available, consumer
confidence is up, and
many economic experts
believe our economy
is back on track.
Jared and Mandy Seaman, Christian Brothers Automotive franchisees, having fun with their children.
Continued from page 7.
Almost all franchise systems today also
gather and analyze customer feedback.
“Obtaining direct feedback from our customers
helps us to improve business operations,
correct shortcomings, and deliver excellent
customer service,” says Chuck Pistor, President
of Miracle Method. “We currently have 97 to
98 percent customer satisfaction.”
“It costs far more to lose a customer then to
bring one back in,” says Leeward Bean, Owner
of Big Frog Custom T-Shirts, which encourages
its franchisees to send clients handwritten
thank you notes.
Training & Support: What training and
support will the franchise provide? Strong initial
and ongoing training and support programs will
be crucial for your success and help ensure your
franchise brand stays strong. This is highlighted
by the Training & Support section of our survey
being the one that showed the greatest variation
between all franchises surveyed and the 200 in
this report. The top brands were scored 13%
higher by their franchisees compared to those
that did not make our list.
“We have invested hundreds of thousands
of dollars to develop a leadership program
for our franchisees that teaches them how to
work ‘on’ their business, build the right team,
set goals for their business, and to live in a
90-day world with an emphasis on focusing
on the most important things first in order to
expedite results”, says Brightstar Care’s Sun.
“Our Franchise Business Consultant Team
consists of members across the country who
visit each of our franchises at least five times
per year and communicate with them regularly
in order to assist them with running their businesses
as effectively as possible,” says Neary.
BUY NOW OR HOLD?
Is 2015 the year to finally go into business for
yourself, but not by yourself, by investing in
a franchise? A variety of franchise companies
are enjoying tremendous growth, loans are
more readily available, consumer confidence
is up, and many economic experts believe our
economy is back on track.
“Our business grew 40% between 2013
and 2014. We predict similar, if not even
more growth in 2015,” says Brian Mattingly,
President of Welcomemat Services. “Since
we began franchising in 2011, our franchiseeowned
units have gone from four to 40.”
“We did our five millionth move in the
spring,” says Randy Shacka, President of Two
Men and a Truck. “Our revenue went from
$320 million in 2013 to $360 million in 2014.
We anticipate $410 million in revenue in 2015.”
Financing is more readily available for
franchisees than it has been due to the availability
of a wider array of funding sources and
loan requirements becoming less stringent.
“Just 18 to 24 months ago, most banks
would not consider first time start-ups or
acquisitions. They are, however, becoming
more aggressive in the marketplace and will do
so if candidates meet their requirements,” says
Geoff Seiber, President and CEO of FranFund,
which has been helping franchisees obtain
funding for their businesses via traditional
and non-traditional sources since 2006.
FUNDING YOUR FRANCHISE
When it comes to figuring out how much
money you will need to launch your new
business, franchise companies provide estimates
of fees and startup costs in Items 5 – 7
of their Franchise Disclosure Document
(FDD) and will often give you data regarding
average monthly sales and year-over-year
revenue growth. It is important to keep in
mind that FDD information is typically average
financial data across the entire franchise
system or sometimes only select markets,
so some of it may not be applicable to your
particular market, which has its own costs
for real estate, labor and other factors. We
advise you to identify these market variables
in order to better estimate the total capital
you will need.
For more information on this report, visit: www.FranchiseBusinessReview.com | 17