How Property Paramedics Clean Up

Property damage resulting from fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning storms, biohazard accidents or the whimsical freaky-flukey of fate can be even more devastating than what caused the damage. After all, the event comes to an end, but the damage done may continue to plague a homeowner for months, sometimes years. Every 15 seconds in the United States a property damage claim is filed with an insurance company—which then refers the claim to (and pays for) a professional property damage management company to restore, replace and clean up the damage. That translates in to at least four new business opportunities every hour for anyone in the damage clean-up business. Is it any wonder that damage clean up is among the fastest growing franchise concepts in the nation? If you’ve been thinking about a service business franchise, the story below may whet your appetite to further investigate the possibilities of this highly profitable, recession-proof field.

Peter Casey

Franchising Consultant

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A Personalized Approach to Property Damage

In an emergency, speed is of the essence; especially when property is at risk. Lives can be deeply affected by property loss and recovery often depends on the quick reaction and competent care of emergency mitigation professionals. PuroClean Disaster Restoration provides fast, 24-hour dependable service—usually within an hour of being notified—by deploying a team of trained professionals who know how to assess the situation quickly and the steps to take to make recovery as complete and easy as possible.

Known as the "Paramedics of Property Damage," PuroClean franchisees provide emergency restoration services to insurance companies and property owners in need of swift reliable action using the latest techniques, technology, and procedures that can rescue homes for rehabitation and restore businesses with a minimum of down time. 

PuroClean franchise owners have the ongoing opportunity to profit from the huge disaster restoration claims industry—an industry that pays out approximately $162 billion for insured property losses each year. Supported by a national business training support center, PuroClean franchisees have become the property restoration provider of choice for insurance professionals. 

With over 90 years combined experience in business and disaster restoration, PuroSystems Inc.'s training is unparalleled. PuroClean Franchisees learn a proven method of doing business and get initial and ongoing support. Coupled with the PuroClean reputation for excellence, franchisees enter the field with an advantage over the competition: PuroClean’s high-value brand recognition in the eyes of customers.

New franchise training takes place in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida where franchisees receive hands-on experience in fire and flood simulators. The three week training program also includes marketing, estimating, and other phases of the business. And PuroClean’s field trainers provide additional field training at the franchisee’s location.

Real Estate Market Offers Growth Opportunity in Home Inspections

The times are always a'changing. Just a few years ago the housing boom was so explosive that people frequently offered more than a seller was asking in order to beat out another buyer. Houses would go on the market in the morning and be sold by the end of the day—sometimes even by noon. There was no top to the market, or so it seemed; no end to the rising value of real estate. Of course, we've learned that such is not the case; and we've landed in a morass of failing mortgages and foreclosures. But throughout both the boom and the bust, one group of professionals consistently prospered: home inspectors. The story below tells you something about the business as seen through the eyes of the first, and oldest, home inspection franchisor in the country. And if you want more information, visit . . .

Peter Casey

Franchising Consultant

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HouseMaster Celebrates 30th Anniversary

BOUND BROOK, N.J., May 19, 2009--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HouseMaster, the first and one of the largest home inspection franchisors in North America, is proud to mark its 30th anniversary as the authority in home inspections "done right." HouseMaster is using the start of the home buying and selling season to celebrate this milestone and reflect on the evolution of the home inspection business over the course of the past 30 years.

"We are very proud of achieving this milestone," said Kathleen Kuhn, president of HouseMaster. "For 30 years we have been committed to helping consumers make informed real estate decisions and advancing the need for comprehensive training in the home inspection industry. As the first franchisor in the business we've long been the standard bearer for quality and integrity in both the home inspection and franchising industries. With 385 franchisees and almost 2 million inspections performed, we are still raising the bar and looking forward to another 30 years of success."

Founded in 1979 by Kenneth T. Austin, HouseMaster was the first home inspection franchise operation in the United States. HouseMaster is truly the stand out opportunity in the home inspection franchise marketplace.  HouseMaster offers you a Right Choice Guarantee.  Here’s how the Guarantee works; if for some reason, within the first year of franchise ownership, after you’ve completed training and implementing specific elements of our system, you do not feel HouseMaster was the right choice for you, HouseMaster will refund your Initial Franchise Fee, less administrative expenses.  

Why Starting a Business in a Recession Makes Good Sense

Sounds a bit crazy thinking that now is a good time to start a franchise business, doesn’t it? Sales are falling everywhere, people aren’t spending  money on anything but necessities, and prices for many basics are going up everywhere you look. But there are a host of good reasons why the current economy can work to your advantage—so that any business you start now will be poised to capture the gathering wave of the turn-around and the economic growth that follows every recession. The story below first appeared in Entrepreneur magazine a while ago, but it's worth a second look. It gives you some sound arguments why—if you’re going to start a business—the time to act is now.

Peter Casey, Franchising Consultant

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Top 10 Reasons to Start a Business in a Recession

By Brad Sugars

More publicity. Less competition. Talent waiting to be scooped up. Here's why starting in a recessed economy may give your business a better shot.

Do you have one good reason to start your business right now? How about 10? Regardless of what people around you (including the media) may say, right now is the best time to get into business. Just go back and look at the economic slowdowns throughout history. Most recessions in the post-World War II era last an average of 10 months, followed by growth cycles that last an average of 50 months.

What this means for the startup is there's no better time than right now to get going and start pursuing your business dreams—in anticipation of the next period of growth.

So with a nod to David Letterman, here are my top 10 reasons you should start your business now—despite the current downturn:

(1) Everything is cheaper. There is great value right now in this and in world markets. This is the right time for fantastic deals in virtually every category, from land and equipment to commercial office space, personnel, and labor. As asset prices have been knocked down, there is no better time to get into the real estate or financial markets, or even heavy equipment and construction. Some people have waited years to find value in these markets—and now that time has come.

(2) You can hire more and better-qualified people. In an era when even Microsoft is laying off, you can find great resources at affordable rates. Thinking about getting your high-tech startup off the ground? There are plenty of engineers waiting to be hired. Thinking about forming a professional services firm? There are many accountants and attorneys looking for their next opportunity.

(3) People are looking to change suppliers. From a cost perspective, everything is on the table for most companies. Even if your prices are higher, if you can come in with greater value, you have a good chance at winning new business. You also have the advantage of being the new kid on the block when it comes to pitching your products and services. Many companies are desperate to find new partnerships with new companies that have a different, better or more innovative way of delivering those products and services.

(4) Ownership equals tax incentives. Business ownership offers a variety of tax benefits that aren't available to employees. While taxes should never be the sole reason to go into business for yourself, it should be one reason to add to you "benefits of business ownership" list.

(5) Family and friends don't want to (or can't) invest more money into the stock or real estate markets. That means they may be willing to finance a portion of your new venture, or the expansion of an enterprise that has proven itself over time. The main benefit is that they know you and have a relationship with you--and if you have a solid business plan that delivers real numbers, your chances of raising the capital you need increase exponentially.

(6) Suppliers are giving better credit. Because the credit markets have virtually shut down, the B2B credit flows are keeping money circulating out of sheer necessity. That means a bullish outlook for companies looking for good terms on stock and/or inventories. The main advantage is that all parties have more incentive than ever for finding true win-win situations that allow for cash and stock flow. When everyone is looking to survive, great deals can be had.

(7) You can get good PR by showing you are going against the trend. The media loves aberrations, and if you are optimistic by expanding or getting into business now, you would be in that category. That means you can generate some great PR by demonstrating your "alternative" view of the market.

(8) You can buy everything you need at auction. In addition to everything being less expensive, you can find great deals at auctions, especially in terms of any large equipment and office furnishings. Auctions are also a great place to find hardly used or "gently" used restaurant and bar supplies at great prices. These days, you may even be able to get deals on fleets of vehicles and trucks for a delivery service or hauling or construction company.

(9) You can find great "low money" or "no money" down deals. This is simply being aware of good opportunities others have buggered up, and finding deals where you could get an entire business simply by taking over a lease (along with all the equipment). Many business owners want out at any cost, meaning you can negotiate great win-win deals that allow the current owners an escape while giving you an opportunity to turn around what could be, if run right, a very viable business.

And finally . . .

(10) You've lost your job, and you have to do something. Sometimes, the best business decision is the one you are forced into, and the incentive (as well as need) for income is often enough to push those previously "on the fence" to strike out on their own. There's nothing wrong with being in this position; it simply means there is greater urgency to do something that will start to generate income as quickly as possible.

There you have it: my top 10 reasons to start your business in a recession. After all, the odds are on your side that the expansion will be many times more robust than the present slowdown.

There's no better time to start than the present, especially if people around you are more comfortable with their own list of reasons why they shouldn't start pursuing their own business dreams right now. It only means you'll be facing a lot less competition.

For more information, go franchisebuyersnetwork.com

Don't Miss the Debt Management Gold Rush

No matter whether times are good or times are bad, there’s always debt—and thousands of people who need help solving their debt woes. Given the economic era that we’re now in, easing those woes just may be the growth business you’re looking for. There’s a market for rescuing people from the pain and embarrassment of money problems, and it’s only going to get larger—exponentially larger. In the coming months a tidal wave of people will be desperately looking for help with their debt. This opportunity, recently posted on FranchiseEXPO.com, is poised to give the ambitious businessperson a head start in serving that market—along with the potential for more than substantial financial reward.

Peter Casey, Franchising Consultant

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Be the First to Stake Your Claim!

Short of being in a coma, it is virtually impossible to not be aware of the economic tsunami that our country is experiencing. People from all walks of life are facing the reality of possible foreclosure, bankruptcy, creditor harassment, and eroding loan availability. This diagnosis is of epidemic proportions and worsening by the day.

A government endorsed bailout program has just been prescribed to fight this rapidly spreading disease. With so many people needing assistance, there needs to be an efficient delivery system to administer this vaccine. Welcome to the Debtinators.

Debtinators is a group of affiliates that represent literally decades of experience in finance, real estate, mortgages, debt settlement and debt elimination. It’s a one stop business that treats the financial woes of clients. There are numerous land mines in this financial field that one must navigate around.

The Debtinators’ team is guided by top notch legal professionals who insure that everything that can be done, will be done. We are dedicated to helping everyone who desires financial piece of mind and freedom to achieve it.

The Debtinators offer a wide spectrum of services from loan modification, debt settlement, debt elimination, and unsecured loans to small businesses. We use a state of the art Internet marketing strategy that constantly drives our services to literally millions of potential clients everyday. This is in addition to the ordinary channels of distribution that a typical business would utilize, making us a company in the forefront of this paradigm shift in our country’s history.

This is where you come in. We are seeking dedicated individuals of the highest integrity to assist us in working with the millions of people who need our services. No license is required. There is no experience necessary. We provide comprehensive training, marketing, and administrative support. There is no need to be a financial guru. There is no selling – you simply inform people of the availability of assistance. You gather information and submit it to the professionals. They do all the hard work that requires the expertise to achieve the desired end results.

For more information, go to franchisebuyersnetwork.com

A Picture Can Be Worth Far More than a 1000 Words

It’s no longer necessary to hire a professional photographer to document your wedding, party, or other event. Here’s a business that marries the latest photo technology with convenience. It may well be the next hot franchise to own. Since it’s still relatively new on the scene, you stand a good chance of being the first in your area to set up business—in a completely wide-open market that may not offer any competition for some time. Of course, once the word of the low cost and high value business appeal of the enterprise spreads, you can expect others to climb on board and open similiar businesses that draw on the market you’ve staked out. But, by that time, you’ll be the established entity that got there first—and being first in a market is frequently the key to business success.

Peter Casey, Franchising Consultant

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ShutterBox Photo Booth Offers Franchise Opportunities Nationwide

May 7, 2009 - ShutterBox is the first and only photo booth franchise of its kind. Modernized for weddings & formal parties, ShutterBox has redefined the classic photo booth experience for wedding guests and party goers. Unlike the old fashioned two-seater photo booth that creates grainy photos, ShutterBox's new-age design accommodates two to ten guests who receive instant digital photo strips. ShutterBox offers its clients a wide variety of photo personalization options and cutting edge graphics that can transform their photos in to the ultimate party favors.

ShutterBox Entertainment, LLC is now franchising and will be interviewing quality franchisees to expand operations throughout the United States. ShutterBox is owned and operated by Rob & Jennifer McCarty of Naperville, Illinois. Rob has over ten years experience in finance with a focus on sales, management, and financial investments. Jennifer has over 9 years experience in sales and office operations. Together, they have developed systems and operations that offer franchisees a turn-key business in a fun and exciting industry.

"We loved the photo booth! Our friends are still commenting on how much fun it was. Our photographer was even in there, having fun with it! ShutterBox designed my photo strips to match our wedding colors and wedding style. I love that my friends and family got to take away these amazing keepsakes from our wedding," says recent bride, Monica of Chicago, IL.

ShutterBox counsel, Attorney Bambi Faivre Walters states, "This is an exciting franchise opportunity that reflects the growth in online, niche businesses with quality products and affordable pricing. It is franchise offerings like ShutterBox that have the right ingredients to quickly grow while having a lot of fun."

With operations currently in Chicago and Las Vegas, ShutterBox Photo Booth is an innovative company at the forefront of a relatively new industry. Capturing the need for instant & personalized photographs at weddings and celebratory events, ShutterBox has reinvented the classic photo booth experience while still maintaining the nostalgic charm and appeal. ShutterBox Entertainment LLC offers its franchisees business operations support, a creative design team, effective marketing programs, training, and management support.

Franchising Your Way Thru Tough Times

No one so far has said it’s going to be easy getting through the current economic climate, but savvy franchisees who know how to apply expert advice will certainly make it to better times. One way to be among the successful is to learn the techniques and strategies specifically tailored for franchise owners, regardless of the franchise niche they’re in. MarketingSage, long a leader in marketing consulting for a variety of industries, offers a FREE online video with tips on areas of your business that can be re-positioned to make the most out of these soft business times. Targeted to the technology industry, the video nonetheless offers a wealth of valuable insight to franchisees of every category.  

Peter Casey, Franchising Consultant

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Ready-Made Business Can Pay Off But It Requires Hard Work, Money, & Caution   

By Eve Tahmincioglu, msnbc.com contributor, Thurs., March. 26, 2009

Taso Louloudis knew the construction industry he and his wife Kim worked in was suffering, but neither expected they’d both lose their jobs in the same year.

Kim was laid off from her job at Engineered Homes in Orlando in May, and Taso lost his job as construction manager for Rey Homes on Nov. 7, his birthday.

“I’ve been doing construction my entire life, working my way up from subcontractor to a point where I was the boss that did hiring and firing,” Taso said.

At age 50, with only a high school diploma, he realized his career choices were limited.

So Louloudis and his wife turned to franchising.

More and more laid off workers are considering franchising as an alternative to working for someone else, according to experts in the industry.

Some see franchising as an easy way to entrepreneurship and economic independence. But becoming a successful franchisee takes a lot of hard work and money. It could take years before you’re able to replace your income.

Because the Louloudises love pets — they have four dogs and five cats at home, many of whom are rescue animals — they embarked on finding a pet-related business.

They considered a host of options, including doggie daycare and pet sitting, but decided against starting their own company from the ground up due to the intense competition for such services in their area.

They now own a Fetch! Pet Care, a franchise that offers in-home pet sitting services.

The Louloudises bought the franchise for $13,000, plus the cost of a flight to Fetch’s headquarters in Walnut Creek, Calif., for training. They expect to bring in sales of about $50,000 by the end of this year.

Should you open a franchise?
If you really have the heart of an entrepreneur, franchising is probably not for you. First off, it’s not your business idea that you nurture and grow. You’ll have to follow a strict playbook of operating the franchise. Often agreements are written so you can’t even sell the franchise operation without the approval from the franchise company, said Walter Zweifler of Zweifler Financial Research, which analyzes franchising opportunities for investors.

Is Business Coaching for You?

Despite all the economic doom and gloom, there are new businesses just starting out as well as mature businesses that will make it through to better times. And therein lies an opportunity for anyone who wants to help. Being a coach of any kind demands a wide variety of talents, not the least of which is the ability to show people how to improve what they're doing, how to measure the effectiveness or progress of what they're doing, and how to recognize when they need to change course in what they’re doing. What’s required is native “people skills,” the drive to put them to good use, and a desire to teach the kind of methods and strategies that help others help themselves. If that sounds like you, take a look at the kind of business you can have with an ActionCOACH franchise---along with the training to make it fly.

Peter Casey, Franchising Consultant

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ActionCOACH Mentoring Source

ActionCOACH is the world’s number one business and executive coaching firm, with more than 1,000 offices in 26 countries. As part of an ActionCOACH franchise, consultants provide a valuable mentoring service to clients. For three years running, Entrepreneur magazine has rated ActionCOACH one of the Top 20 Home Based Franchise Businesses.  By supplying a pair of fresh eyes to evaluate the current structure of a business, ActionCOACH consultants help business owners and CEOS improve and maintain the health of their companies. Business Coaches show each individual client how to excel by focusing on the four core aspects of his or her business: time, team, money, and systems.

And while Franchise owners can easily learn the details of fixing and managing a business from ActionCOACH, each ActionCoach Business Coach develops his own career by continuing to learn from each client he tutors. Over time, this expands an ActionCOACH’s understanding and experience of a variety of business and business problems.

In short, being an ActionCoach Coach is a never-ending process of learning more and gaining deeper insight to business operations; a process that benefits each successive client.

All it takes is dedication and commitment to get started, ActionCOACH provides the training on how to run your franchise, the details of fixing and managing a business, and how to deal with your clients.

Open a Till-Divorce-Do-Us-Part Business

Just about any kind of business can be franchised----and, eventually, probably will be. Tattoo removal? Piercing salons? Brazilian bikini waxing? Pet therapy? They’ve already been franchised. And now comes a divorce franchise. The appeal? No more expensive and vicious legal wrangling, no more bitter fights over child custody, no more endless lawyering that siphons money from both spouses. Plus the back log that divorce creates in the court systems, and the need for families to create more peaceful resolutions, are just a couple of the pressing reasons for a new approach. With millions of marriages crashing every year, the market for an amicable, stress-free, and fair divorce settlement isn’t likely to go away soon. And----given what happens to thousands of marriages in rough economic times----that market may only be getting bigger. Here’s a quick look at a fixed-fee resolution method that may just be the very next big franchise business to own.

Peter Casey, Franchising Consultant

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Debut of a New Divorce Approach

April 30, 2009 - Can divorce be franchised? Karen Stewart, founder of Fairway Divorce Solutions is doing just that. In an exclusive interview on TopNewFranchises.com, she tells how her new franchise concept is revolutionizing an industry.

Each year in the U.S., more than 2 million marriages end in divorce. Most couples have little choice other than the current a costly and antagonistic legal system or trying to do it on their own. But soon there may be a better alternative. Karen Stewart explains how her Fairway Divorce Solutions franchisees are providing a divorce facilitation alternative that's based on cooperation, not confrontation.

With nine locations in Canada, Fairway Divorce Solutions is already providing an alternative approach to divorce — a fixed fee, step-by-step independent negotiated resolution process. The Fairway Process™ reduces costs, time, stress, and protects children.

Fairway Divorce Solutions CEO Karen Stewart explains how the overwhelmingly positive response to the Fairway system in Canada prompted her to begin offering franchises in the United States. Fairway Divorce Solutions is actively seeking qualified professionals who want to build a strong business while helping people change the way they approach divorce.