Always In Demand

You may be wondering what businesses are customers calling on regardless of economic or other trends, those businesses that are always in demand.

They are the businesses that consumers need to get through daily life, not the luxuries. Often times they will be the businesses that your neighbours or friends will post online “Need a recommendation for…”

Here are a few to keep an eye on:

Trusted providers are the first Always In Demand category. Nobody checks the stock market before handling an emergency!

Often times those emergencies result in multiple needs. Imagine this, you wake up in the morning and as you walk to start a pot of coffee you hit squishy wet carpet, you have discovered a water leak.

The first thing you have to do is stop the water damage so you call your insurance or real estate agent and ask for a referral to a water damage mitigation company. They arrive fast to cut off any leaking pipes and immediately get to work drying the wet carpet, etc.

They notice that some of your household electronics got wet, so they call a specialist in saving those.

The water leak could have been the hose on the washing machine, here comes a plumber referral. It may also have been the roof, roofers stay very busy.

After the water damage dries, you need to put it all back together; carpenters, painters and flooring companies are up next.

So it may have been a five dollar hose on your washing machine, but it triggered multiple service providers and a big project. The important part is that you never checked the stock market!

There are contractors that offer services considered to be disposable income projects, but much of the home contracting industry offers services that are necessities every day. HVAC, Plumbing, electrical, locksmiths, septic and other categories are on the routine call lists, or referral request lists, of most home owners.

Remodeling a home for sale can result in big benefits to the seller, so we expect to see that category grow as the home selling market is becoming more advantageous to the buyer. Sellers will have to work harder to get noticed, sell for the best price and faster. Real Estate agents will be looking for ways to move homes faster so they can get paid. Even better, if these projects can be financed by the remodeling company then the seller has a lot of incentive to maximize their home sale.

Food is always in demand, but how we get it can fluctuate. Instead of taking the family to a sit down restaurant you may hit a drive through or quick service restaurant. You might buy prepared meals that fit your fitness lifestyle that you can reheat at home.

Restaurateurs are looking for ways to efficiently handle the added customer flow in a market where finding employees can be a challenge. They are automating everything they can in the kitchen and in customer service roles. Computer ordering kiosks are becoming more and more common. Many of those terminals also collect payment so that they can eliminate the cashier position entirely.

We are also seeing meal dispensing units, an automat of sorts, that once your meal is completed they put it in a box with a door that is activated by a typed in code or your phone so you, and only you, can pick up your meal without an employee having to hand it to you. While this opens up potential questions about repairs and down time, it is an interesting trend to watch.

And the more we automate, the more we will need very skilled technicians that can get to businesses fast so they can keep benefitting from their tech.

Skilled trades are always in demand and they get paid top dollar now as these repairs are more complicated and fewer people take on a complicated project themselves.

Car repairs are always in demand. Because of new car manufacturing delays and costs, more used cars will stay in service longer. There are a wide range of services from oil change to general repairs and transmissions that are key categories in the space. Services like transmission repair that used to require a very skilled technician in the local shop now have a centralized hub that has remanufactured transmissions ready to ship so your local store can install them.

Fitness has become always in demand for most consumers, it helps them do their jobs better and spend better time with their family. We may see growth in the boutique fitness category where monthly memberships tend to be less common than paying for class packages. These may be more desirable than expensive country club style gyms.

We have advised our candidates though many markets and trends. There is always a way to grow your empire.

What is your success story? Let’s go find it!

George Knauf is a highly sought after, trusted advisor to many companies; Public, Independent and Franchised, of all sizes and in many markets. His 20 plus years of experience in both start-up and mature business operations makes him uniquely qualified to advise individuals that have dreamed of going into business for themselves in order to gain more control, independence, time flexibility and to be able to earn in proportion to their real contribution.

Contact the Franchising USA Expert George’s Hotline 703-424-2980.