By Jeff Dudan, CEO, HomeFront Brands
So, you’ve been pondering investing in a franchise. Accordingly, you’ve done your homework, researching the pros and cons of opening a hair salon, computer repair shop or childcare center, but haven’t found the right fit just yet.
You may want to consider investing in a home service franchise. Home service businesses are the most durable market segment in all of franchising, offering a path to prosperity for years to come. Let me explain how.
Population growth and home improvement trends
The demand for home services is skyrocketing and shows no sign of slowing down. There are approximately 340 million people living in the U.S., and that number is expected to increase by roughly 100 million people by 2050. More people equate to more residences, more facilities, more retail and more renovations and reconstruction projects.
Home improvement investments have increased year over year since the pandemic and as a result of rising interest rates. Americans are opting to stay in their homes longer and spend their money on improving their homes.
According to the Joint Center for Housing Centers of Harvard University (JCHS), home improvement project spending increased from $328 billion in 2019 to $472 billion in 2022 and is estimated to reach $485 billion in 2024.
These statistics should be music to the ears of home service franchises.
Community involvement encouraged
One of the best ways to start making a name for yourself and your franchise business is to get involved with your community right away. This includes the general community as well as the stakeholders who collaborate with businesses in a respective industry to garner referrals or create programs designed to help all parties grow.
Individuals with strong reputations in the community will likely benefit from their grassroots familiarity. Some franchise brands offer 90-day sprints designed to help owners build their professional network as quickly as possible by streamlining introductions with all the local market and community leaders that matter most.
Regardless of how diverse an owner’s skill sets and talents are, the right franchise platform can truly tilt the scales of success. It pays dividends to partner with a franchise brand that demonstrates how to build an accountable team, encourages community involvement, possesses a superb business model, and remains dedicated to equipping owners with the knowledge and materials necessary to deliver exceptional service to the local market. This type of leadership is immeasurable, as the success of any franchise system always comes back to the success of the franchisees that make up the network.
No experience necessary
While industry experience can be helpful, it’s certainly not necessary to be successful in the home service industry. That said, franchise owners with specific skills may have a leg up on the competition.
Even with minimal skills or experience, there’s always room in the franchise industry for people who are willing to show up, answer the phone, give good value to consumers, and do what they say they’re going to do. If you’re willing to make the right level of commitment and couple it with intellectual humility, you should be able to find year-over-year success, with consistent growth, within a home service franchise.
Choose wisely
While the franchising opportunity is ripe, what matters most is selecting the home service franchise that offers you the greatest chance at success.
Do your due diligence and take the time to understand the personality, culture and core values of the brand you are considering. Understanding how a franchise lives inside its business and being able to articulate that to employees, stakeholders, and customers is critically important before, during and after you take ownership.
Before entering such an important professional relationship, ask yourself the following questions:
- Is this brand successful?
- Does the leadership team have diverse experience?
- Does the brand have a relatable staff?
- Does it feel like the right fit?
- Are the franchise’s financial, marketing, and operational people the type of individuals who have your best interest in mind?
- Are other successful, sophisticated, experienced entrepreneurs saying, “Yes, I can be successful inside of this model”, when looking at these opportunities?
Keep in mind that different home service businesses have different margin profiles. Businesses with specific materials and supply elements, like cabinet or fencing businesses, have an abundance of materials that may influence the outcomes. Those jobs will deliver different profit margins than smaller ticket businesses, such as pressure washing or window cleaning. But, while the tickets may be fewer with a fencing business, the margins will likely be much larger.
If the residential market doesn’t interest you then consider the commercial market. It’s also beaming with opportunity. Various sectors, including health care, institutions, schools, shopping malls, and retail locations throughout the country are constantly remodeling or upgrading. The demand for property services has never been greater.
Regardless of your experience or skill set, if you’re open-minded, intellectually humble, driven to learn, and committed to work, you can be successful in the fastest-growing franchise opportunity on the market: home service.
Jeff Dudan is chairman and CEO of HomeFront Brands. He has more than 30 years of experience founding, building, operating and exiting national franchise brands. He founded the restoration and environmental services franchise AdvantaClean in 1994 and grew it to 240 locations in 37 states before exiting in 2019. He is the host of “On the Homefront with Jeff Dudan” podcast and the author of “Hey, Coach!” and “Discernment: The Business Athlete’s Regimen to a Great Life Through Better Decisions.” For more information, visit https://homefrontbrands.com/.