Home improvement franchises – we all love DIY
Although bank holidays and weekends used to be spent carrying out huge amounts of DIY, minor refurbishments and even some fairly major projects, the general public’s taste for this has faded in recent years. Rather than ‘do it yourself’, the preferred method is to pay someone to do the work for you.
Which is why home improvement franchises are a potentially good idea if you’re looking for something that can boost your income and provide you with a constant flow of work.
Home improvement projects are still popular, perhaps even more so now that the economy has stabilised and is hopefully improving. We’re no longer on the brink of a financial crash, and although we’re not quite at 1980s’ levels just yet, things are better, which means people are able to buy houses again. In turn, that means people are able to sell them, but they need to be in excellent condition to achieve the highest market prices. This is where owning a home improvement franchise can be a benefit; people will be more willing to pay for someone to carry out necessary renovations and decorations if it means they will be able to realise a higher asking price on their home.
It’s not just about getting a house ready to sell, either. People who have already bought are staying in their homes for much longer and that means that, over time, the interior décor will need updating, changing, refurbishing. Being able to enjoy a home that has been worked hard for is important, so for those people who don’t have the skills, the time or the inclination to do it themselves, hiring a home improvement expert is the perfect solution.
A home improvement franchise is a long-term business
Owning a home improvement franchise is certainly offers the potential for a long-term business, something that can keep you busy and happy for many years to come. Over £30 billion is spent each year on home improvements, and just the smallest slice of that is still an attractive idea. What do you need? A range of good home improvement skills is essential; if you don’t already know how to hang wallpaper, strip paint and change doors, learning is going to be your first job. You can invest (because it will be an investment) in an evening class, for example, to get your skills up to scratch. After that, the home improvement franchise world is your oyster.
The benefits
Home improvement franchises allow you to work when, where and how you want. You can provide materials or have the client find them and charge only for labour. You won’t need an office, although you may require a store to keep your tools and equipment in; a secure shed or garage will work perfectly for that. As for advertising, the home improvement sector is one where word of mouth counts for a lot and doing a good job in one home can lead to you being asked to quote for a lot more in the future, not only from the same customer but from their friends and family too. Plus, because you’ll be driving around your target area on a daily basis, having your contact details and logo on your van is another excellent and cost-effective way of marketing your services.
However, probably the biggest benefit of all is the amount of work there will be for you to do. With keen pricing, good testimonials and a name behind you that people can trust (hence why buying a home improvement franchise works better than starting your own business from scratch), you should have work all year round.
If this sounds like something that will work for you and you know that you could do a good job servicing the needs of the customers whilst leaving their homes better than when you first went in, which franchises might you decide to look at? Here are just some of the many available.
Mr Handyman
When you buy a franchise with Mr Handyman, you won’t be expected to carry out any of the work yourself, which could be the perfect way to combine a love of DIY with a love of managing a business. Instead, you’ll be expected to have a team of people under you, and you’ll need to show that you can manage them before you’re given the go ahead to run the franchise. Because of this, there are no specific qualifications needed, but having experience in running a business (of any kind) will help you out when it comes to proving your worth.
Mr Handyman is a hugely popular company in America, and they want to expand their business to include this side of the pond too. This has two benefits: not only do they already know what they’re doing (so you get all the training and support as well as marketing expertise that has worked so well in the US), but the market over here isn’t saturated, so you’ve got a good shot at making yourself stand out from the crowd.
Hillarys Blinds franchise
There are a number of reasons why you might be interested in buying a franchise from nationwide blind company Hillarys. To start with, the cost of the franchise is low (under £2,000), and it can be paid in instalments, making the cost even easier to deal with. Plus, if for any reason you don’t like the company, or you don’t pass their training requirements, you’ll get a full refund, no questions asked. If you’re nervous about investing in a home improvement franchise, then Hillarys gives you that added peace of mind.
Of course, being a blind company does mean that the customers aren’t quite as widespread as a full home renovation company’s might be, so there may be some downtime when you’re hunting for leads. That said, the profits from installing these blinds can be quite impressive, and they’re good quality too so customers will be willing to refer you to anyone else who needs your expert help.
If you’re not comfortable with only installing blinds, even under a nationally known and respected name, the flexible nature of the franchise means that you can fit it in around your other commitments. You could bulk up your blind-fitting with other home improvement jobs, making sure that you have a full diary for as much of the time as you want.
Magicman franchise
Again, Magicman is not an all-round home improvement franchise, but it is a useful one that more and more people are choosing to look into. Magicman is all about repairing, restoring and renewing old surfaces within the home so that the homeowner doesn’t have to go to the expense of buying in everything new and starting from scratch. This is a particularly specialised job and the amount of training as well as the upfront investment reflects this. Territories are large for each franchisee though (around 75,000 homes), so you should be able to make your money back in a reasonably short amount of time. The jobs are interesting too, so no two days are the same, which is something that can’t be said for everything available out there.