The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article profiling an in-home elderly care franchisee. Home Instead and the other senior-care franchisees pay caregivers somewhere between $8 and $12 an hour and charge clients about twice that amount. In the highly competitive Chicago market, the Melingers charge clients $18 an hour, with a minimum of two or three hours a day, or $180 a day for 24-hour care. They also provide a “rise and shine” or “tuck in” service, for $200 to $280 a week. The Melingers declined to reveal just how lucrative their business is, but FranchiseHelp, a consulting firm in Elmsford, N.Y., provides some guidelines for similar businesses. In 2002, for example, a franchisee of Homewatch Caregivers in Denver, with 60 workers, took in gross revenues of $1,265,324 and paid out $1,141,578 in expenses that included royalties and the franchisee’s salary, leaving a profit of $123,746. Their isn’t inventory to deal with, which is very nice. But that time is otherwise spent on finding and hiring responsible people they trust enough to send into an elderly person’s home. The franchisee said almost 1/2 the people don’t even show up for the their interviews and many quit after a few days. Ugh! If you can maintain a steady staff, you can easily open a 2nd conierge style business, which we discussed perviously. I’m neutral on elderly care franchises right now because they are heavily commonditized business (the market controls the fee level, it’s hard to charge more than $18/hr with all the competition). I am also hesitant when so much depends on finding qualified low wage employees that must work independently (unlike a retail location where managers can monitor what you do).

We already talked about Manly haircuts, now lets look at Kids haircuts. You already know that we like salon franchises because they are simple to operate, it’s fairly recession proof, labor costs are low and supplemented with tips, no perishable supplies, brand loyalty has been low in the past with Fantastic Sams and Best Cuts types being identical, and kids "experience" business are here to stay. Getting your haircut is usually not an experience one normally looks forward to, that why we believe themed salons are a great hook. This is especially true for kids haircuts. Kids are all about the "experience" and have undeserved power in deciding where to go. Here steps in Snip Its. Check out their web site for a sense of how creative the place is designed. They cater to children of course, but also accomodate parents so the whole family can get their haircut simultaneously. What are some special and creative attractions at this kids salon? Glamour Parties Snip-its Glamour Parties make girls gorgeous! A glamour party allows girls to act like divas for a day by offering hair braiding, curling and styling as well as nail polish and make-up application. Dressy clothes are provided to complete the look. The culmination of the party is a stroll on the catwalk followed by cake and favors provided by Snip-its. Snip-its even provides a camera to capture all of the fun. Style-a-Doll Parties (Launching at Snip-its this summer!) At Snip-its’ Style-a-Doll Parties, attendees each receive a doll inspired by Snip-its’ trademark characters, the Clipette sisters – Marlene and Charlene. The dolls have been specially created so that birthday guests can style their hair with hair clips and accessories and apply Snip-its’ cosmetics that are designed for use on the doll. Stylists are on hand to help …

in reference to: Doctor’s Assoc., Inc. v. Stuart This above case from 1996 illustrates many of the horror stories you read on this blog, particularly site selection and mandatory arbitration clauses. Site Selection: Several Subway franchisees sued Subway corporate for basically screwing them on site selection. First a little insight into Subway’s site selection process described in the court’s opinion. After a Subway franchise is purchased, Subway helps the franchisee to find a site for the Subway shop. If Subway approves the site, it requires each franchisee to sublease the premises from one of several real-estate leasing companies that are affiliated with Subway (red flag!). In 1990, Defendants opened their first Subway sandwich shop in Granite City, Illinois. Later they bought a second Subway franchise. Subway corporate allegedly promised to approve any appropriate site Defendants found for the second franchise in Bethalto, Illinois. After locating two potential spots in Bethalto, Defendants asked Subway corporate for approval, but were told that both sites were too close to another Subway sandwich shop located in Wood River, Illinois. Subway corporate then allegedly permitted another franchisee to open a Subway shop in Bethalto, at or near the spots picked by Defendants. Despite Defendants’ objections, Subway corporate made Defendants locate their second Subway store in Granite City, less than two miles from Defendants’ first store. The opening of this second shop cut into the sales of Defendants’ first Granite City shop. Subway corporate is your landlord. They can dangle an eviction notice in the face of franchisee to compel desired behavior. If Subway had the franchisee’s best interests in mind, that franchisor-landlord relationship could work in theory. Intuitively, you would think that maximizing the franchisee’s profits would maximize Subway’s profit, right? Wrong. (see The hidden ways franchisors make money off franchisees) Arbitration Clause: So …

VERY OUT OF DATE.  Do a search instead.  This was manually updated March 21, 2006 Companies Mentioned in Posts (likely incomplete):Automotive 1-800 RADIATORS Oil Butler Lube N’ Go On-Site-Lube Business & Home Services 1-800-WATER-DAMAGE Bartercard Garagetek Help-U-Sell Home Instead Homewatch Caregivers My Girl Friday PropertyGuys.com Sears Carpet & Upholstery Tax Centers of America Cleaning & Maintenance none Computer & Internet (some are listed in “Retail”) Screenz Food and Restaurant Arby’s Auntie Anne’s Blimpies Cheeburger Cheeburger Chipotle Dippin’ Dots Dream Dinners Doc Green’s Gourmet Salad Dominic’s of New York The Dugout Durango Grill Fazoli’s Fire of Brazil Fogo de Chao Goldstar Chili Jamba Juice Jerq’zine Krispy Kream Lenny’s Sub Shops Mauwi Wauwi Original Hamburger Stand Panaderia Taza Papa John’s Pizza Factory Pizza Patron Pretzel Time Quiznos Red Rock Chili San Francisco Soup Co Shane’s Rib Shack Skyline Chili Smoothie King Smotthie Planet Soup Nazi Steak-out Subway Submarina Sub Station II Super Suppers The Soup Box Supercuts Suzanne’s Kitchen We’re Rolling Pretzel Company Wetzel’s Pretzels Z Pizza Zoup! Fresh Soup Co (List all sub franchises) Health & Fitness Curves Liberty Fitness Home Building & Repair Services See “Business and Home Services” above Personnel & Staffing none Pet Retail and Services Camp Bow Wow Doody Calls The Pet Pantry Wag My Tail Interquest Detection Canines Pets Are Inn Retail Franchises Ace Hardware AuctionDrop Battery Plus Best Cuts GNC Educational Outfitters Fantastic Sams Fastframe Foot Solutions Friendly Computers Geeks on Call GNC Hair Cuttery Herman’s World of Sports Imagine This Sold Orbit Drop Play It Again Sports QuikDrop Roosters Men’s Grooming Centers Screenz Snips Its Sports Clips Stone Mountain Carpet Mill Tom’s Foods We the People Categories: eBay drop offs (generally) Hair Travel & Hotel none Industry Lists & Research 2004 Same Store Sales Growth of QSRs (quick service restaurants) Royalty and Advertising …

You may have seen the garage organization and shelving ads in the mailers, I know I have. I think the idea is novel and can make someone a nice living. I didn’t realize it was a franchise business, but I suppose it can be profitable enough. One franchisee of the Garagetek system with a territory in Jacksonville, Florida, has sold the franchise business and area expansion rights for about $300,000 (he initially paid $25,000). Often, if you can afford it, signing a franchise agreement to develop a geographic or metro area is the safest and most financially protectable position. The restrictions on where in your terriroty you can set up shop, how many locations you plan to saturate the area with, and many other competitive factors are much more within your control.

I’ve written a few articles on eBay drop offs. I was neutral on the franchise… Pros: it’s a service people will use eBay buzz and hype is still strong all franchisors are charging the same 35% fee (for now) Cons: the business is too simple to start, has no barriers to entry, new competitors will literally springing up overnight existing used and consignment stores will soon add eBay sales the service will have to compete based on fees (who wants a constant lowering on margins?) I’m sure I’ll be negative on the business within the next 5 years, but for now I’m staying neutral because the next 2-3 years will be strong. Want proof the eBay drop off store is easy to start and run without a franchise? Campus Easy Sales recently set up shop on the Washington University in St. Louis campus. A couple of fulltime students thought it’d be a good idea and just started it. They do nothing different than any other franchise out there (the hold the item, take pictures of it, post an ad on ebay, ships the item after the auction ends, and send the seller their cut). However, the total fees add up to ONLY 24% COMMISSION off the first $500. Compare to other eBay drop offs who charge 35%. You can bet your dog’s favorite toy this puppy will see their commissions slashed to 25% or less in a few years.

I don’t get Entrepreneur Magazine sometimes. According to an article in the Las Vegas Business Press, Entrepreneur Magazine named a personal concierge service called “My Girl Friday” as one of the “hottest new franchises” in 2005. The first franchise was launched in 2005! How can a personal franchise business with one franchise in the personal concierge industry (seems I’ve been hearing its the hottest thing for the past 10 years) be named the “hottest” with ONE franchise? The article’s author showcases her lack of business knowledge in this paragraph: Hagenmaier projects that the Las Vegas operation of My Girl Friday will grow from one person to having from five to ten employees in the next 18 months. The company hires independent contractors, which mostly appeals to people willing to work flexible hours. Brommenschenkel explains that college students and retired workers make ideal independent contractors, because of their flexible schedules. By definition independent contractors are not employees. It’s a small issue but that stood out to me. Here’s more of the business description: Services cost clients anywhere from $30 to $60 an hour, depending on the chore…My Girl Friday offers a full menu of services including traditional concierge services, personal chefs, errand running, pet care, party planning and assisting with business tasks. She sounds like a personal assistant. So people will hire this woman as both a personal chef or party planner in Las Vegas? I suppose it is possible. In my opinion, there are not many errands worth $60/hour. Most things for a minimal fee can be delivered and arranged quickly from a web site or one minute telephone call (travel, food delivery, dry cleaning, courier, pet sitter or walker). This business will be fighting technology and streamlined personal services offered directly from the service supplier (remember what happened …

The neglected school uniform market may soon have a strong franchise contender.

GNC sales have been declining for years now and it it may be the end of the road for this pioneer.

A look at a Curves franchise numbers does paint a rosey picture, but is it rosey enough?

Blimpie fights to stay afloat in an industry with high saturation and tough competition.

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1-800 WATER DAMAGE sold 50 franchises in 3 monts. It does sounds like the opportunity is ripe and concept is strong.

Lesson: Get a lawyer to represent you or your problems will likely end up like this Quiznos franchisee.

Ace Hardware is urging all franchisees to spend an average $150,000 to upgrade the store building and layout.