Franchises focusing on home upgrades finding lots of work - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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Revenues for the 3-year-old business are up 30 percenftthis year, and the franchisor plans to grow its numbere of units from 60 to 100 by year’sx end. “We see people repaintiny to keep their homezs and people painting whonormally didn’t have to in ordee to sell their property,” said Ralph Martin, who left a 16-yeadr engineering career with to run the companyt alongside serial franchisor Gary Green. Green also operates , the and . Franchiswe businesses focused on the home improvementsector trad­itionally have farecd well in slow economies, said Alisa Harrison, vice presideny of communications at the .
Between 2001 and the number of residential service franchisesx grew 41 percentto 55,00 from 39,000. Output grew 85 percent to $33 billion from $18 billion, IFA data “We tend to see franchises that provide servicesw to improve things existingbdo well,” Harrison said. “Peoplwe may very well be usinhg the equity they have intheitr home, which is probably a lot easier than getting a loan for a new to do those improvements.
” Franchises like kitchen remodeler and , which installs digital security systems in homes, have targeterd the Cincinnati area in recent months, hoping to attract new Cincinnati-based franchisor , which has more than 100 units expects its handyman franchises to grow revenue as much as 10 percenft this year. One in its eighth year of already has grown sales 94 percentin 2008, said CEO Jim He’s noticed the biggest uptick in clientd remodeling their kitchens and bathrooms, finishing their basementse and building decks.
“They’re using this as an opportunity to work on their where before they mayhave moved,” said the Unitee Kingdom native who has served as CEO of the Milford-bases franchise for one year. Hunter has threre franchises in Cincinnati and expects to add threed or four in the nextcouple years. House Doctors adds units for every 60,000 qualified households, those with enough familyg income to afford a It pinpoints franchisees withmanagemengt – not handyman – experience, so it tendes to grow more slowly than otherr firms, Hunter said. Franchisewide, House Doctors will add five unitdby year’s end.
Expandinvg a franchise during tough economi c times can happen more rapidly because peoplew might be more apt to start a company with an establishedf brand thanfrom scratch, Harrison said. “It gives you the training and marketing resources that may give you more of a leg up than if you were just hangin g your shingle outby yourself,” she Fresh Coat hopes to see those results. Startup costse for its home-based franchisees are just under $26,000. It collects 6 percenyt royalties once the business is up and Andopportunities abound. Painting maked up about 35 percent ofthe $100 billion home improvementg sector, Martin said.
Fresh Coat pridesz itself on affordablepricwe – $199 for one coat in one room, $249 for two coatas – and quick Quotes are provided within three and a job is completed withijn three weeks of an inquiry. The firm’s long-terj goal is to open a franchises forevery 175,000 people Two operate in Cincinnati now, but that couldc expand to five by year’s end. “Demand is almosgt endless because every time something is built they slap a coat of paintton it,” he said. “And nobody likesx to paint because ittakes forever.
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