Combining his 25 years of experience in franchising and executive search, Roman Skrypuch, Director of Franchise Development for Weed Man, guides candidates through each stage of the discovery and selection process. He helps individuals realize their personal potential through franchising using a variety of tools, all the while assessing whether or not the candidate is a good fit for franchising and the Weed Man concept.
Franchise Chatter (FC): What makes lawn care an attractive business to start?
Roman Skrypuch (RS): There are several factors that make lawn care an attractive business to launch, including the opportunity to work outdoors, regular industry growth, high customer demand, recession resistance, positive trends, and recurring revenues.
As far as growth, the lawn care industry reportedly represents more than $67 billion annually across the U.S. with more than $3 billion in growth last year alone. The industry has grown from the increasing consumer demand in lawn care as today’s homeowners prefer to have lawn services performed by professionals. In fact, current industry standards show that approximately 19 percent of all U.S. homeowners will use a lawn care company this year.
Another appealing quality of the field is its limited susceptibility to a struggling economy. With the average annual cost of service less than $400 per year, lawn care is a small slice of the consumer’s disposable income and one of the last budget items to be cut when belt-tightening is necessary. While nothing is recession-proof, lawn care companies have flourished during recessions.
Also shielding lawn care from the damaging recession is its high perceived value as a low cost service that enhances both property value and pride of ownership; studies have shown that professional lawn and landscape services can add as much as 15 percent to a home’s value at resale.
Furthermore, research shows that more and more homeowners are willing to pay for professional lawn care, so franchisees can take advantage of this positive trend in the green industry and have peace of mind knowing that a well-run lawn care company can count on the vast majority of its customers automatically renewing each year. This brings in recurring revenues and allows the company to focus marketing efforts on net growth rather than repeat sales.
As a Weed Man franchisee, franchisees always build upon a growing database of renewing customers, creating equity and amassing wealth in the process.
FC: What sets Weed Man apart from other lawn care franchises?
RS: Weed Man, the largest franchised lawn care company in North America, offers entrepreneurs a proven system to build high-margin, recurring revenues with minimal capital investment and limited exposure to recession in an industry whose strong growth is fueled by the demographic trends of dual-income families and aging baby boomers.
Additionally, every Weed Man franchisee is supported by their local and experienced franchisor who serves as a personal consultant and mentor, providing experience, guidance, and encouragement. They will work with franchisees every step of the way to ensure the complete, long-term success of all new businesses.
Among the many franchise opportunities individuals can choose from, this is a unique benefit that one is unlikely to find elsewhere. Each of our franchisors knows exactly what is needed to create a successful lawn care business, and each is committed to sharing that knowledge with members of the growing Weed Man family.
FC: What type of background are you looking for among prospective franchisees?
RS: Because all members of the Weed Man franchise network are provided with training, continuous support, and a blueprint on how to run a Weed Man business successfully, prospective franchisees can come from virtually any type of professional background. However, individuals who meet the following criteria tend to be most successful within the Weed Man organization:
- Comfortable following the franchisor’s established systems
- A team player, supportive of other franchisees in the system
- Willing to adapt to changes in procedures and systems over time
- Dedicated to contributing ideas and building strong relationships with the franchisor
- Must possess a desire to be in control of your own future
- A strong desire to succeed and build a business
FC: What are you doing to help interested parties finance their franchise investment?
RS: To help with financing, Weed Man has partnered with BoeFly, a company committed to providing candidates with access to hundreds of financial institutions across the country. We also provide our own internal financing of up to $40,000, which is available to qualified candidates.
FC: Can you describe your initial training program for new franchisees?
RS: Our initial 10-day training at Weed Man head office addresses all aspects of business operations, including administration, technical, marketing, business planning, and budgeting. This is followed by a 2-day software training portion to help new franchisees make the most of our top-of-the-line programs.
FC: What kind of ongoing support and training can your franchisees expect to receive?
RS: Our network of franchisors and corporate staff provide quick, easy access to local support, regular business planning meetings, educational seminars, and weekly teleconferences. Franchisees also enjoy broader support from the Weed Man family at events like the Annual Dealer Conference.
Every level of support has multiple years of operating experience. We all know what it’s like to gain a
customer, and we all know what it’s like to build a business.
FC: What are your growth plans for 2014?
RS: In 2014, Weed Man projects to grow about 18 percent in comparison to 2013 figures, opening franchises in approximately 50 additional territories.
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