In this FDD Talk post, you’ll learn the following:

• Section I – Background information on The Glass Guru franchise opportunity, including relevant news updates

• Section II – Estimated initial investment for The Glass Guru franchise, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2020 FDD

• Section III – Initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees for The Glass Guru franchise, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2020 FDD

• Section IV – Number of franchised and company-owned The Glass Guru outlets at the start of the year and the end of the year for 2017, 2018, and 2019, based on Item 20 of the company’s 2020 FDD

• Section V – Presentation and analysis of The Glass Guru’s financial performance representations, based on Item 19 of the company’s 2020 FDD, including information on the:

• 2019 average, median, highest, and lowest gross sales for the top 10%, top 25%, top 50%, bottom 10%, and 100% of all Glass Guru franchise businesses in business for 12 months or more and which franchise businesses also had 12 full months of reported gross sales for calendar year 2019

• 2019 average, median, highest, and lowest gross sales for Glass Guru franchise businesses open continuously for at least 12 months, 24 months, 36, months, 48 months, and 60 months or more, respectively, and which franchise businesses also had 12 full months of reported gross sales for calendar year 2019

• 2019 average, median, highest, and lowest growth rate (percentage and dollars) for the top 10%, top 25%, top 50%, bottom 10%, and 100% of all Glass Guru franchise businesses in business for 24 months or more, and which franchise businesses also had 12 full months of reported gross sales for calendar years 2019 and 2018

• actual 2019 gross sales for the top 10 and bottom 10 Glass Guru franchise businesses operating for 12 months or more, and which outlets also had 12 full months of reported gross sales for calendar year 2019

Section I – Background Information

23 Things You Need to Know About The Glass Guru Franchise

Posts Record Numbers Despite COVID-19 Economy

1.  In late July 2020, The Glass Guru congratulated nearly a third of the organization’s franchise locations for hitting record monthly revenues for their respective franchises for June 2020. That same month, the organization as a whole achieved its highest aggregate monthly revenues since the company began franchising back in 2007. What’s interesting is that this is occurring during the tumultuous and uncertain times of COVID-19.

2.  There are several reasons why The Glass Guru is weathering the pandemic economy better than many others. At the onset, the franchisor took steps to open a robust channel of communications with its franchisees about how to best mitigate the issues facing franchises during the pandemic. There were webinars several times a week, and in most cases, franchisees had the resources and a solid plan to ensure business continuity.

3.  Glass and glazing has been consistently considered part-and-parcel to the health and safety of the home. This means The Glass Guru has been an “essential business” from the start.

4.  Another critical factor that The Glass Guru’s management team believes to be a driving force in the company’s momentum is the fact that many homeowners were forced to work from home during the lockdowns imposed by the states. This forced homeowners to take stock of their mounting home maintenance and home repair projects, and built up “pent-up demand” for The Glass Guru’s products and services.

5.  According to Dan Frey, founder and CEO of The Glass Guru, “While the COVID-19 crisis continues to be a national and global concern, increasing sales revenues from April through June has demonstrated there is no shortage of consumer demand for our services. Even in trying times such as these, home and business owners continue to maintain and update their properties and The Glass Guru locations are doing a great job taking care of their customers and staff, taking proper safety precautions as we get the job done.”

6.  Frey added, “The team at Headquarters couldn’t be more proud of the way each franchise has stepped up and risen to the challenge of thriving and growing in this turbulent economy. The second half of 2020 presents an incredible opportunity to continue this momentum! We look forward to supporting our franchises and sharing more success stories next month.”

7.  The Glass Guru’s management team is optimistic going into the remainder of Q3 and early Q4 of 2020. These are traditionally the busiest times of the year for the company, and The Glass Guru hopes to continue with the tremendous momentum they’ve seen so far in 2020.

Promotes New VP of Franchise Business Development

8.  At the beginning of May 2020, The Glass Guru announced the promotion of Rob Lopez to the position of vice president of franchise business development. The promotion signifies the importance the work Lopez has done since coming aboard The Glass Guru franchisor team in 2015. His ongoing dedication to the success of each individual franchise location makes him well-suited to this new challenge.

9.  Lopez was born and raised in Cape May County, NJ, about 20 minutes south of Atlantic City. He was a member of the USAF Reserves for 12 years, serving as a mission Capabilities Specialist, and later cross-trained into the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the USAF. Lopez received a BA in Law and Justice, with a minor in Small Business Management from Rowan University.

10.  In addition to his military service, Lopez has also served in a diverse array of professional roles, including being a NJ Juvenile Probation Officer, State of NJ Investigator (Public Defender’s Office), USIS Private Intelligence (Security Clearance Background Investigator), and a State of OH Civil Rights Investigator.

11.  Lopez’s franchise journey began with the acquisition of his own ServiceMaster Clean franchise. For 8 years, Lopez grew a great team and infrastructure, and his business grew because of his forward thinking and leadership. Lopez served for two years on ServiceMaster Clean’s Regional Franchise Council. His franchise location was considered one of the organization’s high performers, even as he was running his Florida-based franchise location as an absentee owner living in California for the last two years he owned the franchise.

12.  Dan Frey, founder and CEO of The Glass Guru, said, “From the first time I saw Rob speak to a group of owners at a franchise convention, I absolutely knew we had found a gem. Rob has an infectious leadership quality and rounded experience from his time in the military, semi-pro sports and then as a successful franchise owner himself with a large property restoration brand. Rob has demonstrated his ability to connect with owners and get them focused on the numbers, tasks and good habits that matter most. I greatly look forward to seeing Rob continue to positively impact the organization in this new leadership role.”

13.  The Glass Guru organization identified significant value in the path Lopez has taken during his first 5 years with the organization, and the success franchise owners are seeing when following his guidance. The entire leadership team at The Glass Guru has indicated a great degree of excitement and enthusiasm in seeing Lopez work in concert with his fellow franchisor staffers to continue guiding the company’s franchise owners in taking their respective franchise locations to the next level.

Named a 2020 Top Franchise by Franchise Business Review

14.  In early March 2020, The Glass Guru was named a top franchise for 2020 by Franchise Business Review. This is Franchise Business Review’s 15th annual ranking of the top 200 award-winning franchise opportunities. Franchise Business Review, a franchise market research firm that performs independent surveys of franchisee satisfaction, provides the only rankings and awards for franchise companies based solely on actual franchisee satisfaction and performance. Franchise Business Review publishes its rankings of the top 200 franchises in its annual Guide to Today’s Top Franchises.

15.  The Glass Guru was among over 307 franchise brands, representing more than 27,500 franchise owners, that participated in Franchise Business Review’s research. The Glass Guru franchisees were surveyed on 33 benchmark questions about their experience and satisfaction regarding critical areas of their franchise systems, including training and support, operations, franchisor/franchisee relations, and financial opportunity.

16.  In terms of overall franchise satisfaction, The Glass Guru’s “Franchise Satisfaction Index” or “FSI” reached its highest point since 2014, with an FSI score of 75. Compare that to the Franchise Business Review Benchmark (70.2) reflecting the FSI scores of all companies participating in the survey, and The Glass Guru sits at 6.8% above the rest of the field. The Glass Guru’s FSI of 75 is 6.2% above the Home Services category score of 70.6.

17.  Eric Sites, CEO of Franchise Business Review, said, “There are thousands of successful franchise companies operating in North America, but many of those companies do not offer a solid investment opportunity for the actual franchise owners. As an independent research firm, we rate the franchise companies in the marketplace today and identify those that have the highest levels of satisfaction and performance among their franchisees in order to help entrepreneurs choose which franchise to invest in. The companies on this year’s list are the top performing brands in the areas critical to their franchisees’ success.”

18.  In years past, The Glass Guru has always demonstrated the belief that recognition from Franchise Business Review is some of the most credible and applicable recognition the company can get from the franchise industry or trades. The reasoning has always been based on the fact that each piece of recognition from Franchise Business Review begins with a comprehensive survey completed by actual franchise owners.

19.  Dan Frey, founder and CEO of The Glass Guru, added, “We as an organization are incredibly honored to once again be included on the Franchise Business Review’s list of Top Franchises for 2020. It’s always eye-opening to review the results from the annual FBR Franchise Satisfaction Survey. Of course it’s great when our franchisees feel we’re doing really well in any one area. What’s even more valuable to us as a company is to see where the franchisees provide us feedback, even critical feedback, that ultimately exposes areas where we can support them better.”

20.  Frey added, “The FBR Franchise Satisfaction survey results have become an important tool, as our management team uses the results each year to craft strategy and policy that helps lead to continuously satisfied and happy franchisees. Leveraging the tremendous value of working with Franchise Business Review each year has become part of The Glass Guru’s DNA.”

Company History

21.  The Glass Guru was founded in 2004 by Dan and Joy Frey in Granite Bay, California. Two years before this, the Freys had learned of a process being used in Canada to restore the visible and thermal qualities of failed dual-pane windows. After much research and recognizing the market potential of this new green and money-saving alternative to replacements, the Freys formed The Glass Guru, which was the first company in the US to offer the foggy window repair service to the public.

22.  As the only company offering this service at the time, The Glass Guru quickly grew and expanded its services to include additional niche restoration services like glass stain and scratch removal as well as traditional replacement services such as window glass, screens, showers, windows, and doors. The Freys started franchising The Glass Guru concept in 2007. Today, The Glass Guru has locations around the U.S. and Canada.

Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500

23.  The Glass Guru did not rank on Entrepreneur’s 2020 Franchise 500 list.

Section II – Estimated Costs

• Please click here for detailed estimates of The Glass Guru franchise costs, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2020 FDD.

Section III – Initial Franchise Fee, Royalty Fee, Marketing Fee, and Other Fees

• Please click here for detailed information on The Glass Guru’s initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2020 FDD.

Section IV – Number of Franchised and Company-Owned Outlets

Franchised

2017

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  92
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  85
• Net Change:  -7

2018

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  85
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  83
• Net Change:  -2

2019

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  83
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  70
• Net Change:  -13

Company-Owned

2017

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  0
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  0
• Net Change:  0

2018

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  0
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  0
• Net Change:  0

2019

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  0
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  0
• Net Change:  0

Section V – Financial Performance Representations (Item 19, 2020 FDD) and Analysis

• As of December 31, 2019, the franchisor had 71 The Glass Guru Franchise Businesses in the USA and Canada. Of these, 58 outlets were in business for 12 months or more, and which outlets also had 12 full months of reported gross revenues for calendar year 2019.

• Because the number of franchised outlets fluctuated during the year, the franchisor has not included any data for outlets that did not have 12 full months of reported Gross Sales data for 2019. Excluded locations include franchised outlets that started operations in 2019, or ceased operations in 2019, and did not have 12 full periods of reporting submitted to the franchisor. These specific franchised outlets would likely have Gross Sales figures that differ from those depicted in this report.

• For this Item 19, Gross Sales means the total gross revenues collected or received from whatever source (whether in the form of cash, credit, agreements to pay, barter, trade credits, goodwill, or other consideration) that arise, directly or indirectly, from or in connection with the operation of your franchise, including but not limited to:

• a. the sale of goods and/or services offered by or through the franchise;

• b. the sale of goods and/or services by you or a third party selling products and/or services on your behalf that are sold or that are required to be sold under the terms of the Franchise Agreement, no matter from what location or business the income is generated;

• c. the proceeds from any business interruption insurance and/or damages or settlement amounts received to compensate you for lost revenue of the franchise; and

• d. any revenue generated from commissions, rebates, or affiliated programs.

• All of the franchised outlets for which Gross Sales and average Gross Sales are reported are operated by franchisees. The franchisor did not operate any of the businesses.

• All of the locations reflected in the report are comparable to Franchise Businesses offered in the disclosure document and offered substantially the same services to the public. No adjustments have been made to reflect geographic location or applicable exchange rate. In addition, all of the information in this report was derived from franchise reported data for a full 52-week period covering the 2019 calendar year.

Part 1 – Average Gross Sales Ranking

• The chart below reflects 2019 average Gross Sales rankings. Data displayed also includes median, highest, and lowest Gross Sales values. These rankings are broken out into 5 groups: top 10%, top 25%, top 50%, bottom 10%, and 100% of all Franchise Businesses in business for 12 months or more and which Franchise Businesses also had 12 full months of reported Gross Sales for calendar year 2019.

Gross Sales Rankings for Franchise Businesses

Top 10%