Everybody in the building industry is talking about franchising these days. From large corporations launching franchising arms to carpenters keen to take the next step and establish themselves as a residential builder – everybody is talking.
What’s wrong with the way it’s always been done?
Why doesn’t the new builder write his name on the door of his ute and kick off his business – like the old days?
I’d suggest that the builder with their name on the door of the ute will be struggling to compete with the new franchised builder who launched his business with a bang – plans, marketing and systems all present and accounted for on day one.
While the ute door guy is scratching his head about the basics – i.e. who to call to get some decent signage going – the new franchisee is way ahead chatting with another builder in his network about the best ways to market and build great homes.
What’s wrong with the old corporate model, where growing building companies can turn into publicly listed, manager stacked on manager mega-corp monstrosities?
Ask yourself this question: Would you rather run an office with 50 employees and managers building homes over a huge area OR run 10 small, efficient 5-person franchise area teams?
At the end of the day, it is the customers who decide which is the better way to go by voting with their feet. Customers are comparing notes and lining up the more personalized franchise experience with the “feeling like a number” experience offered at the big operators.
The best testament to the growing muscle of franchised building teams is this: when I launched into the residential new home business 8 years ago I chose our franchise from 2 main players – today a new builder has over 10 options to choose from. In another 8 years, will a new builder even consider launching their business without a franchise framework?
James Stroud