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Starting a business is a big step. We know you have many questions. Our existing franchisees did too – so here are some of what they asked.
If you have a question that you don’t see here, just get in touch and we’ll be back with an answer ASAP, or we are happy to jump on the phone and have a conversation.
We operate 5 brands across the group -Refresh Renovations, Let Correct, Zones Landscaping, Oncore and We Sort It. Two of those brands (Refresh Renovations and Let Correct) are operational in the UK currently, with others to launch soon. We operate in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the USA and have over 170 active franchisees, with 90 of those being Refresh Renovations franchisees.
The most important attributes are a positive attitude and a strong motivation to succeed. This leads to behaviours and actions which drive success:
1. Focused on delivering a great customer experience.
2. Driven to succeed and invest in their business.
3. Good leadership, ability to build the team and make sure everyone is doing their job.
4. Following the established process and successful formula.
5. Using the systems to keep on top of sales, administration and business results.
The business is your asset to sell. You can approach a business resale broker and agree between you the right marketing price for the business. We don’t take a fee out of the sale. We will recover transfer costs - see the legal agreement. If you want us to, we will help you with the sale. It is in our interest to get a new franchisee to carry on the business. We do retain the right to make sure the new franchisee is suitable for the business. We provide training and support to help the new owner be successful and you would ensure they have had a full onboarding of the day-to-day running of your business.
We have learnt a lot based on our experience and have evolved the business accordingly - which is an advantage for new franchisees coming on now!
These are some of the key insights that we have learnt over the years:
1.Builders don’t naturally make good business managers: In our pilot phase, we recruited builders and tried to turn them into managers. That didn’t work and we helped them out of the business and realised we needed to recruit commercial people with a customer focus to run and manage the business and they employ builders to run and manage the construction side of the business.
2.Design and build is much better than the tender model: We originally had ‘design and build’ as an option but also responded to requests for tenders. Data from the franchisees showed that ‘design and build’ was a far superior model so that has become the standard process.
3.Follow the model and process: Franchisees who invest in building their team, invest in marketing and maintain a good mix of projects, are the ones who prosper. As we have constantly invested in analysis, process improvement and IT systems; we have seen the speed of growth of new franchises increase.
Keys to success:
You do not need industry experience to be a successful Franchise Owner. As a Franchise Owner/Renovation Specialist, your focus will be on managing the growth of your business while your Construction / Project Manager will coordinate a team of skilled trades. Our existing franchise owners have backgrounds in business, sales, law, customer service, hospitality and more. One of the things that makes Refresh® so unique is that business-minded professionals run the business while project managers and trades focus on their area of expertise. This is key to creating a smooth renovation experience for customers and also helps to keep employees and contractors happy within their roles.
Our main ‘competitors’ are small builders. We don’t directly compete with them because they enter the sales process at the tender stage and we win the customer much earlier in the design stage. There are small local design and build companies also, while their approach to project management is similar, they lack the scale and systems to grow. There is no one who is a direct competitor to us. However the segment is huge and there is plenty of room for a number of competitive companies.
The renovation market is extremely resilient. In the Global Financial Crisis the new home and commercial market dropped by 40 - 50% and the renovation market only dropped by about 7%. When the economy is tight, banks are still happy to lend money on renovations as there is an asset they can lend against. In summary, demand for renovations stays high during recessions and finance remains available because banks have an asset to secure loans against.
There is a very long list, but can be summarised as:
1. Less stress.
2. Reduced wastage.
3. Single point of contact management.
4. Utilisation of technology to streamline the process.
5. Peace of mind – we work with fixed price contractual quotes prior to the build starting.
For larger projects, some customers will be tempted to engage an architect when they are starting to plan their project. This can be a massive mistake, as that process:
1. Does not allow the customer to understand the potential cost of the project throughout the design stages, nor allow them to make trade-off decisions based on that information.
2. Will not provide the detailed specifications and selections that are essential to accurately understand how much the project will cost.
3. Will not give the build teams the right information to manage the site without assumptions, risk and delays.
4. Is not an end-to-end process, meaning the customer finishes the design stages with an architect and then has to start the process again with a builder, meaning an enourmous delay in realising their project.
The Refresh process address all of these problems and risks.
If you have worked with HO to set up your paid online advertising campaigns in good time, there is a very strong chance that you will begin to see leads filtering in to you within the first week or two.
In addition to the national branding and marketing, we provide a great deal of marketing support for your local franchise marketing that breaks down into 4 types:
1. Digital and online marketing: we provide resources to plan and implement cost-effective campaigns on your behalf.
2. Customer relationship marketing: we provide tools, databases and training to help you generate repeat sales and referrals.
3. Channel and trade relationship marketing: we help you build networks and campaigns to generate leads from various trade sources.
4. General marketing communications: we provide collateral and marketing support to help you run local campaigns. A personalised 0800 number is one of these tools and other tracking mechanics. We provide a marketing toolkit, training, benchmarking and other marketing resources to help you with local marketing.
Refresh spends over £500k a year on national marketing and resources to build the brand, develop online platforms, programmes and other marketing material. You spend the specified minimum spend per month (or more if you deem required based on your revenue targets) on local marketing and we help you put together the most effective programmes based on experience from the group, internal and partner resources and support.
We collect 1% of all revenue as a National Marketing fund to apply to developing a brand platform, creating marketing assets for the Franchise Network, promotion, advertising, agency fees, marketing research and development, establishing loyalty programs, operating the website, operating a call centre, test of target marketing, marketing and consulting fees, relevant industry memberships and subscriptions, public relations activities and incident including but not limited to (social media and traditional) media programs and activities, providing promotional brochures and other marketing materials for the Approved Services and Approved Products.
We would recommend that you aim to have 4 sources of lead generation:
1. Local Activity – Google, Facebook, seminars, regional offline advertising, directories, home shows etc.
2. National Activity – Website enquiries, call centre, SEO, social media etc.
3. Customer Relationship Activity - Leverage customer relationships for repeat work and referrals.
4. Supplier Relationship Activity – Leverage supplier and contractor relationships for repeat lead referrals.
There are 3 key reasons to have a marketing plan which incorporates all sources of lead generation:
1. Having multiple sources of leads means that if 1 lead generation channel is disrupted you still have leads coming in. By relying only on 1 or 2 sources your pipeline is at risk from external factors.
2. Maximising your lead generation is key for those franchisees looking to scale their business.
3. Lead channels convert differently. If you only focussed on social media leads, for example, you are likely to have a lower conversion rate than if you had a well balanced lead generation plan.
We ask you not to do this for several reasons:
1. Our advertising partners extensive knowledge and experience of managing these campaigns. You would be starting from scratch and likely losing a lot of money testing things that we have already taken the learnings from.
2. If another campaign is run outside of the HO managed campaigns, we are essentially competing against ourselves, raising the cost per lead for everyone’s campaigns.
3. Run centrally, the leads generated can be efficiently delivered into the CRM system without the need for manual entry.
Our territories are based on regional collaboration. The number of franchisees in your area is limited and protected in your franchise agreement. The number of franchisees allowed in a territory is calculated based on the size of the renovation market with a ratio of one franchise for every £50m of annual renovation spend. The simple reason for this is that once the region has the maximum number of franchisees operating in it, and each of those franchisees is generating revenue of £1.5M a year, collectively you would all represent just 3% market share of the regions renovation spend, leaving you collectively to target the remaining 97% of the market! You will not compete against each other, you will work together to collectively compete with the rest of the market. Your territory cannot be eroded, it is protected in your agreement which states the number of franchises in your area. Your exclusivity is managed by database, so the more leads you generate over time the larger your customer ‘region’ becomes!
The agreement is 5 + 5 + 5 years with a right of renewal at terms no less favourable. In other words, the agreement doesn’t revert back to us. You carry on and just cover the legal costs to renew the agreement- there is no additional franchise investment fee to pay.
We are looking for commercially-oriented people who want to grow a high revenue company by investing in the business and their team. We are not looking for builders who want to be hands-on-the-tools. Because we have limited the total number of franchise territories that will ever be available, we need to make sure we appoint people who we believe will be successful because our success depends on making sure they are successful.
Our initial training/induction is done at the global head office in Auckland, New Zealand, over 3-4 full days. With travel you should allow 7-8 days in all.We will fund your travel and accommodation costs for this trip, as we believe it is massively beneficial for your business.We often get asked if it is possible to extend the stay in order to see more of this incredible part of the world! This is absolutely fine to arrange, on the understanding that you would, of course, cover any additional accommodation costs.
Each franchisee starts with a 3-4 day induction at Head Office or online that covers business management, marketing lead management and sales. Following your initial induction, there is a comprehensive onboarding process which might last up to 6 months, ensuring you get the right support from the right people at the right time, as you arrive at key milestones in your businesses growth, all the way from your very first lead to your first build project.
There is a wealth of support materials built directly into Refresh CONTROL in the form of manuals, FAQ’s, etc. that all comprise a vast knowledge centre. During the due diligence process, you will be given access to our live manuals to explore the depth and breadth of our knowledge base, which we are constantly developing.
White, non-trade based vehicle (so a car rather than a builder's van). You need it from day 1 as you need to go and see customers. If your vehicle is in good condition but not white, a very viable option is to have it ‘wrapped’ in white as part of the sign-writing process. Your vehicle will be sign written for you as part of your start-up pack.
The key differences to consider are:
1.Initial investment - £45,000 for launch enhanced vs from £20,000 for launch light.
2.Timing - To join under launch light you must have signed contracts, and must have paid the full investment 3 months after beginning due diligence. There is no timing requirement to join for launch enhanced.
3.Royalties - Under launch light your royalty will be 6% of revenue or £1,000 (whichever is higher), and under launch enhanced your royalty will just be 6% of revenue.
4.Launch package - There is an additional financial support package at launch for launch enhanced.
5.Position in region - Under the launch light model there is an additional £5k invesment based on position in region, for instance if you were the 2nd franchisee in the region your investment would be £20,000 + £5,000, if you were the 3rd franchisee in the region your investment would be £20,000 + £10,000All numbers are exclusive of VAT (which you will reclaim through the business). We will discuss this in more detail and help you decide which option is best for you during the due diligence process.
Yes absolutely, we have very good relationship with a range of finance partners who rate the Refresh franchise model very highly. Our finance partners include the British Business Bank (start up loan), HSBC Franchise Financing, as well as an independent broker and a property financing specialist (additional borrowing on a property is a very cost efficient way to finance your new business!). Depending on which model you join Refresh under, you could finance as much as 100% of the funds required! If you wish, we can introduce you to these partners and help you develop the documentation they will require to process a funding application during the due diligence process.
Your initial franchise investment includes:
1.A licence for you to operate the brand in your chosen area for 15 years.
2.Training and onboarding costs.
3.Access to the systems and processes of Refresh.
4.Start up pack materials.
5.An attractive business asset that could be resold for far more than you have purchased it for.
6.We invest a portion of monies to fund the ongoing franchisee acquisition program to drive and scale the business to the benefit of all stakeholders.
Typically 2-3 months from start to finish, if you are investing about an hour of your time a week to progress the process. This can be done a lot faster by simply spending a bit more time weekly to advance more swiftly. The period of time your own due diligence takes is entirely your decision.
There are very few additional funding requirements, especially compared to other franchise businesses.Your Refresh business does not need to invest in stock, premises, fit out, equipment or machinery. During due diligence you should budget around £1,500 for legal costs (maximum), which will include having the franchise agreement reviewed and having your final contracts drawn up.
Aside from legal costs, you might have some accountant costs for reviewing your business plans, incorporating your company and VAT registration.
In terms of getting ready to trade, you might want to consider a computer/laptop, tablet, phone, A3 colour printer and other small operational purchases.
There is a requirement to have a white vehicle, the costs for which we have accounted for in the operational costs that we will discuss during business and finance planning.
We will review these with you, but we would advise that you also have an accountant review your plans to ensure you have had independent advice.
All of the planning documents we supply to you are using example numbers, you should make your own projections and forecasts based on your findings during the due diligence process.
No, the cost of entry is very competitive. We hold the business and each franchise in high regard and would not devalue this by negotiating. If access to funds is an issue we can talk to you about options including commercial lending.
Absolutely, we consider this to be one of the key stages of your due diligence and we will ask you to speak to some franchisees of your choosing at the right stage of the process, should you wish to. These conversations will not happen at the start of the due diligence process- our franchisees are very busy and it is important that we protect their time by only asking them to speak to people who have committed to, and progressed through, the due diligence process.
This is from the ONS (Office of National Statistics), including the overall UK renovation market size, as well as the regional renovation spend which we use to designate regions based on the value of the local market.
You will need to have a Limited company for your franchise to trade under, this company must be VAT registered. You can use an existing Limited company if you have one, but it must not have carried out any previous trading activity. We will give you detailed guidance around this during due diligence.
You do not need an office- most of our franchisees start from a home office. They might consider external office space as they grow their teams; you will decide if this is needed for your business as you grow. If you do take on an office, there is no requirement for that to be a consumer facing space- you just need desk space and working office facilities.
We regularly offer lead management and sales training, as well as project delivery and various admin/business management training. We require you to attend some of those training sessions with your employees so that everyone understands their roles in the business. Generally, this is included as part of the fees. Exceptions would be discussed on a case-by-case basis.
If you talk to the existing franchisees they will tell you that we offer great support. Most operational problems are teething issues that every franchisee goes through and we’ve built up our answers over time in the form of coaching, system functionality, training and documentation. You most likely won’t encounter an operational issue we haven’t already addressed a dozen times over.
Refresh® provides excellent online systems and manuals through the Refresh® Learning Management System to help you and your staff manage all aspects of the business.
The franchisee network is an invaluable knowledge base and we encourage everyone to keep in touch and share knowledge and advice on an informal basis.
There is an internal Facebook page for franchisees globally, a Whatsapp group for UK franchisees and the Head Office team and the UK team have a group ‘huddle’ every week to discuss operational matters.
Head office acts as a central resource for franchise management and development, and globally throughout the group there are area experts (such as marketing, IT, operational etc) that are available on an as-and-when-needed basis.
We also run bi-annual physical UK team catch ups, on top of the annual international conference held in different regions each year.
So you will never be short of support if you need it!
You can expect a lot of support in general and, yes, there is technical support for Refresh® CONTROL; which is being constantly enhanced. We developed it as a cloud-based business management platform because none existed that fit our global design and build business for residential renovations.
Yes, some businesses have failed to launch, and they moved on. Mostly, they have left for a wide range of reasons: some quite surprising (one franchisee decided to retire when a family member won the Lottery!). Quite a few, unfortunately, have had health issues, while some decided to leave the country. However, there are a few who have failed because they didn’t run their business properly. In every case it was because they didn’t follow the proven process:
1. Some franchisees have refused to build a construction team and tried to manage construction themselves. This meant they could never grow their business; they got trapped in running the projects and had no time left to run and grow their business.
2. Some have focused only on large projects and rejected small projects. This is risky because, even if you have quite a large turnover, you will have geared up your overheads and then, if one project falls over, it leaves a big gap in cash flow and you still have overheads to cover. That’s why we have targets to maintain an even balance of revenue from small, medium and large projects.
3. The final reason for businesses failing is franchisees who refuse to do any, or enough, marketing. They can get to a certain turnover but, unless you are filling up your pipeline with leads, you can’t bring on enough work to grow. We know what the levels of marketing need to be, but if franchisees do not invest appropriately, their business doesn’t grow.
In all cases, we work with franchisees to help them out of any holes they fall into but, in the end, if they refuse to make the necessary changes and follow the business model, their business will not prosper.
You should be winning your first projects very quickly, certainly within the first 1-2 months if you are focusing on small jobs & projects early on to drive initial cashflow. The timing of initial conversion can be quicker or slower and will be driven by each individual adherence to the process and ability to clearly communicate the value of the Refresh process to customers.
Small jobs and projects could be anything from replacing a tap up to basic renovation of a room; these can be the lifeblood of a successful business for the following key reasons:
1. Cashflow - As a business owner you need to be able to influence your cashflow, small jobs can cashflow in weeks or even days, larger projects might take 6 - 12 months to fully cashflow. Having a base of small jobs allows you to control your cashflow and ensure your fixed overheads are always covered.
2. Team Building - Having a constant flow of small jobs and projects means you can keep your team busy around the bigger jobs. When you start your business, small jobs will allow you to engage and test your team before moving them into bigger projects.
3. Winning Customers - Solving small problems for customers wins their loyalty and future work. By carrying out lots of small jobs you grow your database full of customers that will return for bigger jobs later and refer you to friends and family. Competition is more pronounced for large projects, if you win the customer before they get to those projects you erradicate the competition. Doing small jobs is the best way to win large projects!
Refresh CONTROL (our Franchise Business Management system) is proprietary and we continue to develop/improve it with our in-house team of developers.
The business is web and digital system oriented. We are constantly identifying new opportunities and developing new systems.
Absolutely not, in fact they could be some of your best partners! Some examples of how you should be working with them:
1. You will be using them to help with designs and product selections for clients, so you will be bringing them business and trading with them.
2. They may have preferred local builders that they use for installations, none of them can offer the service level Refresh can, so they should be a good source of referrals for you.
3. You may choose to team up on marketing activities that will benefit both of you, such as seminars.
We will take you through this during the commercial section of due diligence. We can also put you in touch with franchisees that have built their business to large scale operations.
This is the part of the business that a lot of potential franchisees worry about, but it is one of the simplest parts of running the business!
You will be speaking to trade teams to communicate the value of working with Refresh (consistent flow of work, we take care of all management aspects, certainty of being paid, less disputes, working on fully planned and scoped projects...the list goes on!), and establishing a long term win-win relationship.
It is important to remember that for a customer, finding a trade or builder is very hard, this is because builders are disorganised and an individual customer at a point in time is not important to them. Refresh is entirely different, we solve problems for our trade teams, not create them and we are the only volume purchaser of their skills.
Projects are priced by your specialist teams (trades, estimators, project managers), costing is a business exercise carried out by the Franchise Manager to apply the business margin to the project price.
The safest way to de-risk the customer's project and your business is by implementing a cash positive workflow at all stages of the project, including the design and planning stages. This means that you will invoice the customer for the next stage of work about to take place, when that work is completed, payment is made for the next stage, which only begins when payment is received. This protects the customer, the project, your suppliers and trade teams.