Should you buy a business opportunity or Franchise if you want to get into the window cleaning business? Or just start your own and work hard; grow the business into a full-time profession and expand from there? Let us talk briefly about window cleaning franchises is in general.
One could argue without too much difficulty that buying a window cleaning franchise is simply a waste of money, after all you could simply go down to be 99 cents store and by a bucket 3 towels and a squeegee and hey, you are in business right? Well one could argue that, since to really be in business, you probably need to get a business license, insurance, buy some business cards and make a few flyers. Then you need to hit the street and drum up some business, of course this is not too awfully hard, but it is not all that easy either. Over the past two decades I have known many small startup window-cleaning people who have lasted a few months at most.
What I find interesting about it is that every single one comes in with such vigor and excitement ready to take on the world. When they leave and quit business they do so for an array of excuses yet still they will swear that would not have been any different had they bought a window cleaning franchise. My answer to that is hogwash. We take someone who's been a business 25 years and we show you had a do that business, do you honestly think that you or me or anyone for that matter can go down to the 99 cents store buy a few products of the trade, get some business cards and flyers and do as well as someone with 25-years experience? A franchise can show you a business plan with all of the mistakes that they have made in all those 25 years built out of the business model?
I have heard people argue against franchising and I know little bit about. I have heard people brag to me about how great they are and how they can do anything. I myself have even thought that, but really be honest; fact is that nothing good life is easy, it never has been, it never will be, that is not good or bad it just it is. I applaud the startup entrepreneur, I applaud the street vendor, I applaud Donald Trump in his new reality show for making those contestants go out into the street and sell lemonade. The open market and free enterprise that you'll learn from doing can not be taught in schools, it often Fries me to listen to M.B.A. students tell me how great they are, greatnesses does not come from saying; it comes from doing, it comes from perseverance dedication commitment and strength of character.
It does not come from reading chapters in paragraphs in textbooks that were written 40 years the prior and re-edited every decade or regurgitated with the latest buzzwords. No my friends you cannot learn about free enterprise by reading the teachings of Karl Marx in Das Capital. Likewise you cannot understand the writings in the novel Fountainhead or when Atlas shrugged or any short story, lecture or novel by Ayn Rand. I do not claim to be a know-it-all in all areas of the free market. I realize there is always more to learn to fully understand free markets; you must participate in them. Elliot Spitzer has no business crying "foul" over the shenanigans of Martha Stewart, he clearly does not understand. Greenspan on the other hand did participate in free markets after he had finished college.
Let's not be too quick to judge what may appear to be simple, for nothing is simple. Window cleaning or car washing may appear to be very simple procedures and something you can train your third grader to do. I can safely say that that carwash industry, specifically the mobile carwash industry that our company the car wash guys is in seems more like rocket science than the simple business it appears to be. There is no one and no team which has studied the markets, participated in them and continually strives to innovate and build new prototypes to service more niches that our company http://www.CarWashGuys.com. In the window cleaning business the window wash guys http://www.windowwashguys.com has been around some 25 years. You cannot tell me that in 25 years of specializing in a specific niche like that, that someone cannot become excellent at their methods and procedures, marketing and managing, equipment and signage, uniforms and scheduling. Not to mention that the entire time a company like The Window Wash Guys is trying new products, new coatings, new chemicals and new procedures.
For someone to argue to what is "why should I buy a franchise? I could start a window cleaning business for $200, why do I need to pay you?" Is utterly ridiculous to us and preposterous for us to even bother to explain. If someone cannot see the value and knowledge that one gains from being the best they can be at a specific task for 25 years, then they truly are not smart enough to join our company in the first place.
So if you really think your are so smart and can do it yourself; then by God go get busy and do not waste franchisor's time. After all what you are doing is trying to learn on their dime which you have not paid for; isn't that why you really contact the franchise company? That is a chicken crap way to do things. Lying and playing games to steal information; If you are so special and so great and so wonderful that you think that you can understand 25-years of trial and error by going out and doing it yourself, then; go get em' big guy? I hope at least you have the smarts enough to by a book about the subject or two from someone who knows what they are doing. Franchisees of strong market player franchisors eat the competition for lunch? The arrogance of some people is just ridiculous? They say things like; "Why should I pay you a dime, I can do this on my own?" Our answer is simple; if that is true, go do it. Shut up and stop wasting our time. That is what the franchisors think of your petty comments? "Loser, Show ME; don't tell me what you are going to do, get busy and do it; Mr. Wonderful!" As a franchisor, I get perturbed listening to silly little humans, tell me how great they are and how they can do anything, better than our team within a week or two. You see I have watched thousands of these folks talk a good amount of smack and be here and gone in under 3-months. Grow up.
In my days in motorcycle racing, we use to call these bragging talkers; squids. Newbies, they would be balls to the wall before the race and then end up crashing or in next to last place a few hours later. You cannot be the best by osmosis; it takes hard work, practice and knowledge and of course a few hard knocks. A franchisor in any business has done much of this for you. If you are wise you will listen and not talk so much. Think on this, but do not call us if you are going to play games, we are busy.
"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.worldthinktank.net/wttbbs
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