If you're thinking of starting your own holiday lighting business, it is very likely that you've seen ads which offering to let you buy into a holiday lighting franchise. To many people, these franchise offers sound quite tempting. After all, if you purchase a business that is already established, you don't have to go through the hardships that you would face from starting a business from scratch.
However, before you make the decision to purchase a Christmas light installation franchise, please read this article in its entirety, it will only take a minute or two and you need to see below the surface of these offers. It must first be noted that purchasing a franchise will require a great deal of money.
In most cases, the purchase of a holiday lighting business franchise will start at about $25,000, and can be as high as $100,000. Remember, this money can never be refunded once the business is purchased.
Now, when attempting to sell you their business, most franchise owners will tell you that it will come with a territory that is protected, a well known brand, and a high end website. These are the main perks associated with these franchises and they hype them up a lot.
First off, when it comes to territory, they will only give you one that is within your zip code, meaning that you are only allowed to sell and market your services within your own zip code. If you want to move beyond this area, you will have to purchase additional territories (zip codes) from the parent company.
As far as a well known brand goes, most people can't think of prominent holiday lighting franchise off the top of their head. Remember, Christmas light installation is very much a 'local' service and is very different is different from brands like Coke, Subway or McDonalds, the brand name just isn't there.
As far as a website goes, you can get a fully custom, high end sales website built and hosted for about $2,000 or less, but the franchisors will tell you that they are giving you a ten or twenty thousand dollar website. The reality is you will get a web "page" that is customized for you, that is attached to the main corporate website.
When you begin to take all these things into consideration, it becomes easy to see why paying $25,000 or $100,000 for a holiday lighting franchise is ridiculous, and if you do it, you will regret it.
The reality is that the start up costs for a Christmas light installation business are so low that it just doesn't make sense to buy a business, when you can simply start your own, especially now that there are proven home study courses out there that will guide you through the whole process for a fraction of the cost.
However, before you make the decision to purchase a Christmas light installation franchise, please read this article in its entirety, it will only take a minute or two and you need to see below the surface of these offers. It must first be noted that purchasing a franchise will require a great deal of money.
In most cases, the purchase of a holiday lighting business franchise will start at about $25,000, and can be as high as $100,000. Remember, this money can never be refunded once the business is purchased.
Now, when attempting to sell you their business, most franchise owners will tell you that it will come with a territory that is protected, a well known brand, and a high end website. These are the main perks associated with these franchises and they hype them up a lot.
First off, when it comes to territory, they will only give you one that is within your zip code, meaning that you are only allowed to sell and market your services within your own zip code. If you want to move beyond this area, you will have to purchase additional territories (zip codes) from the parent company.
As far as a well known brand goes, most people can't think of prominent holiday lighting franchise off the top of their head. Remember, Christmas light installation is very much a 'local' service and is very different is different from brands like Coke, Subway or McDonalds, the brand name just isn't there.
As far as a website goes, you can get a fully custom, high end sales website built and hosted for about $2,000 or less, but the franchisors will tell you that they are giving you a ten or twenty thousand dollar website. The reality is you will get a web "page" that is customized for you, that is attached to the main corporate website.
When you begin to take all these things into consideration, it becomes easy to see why paying $25,000 or $100,000 for a holiday lighting franchise is ridiculous, and if you do it, you will regret it.
The reality is that the start up costs for a Christmas light installation business are so low that it just doesn't make sense to buy a business, when you can simply start your own, especially now that there are proven home study courses out there that will guide you through the whole process for a fraction of the cost.
