Joining a Franchise Can Help Modernize a Home Service Business 

After decades spent earning a living with their hands, skilled trade professionals inevitably reach a point where they are ready to step away from the daily grind to enjoy some well-earned rest and leisure.

And yet, for plumbers, electricians, or contractors who have built a successful business for themselves, retirement doesn’t always mean closing up shop. Often, it means passing down their business to the next generation, especially if they have children or grandchildren who’ve shown an interest in continuing the family trade.

Before passing the torch, however, it is important to make sure the business is in optimal shape for the new ownership. Specifically, it is fully modernized, incorporating up-to-date technologies, systems, and procedures. For home service companies that have been around for a long time, it may require real diligence to get the business up to speed, moving past “the way we’ve always done it” philosophy to position the company for growth and future success.

One way to accelerate the modernization process is to join a franchise system. The centralized structures and resources the franchise provides can help optimize operations at any home service company, bringing modern benefits to a tried-and-true family business legacy.

Rethinking the tools of the trade

For evidence of how a franchise system can modernize an established home service business, look no further than technology deployment.

Home service professionals inevitably gain great familiarity with the tools of their trade, but other tools, like the latest technology for appointment setting and dispatching, may have a more significant learning curve. Getting up to speed with any new technology takes time and usually involves a bit of trial and error.

Younger generations will naturally hope to inherit a business that uses cutting-edge tools and technologies, and a franchise system can help bridge the generational gap. Specifically, franchise systems offer:

• Careful vetting and assessment of new technologies, saving business owners the time required to source the best tools.
• Back-end support with implementation, which can remove many of the obstacles associated with rolling out new tech.
• Training resources, helping all members of the family business to get up to speed.

When taking over the family business, younger generations will want access to the most effective, efficiency-boosting tools, and a franchise system can provide it.

Planning for growth

The new owners may also have ideas of their own about how to grow and scale the business, perhaps envisioning a far more ambitious future. Here again, joining a franchise system can offer substantial support, positioning the next generation to pursue goals of growth and expansion.

A big part of that comes down to marketing. Smaller independent shops sometimes struggle to get the word out about their business, often relying on word-of-mouth referrals or on dated advertising techniques, and that’s perfectly understandable.

A franchise system will provide a host of centralized resources, including marketing assets, and in some cases, a full in-house marketing team whose job is to promote local branches. These structures can help longstanding businesses to amplify their digital presence, extend their sales funnel, and become more serious about online review management.

Additionally, keep in mind that franchises emphasize replicable business models, including operating procedures and financial strategies that can be utilized from one location to the next. Being able to execute proven methods can help any home service contractor expand into multiple locations, even multiple territories - potentially going from family business owner to multi-unit owner.

Same legacy, new chapter

For a family business to withstand the test of time, it must evolve, adapt, and pivot. To prepare a family-owned home service business for a new generation of ownership, joining a franchise system can provide a crucial assist.

Douglas Smith is senior vice president of franchise development for Belfor Franchise Group.