DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen Franchise ???

BreyerConstruct

Hey guys,

Just wondering if anyone here owns a DM franchise, or has ever considered one?

At this moment it's just a casual thought for me... I'd look to do it as a start-up company, not under our roof, but use my current customer list and market presence to "piggy-back" advertising. It'd also maybe offer the ability to swap crews for the seasonality of work...

Anyway, I'd welcome all advice, criticism, stories, and comments!

Thanks in advance,
~Matt

Oh, here's the link to their site: http://www.dreammaker-remodel.com
and the link to the "family of businesses" they're related to:http://dwyergroup.com/

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ContractorQ

I am a griseled franchise veteran. I have been a franchise executive, a franchise consultant and a franchise owner. At the end of the day I must tell you that there are very few franchises worth owning. The only reason to own a franchise is if you do not know what the hell you are doing and have a desire to want to do what this franchise offers. If you have to jump into please do exactly as I say before you pull the trigger.

1. Have a "franchise attorney examine the UFOC and their contract.
2. Talk to every single franchise owner you can. If most of the franchisees do not call you back it is a huge red flag. You need to ask them the following:
a. Are you profitable?
b. How long did it take you to get profitable
c. Has the profit exceeded your expectations and has it replaced your former salary.
d. Does the franchisor actually provide guidance and assistance and marketing support after training. (Are you getting what you paid for with the royalties).
e. Would you do it again knowing what you know now.

Make sure you call any and all franchisees in the UFOC that have left or that have been terminated from the system. They will be hard to track down but do everything within your power to do so. Make sure you look into any legal action against the franchisor.

At the end of the day good franchises and franchiors are few in number. I hope that this helps.

J F

Good info by Q (I'd love to read more...)

J

M Smith

I explored the DreamMaker B&K franchise. On the plus side, they provided me with both happy AND unhappy franchisees. If I recall, I even got the name of an unsuccesful individual. They stand by their ssytem, and insist if you follow it to the letter, you will succeed.

The negative - it is a LOT of money. Plan on investing over $100K. They expect you to establish a store front, a major expense. You will need to have employees working the office (granted, only one, but it's overhead a startup may not need). The franchise fee alone is going to be in the $50-80k range, depending on the protected area.

I looked into all this about 8-12 months ago. I had decided I wanted to go into business on my own. My dad has been a self employed GC in FL for over 30 years. His statement to me - Imagine what kind of business you could start with $100k using your own brains. The franchise fee alone would pay for years of advertising. That fee buys you nothing but the system and support to implement it. All of the marketing and startup costs are piled on top of that.

Ask around, who do you know that has heard of DreamMaker? It isn't like you are buying a McDonalds. It is a virtually unknown name. It has little to no value on it's own.

I have since decided and gone on the get my contractors license, formed my own company, and with a partner will be starting full time on my own in three weeks. For me, the huge up front investment is the one and only downfall. Even if I struggle for two years, I won't burn through what the franchise fee would have cost me.

Remember, the franchise isn't going to make you successful, you are the sole determiner of that. You hard work and dedication makes it happen. The $10k, hire a good advertising firm, and invest it that way. See what happens to your business.

I don't think the DreamMaker peaople are bad, I just think paying a lot of cash for something you can do yourself is not sensible.

mahlere

the flip side is "do you know how easy it is to spend $100,000 and a few years of your life heading towards bankruptcy in the construction industry?"

i have seen, as i'm sure we all have, contractors who spend years, and way more than $100,000 and don't learn 1/2 of what they would learn as a franchise or member of an affinity group...

then they come to sites like this and ask "how much should i charge for...."

BreyerConstruct

Interesting thoughts.

I already have my own remodeling company. I'm looking at this more as a separate entity, something that can stand alone, and doesn't need me in it. I want to have it fully staffed, and fully self-supported. TO be honest, I also want it fully funded as well, BC&L (my company) doesn't have the $$ to start this up, and banks right now won't lend to individuals for construction related businesses (I blew 150 points on my perfect credit score over last winter talking to almost every major bank out there finding that out). So if you're looking to branch out & go big, you will be hard pressed to do it without having the backing of a franchise, because they have proven systems in place, and bankers in their structured thinking know & respect that. They're more sceptical of individuals and personal ability- it's gotta be "by the numbers" and a franchise can offer that to them.

Yes, 100k, or 500k could do a lot for you... but only with the knowledge to properly use it. A system, no matter what the cost, is worth looking at if it is successful, can run it's self, and can finance it's self. If this opportunity (or another like it) can be truly self-supporting, than I'm interested. I'm not interested in the opportunity to take out a 2nd loan against my house, work 50 more hours a week, and hope to stop loosing money in 3-5 years... that's not worth it to me! But, if a bank will fund me properly to set everything up, and I can properly sustain the initial growth, and can establish a track record, all while employing others to run the system, I'm interested.

FWIW, I've considered other franchises, albeit rather casually. The most intriguing is a Rita's Italian Ice". But, I'd rather own businesses that can "piggy-back" off of each other. Same clientel, different services, I've also considered a pressure washing business or division, or a used truck dealership, so I can buy & trade my equipment at wholesale prices...

OK, sorry for the rant & ramblings.
I appreciate all of the thoughts, advice, and warnings given. I haven't made any decisions yet, other than the decision to keep growing personally & professionally, and the decision to explore every viable option. The feedback and knowledge I've gained from this site and it's members has been above my ability to properly acknowledge, and I truly appreciate the honesty with which information & advice is shared.

Have a great Memorial Day everyone!

~Matt

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M Smith

Yeah, I looked at other franchises as well, certainly not just construction oriented opportunities. Famous Uncle Al's Hotdogs was the one I thought might be the wiener. They were talking about partnering with the Rays (yes, the Tampa MLB team. That never materialized, and thought they might be promising a lot more than they could deliver. I have also looked at existing franchises. You might consider that rather than starting out on your own. Typically, you can get into the existing franchise for less that the initial investment. People pay out those huge initial investments, then can't generate the necessary cash flow to keep it going. You can get in at fire sale prices. Just a thought.

I really don't think the franchise is a terrible idea. The DreamMaker deal certainly seemed interesting, and if I had the cash sitting around, I may have even persued it further. I was hesitant taking out a big home equity loan to pay for it. I worked hard to be in a good financial position to go out on my own, and I felt that I was going to end up working to pay off my debt, rather than to secure my future.

Stone Mountain

Matt, as you may remember, I am trying to franchise my company. Most of the initial legal work is done, the disclosure agreement is done, the "Process" is done, the product knowledge manuals are in their draft stages, and we have even had a few enquiries about buying one. I'm sort of on hold right now because I'm busy, and for various other reasons ($$$)

The thing about franchises is that for the prospective purchaser, you have numerous advantages.
-you have a hand to hold as you get your feet wet
-you have (or should have) help with product, business, collections, etc, when you need it
-you have a proven process to follow which ought to make you money
-you are part of a larger organization, while still maintaining some autonomy
-you may be able to get benifits you otherwise couldn't (I will be offering my buyers medical, dental, pension, gasoline discounts, truck purchase discounts, equipment discounts, etc)
-name recognition as we get larger
-training, both initial and on going

The other thing about franchises
-you'll have a huge initial outlay
-do NOT kid yourself that you can just stick a manager in there and let him run it. You will definitely have to spend considerable time at it. The first 2-3 years you'll be there full time
-don't count on too many piggy backs. Out of 220 reasonably happy customers last year, I doubt I would get more than 4-5 basements/washrooms, whatevers if I followed up on them
-you won't be entirely your own boss (the opposite of the point above)
-you'll have to pay out royalties and such that you may resent.

Franchising is not as dire a thought as some alluded to above. Part of franchising success is whose you buy (I have a friend who buys Subway Franchises, starts up, gets the store established, then sells: he's sold more than 20, and currently has 5: he tells me they treat him very well)
Part is how hard you work, and part is luck.
There are over 2800 separate franchise companies in North America, selling everything from kitchens, to ****, to water, to (get this) phone booths. Some, like McDonald's or Wendy's or (here in Canada) Tim Horton's, are virtually a licence to print money. Others, like (again, here in Canada) Mobile Dog Grooming, are a way to purchase a full time job for you're ne'r-do-well nephew, where he'll make a living a bit better than being on welfare.


My suggestion would be that if you really want something to get into, then look at an entirely different field, one that either doesn't have seasons, or has opposite seasons to your current business. Food service is very good. People have to eat, after all. To see which ones are good, go into a shopping mall and watch who's busy in the food court. Some will have customers lined up to buy their meal, while others will be standing there watching other peoples crowds. Or drive by free standing store and see which ones are busiest.
An alternate would be to expand your business either with more salespeople and more work, or a second location, with more management so you have more time for yourself.
Or, maybe, the Stone Mountain Master franchise for your whole state!!

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washidama

As a former Dreammaker Bath & Kitchen franchisee, I'd strongly recommend Against being a DMBK franchise. The upfront cost is anywhere from 50 to 75 thousand, depending on your territory, which is a huge amount of money considering your average client has never heard of Dreammaker Bath & Kitchen; so you are certainly Not paying for name recognition!

Their systems, are grade school equivalant. The only Real system they have is their quickbooks program which makes it easy for the franchise to track the amount of royalties you pay. I DO believe in franchises, but this one is just not worth paying ANY money for! Their advertising material is all branding peices, it will Not get the phone to ring which is why we ended up creating our own advertising and as the year and then two passed by we found ourself using 90% of all the systems I had created to run a business. That's the day I closed the business and changed the business back over to a general contractor and kept my 8 to 10% gross profit for myself and finally became profitable. Did I retain any of their manuals to refer to in the future? No, I through them ALL in the garbage can for they weren't worth the paper they were printed on as far as assisting in building a profitable business.