Franchise or independant? Amerispec?

Originally Posted By: mike walsh
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I am looking at changing careers from what I do to home inspections.


I live in a state with licensing requirements, and most of the franchises I have looked at seem to meet these. I am leaning toward Amerispec due to the market size and what appears to be some benefits I would not have as an independent or with a smaller franchisor.

Are there any Amerispec franchisees on the forum? I would like to get some candid answers, offline if you want to keep it off the board.

Any other franchisees....the main question is if you had to do it all over again...would you go independent or franchise?


Originally Posted By: Blaine Wiley
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I had a franchise when I was up north, and went independent when I moved to FL. There are pros and cons to both.


Originally Posted By: mpasquinelli
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IMO - Stay away from the franchise operation. There are many organizations avaialable that can train, supply and help you with any inspection need. Joining NACHI will give you equal or better marketing info than any franchise. I purchased a franchise initially and regretted it every day. Much better being independent. Use the money you would spend on a franchise fee for top notch training, hiring several inspectors to view their routine and report, purchase good inspection software, laptop, tools, etc. With a franchise you rent a revenue stream while building their brand, not yours.


Originally Posted By: sramos
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Going independent in the beginning is tough. You must have a lot of money to pay people create your business or spend a good year of not making money creating them yourself. Expect 16-18 days.


As a franchisee, you would get a tremendous amount of support and most of the initial materials for marketing and business forms are set up for you. This allows you to focus on building realtor relationships instead of report writing, logos, ect.

I decided to go independent because I have a diverse background in business, marketing, sales, document creation, graphics, most of what I needed to get the basics done myself. I must say it is a monumental effort that has taken me 21 months to get my business to 15-20 inspections per month, 18 months of that time I held a full time job as a Dad and employee selling cars.

Ultimately, you should decide for yourself. Amerispec, Housemaster, Pillar-to-Post were the franchises that rose to the top of my list. However, in my area World Inspection Network and Amerispec are the top franchise businesses. As long as the franchisor will support you with good back office stuff and marketing materials, it will be up to you and your individual talents to make or break the business- the franchise will not and cannot give you a success formula.

Good luck.


--
Steven Ramos
EnviroVue Home Inspection
866-541-2883

Originally Posted By: sramos
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My first paragraph should be 16-18 hour days.



Steven Ramos


EnviroVue Home Inspection


866-541-2883