Franchises

[GB]

Hi
I'm thinking of getting in to the sign biz via a franchise and have been looking at Signworld ( www.signworld.org ) .
I know franchises generally have a bad rap, anyone got any opinions or had any experience with this one ?
Thanks !

 

[Craig Sjoquist]

never heard of signworld.... website is template, to me it looks like a just a sales thing, ya know, got a business plan, put all the pieces together and sell

welcome to a outstanding forumand people

tell a little about self, how long ya been doing signs

 

[OldPaint]

why not just lease a printer ........and i see you got a computer...ALL YA NEED)))))

 

[Jillbeans]

I believe I'd try it on my own first, learning some design skills and the technical aspect of things first. Our market is becaoming saturated, and in these times I think it might be hard to come up with the money to pay to the franchise every month, let alone the start up fees to them.
If you have money to invest, invest it in something with which you know you can suceed. Signs are more than just buying a sign business.
You will need to know how to make them, how to make them look good, how to sell them, how to price them, how to deal with customers, etc etc. And after all that you will still get customers expecting to pay $39.95 for a set of mags.
Love.....Jill

 

[Pat Whatley]

Sounds really squirrelly to me.
if you want to go franchise I really think an actual franchise like Fast Signs or Signs Now would make a lot more sense.

I did find this link interesting...
http://www.findafranchise.com/franchise/detail.asp?franchise_id=11418

especially this part:
Backgrounds of some Signworld Owners who make over $250,000 annual personal income -- net after ALL expenses -- all with only 1 location open 5 days per week:

 

[hoppers]

SHADY!!!! that website of theirs (as said already) is a bogus template you can buy for $20 and filled with marketing fluff and a whole bunch of stock photos.

$250K after expenses...hahahah, yeah right!

Run as far as you can from this thing...if you must, go with a name you know.

 

[Bigdawg]

Nope - not bogus. Actually excellent support and backup, no ongoing franchise fees, etc. I currently work at a company that was a signworld franchise. I hate to say is a franchise, because there is no corporate looking over your shoulder and no fees. But he got started as a signworld franchise (and still is). You aren't tied into corporate naming - each store is their own. They provide initial training, help and discounts on equipment, ongoing support and webinars (which are pretty good).

This is IMHO the best way for someone that doesn't know the business to go if they want to buy a franchise. You aren't handing them money every month to use their name - each company does it's own branding. But you also don't have name recognition like FastSigns or Sign-o-rama.

If you are really interested in signworld, PM me your phone number and I'll put you in touch with the owner of my company and he can give you some honest feedback.

Edited to add: when i say discounts on equipment, they don't sell the equipment themselves, but do have discount agreements with companies that do.

 

[DPD]

Signworld IS NOT a franchise. It is a business opportunity. You do not pay franchise fees and if you want to sell hot dogs out or your store you can. Signworld has a business model that is similar to FastSigns and Sign-a-rama.

I've heard that FastSigns and Sign-a-rama actually go out and procure business for their franchisees but...I can't say for sure. You don't get that with a business opportunity.

Something else and it's been alluded to by the others. It would help your chances of success greatly if you have sales experience, sign experience, or have run a business of ANY kind prior to this investment.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

Signworld is legit, but I don't know how good it is. It's not your typical franchise in that you are independent and can do whatever you want, it's the franchise without the big name backer and brand recognition I guess. We've got two shops in our area that are part of the Signworld network. One does over $1m a year in sales, the other is going out of business next month.

 

[hoppers]

Ok, proven wrong - thanks for the interesting info, good to know.