You,
Too, Can Become An Indentured Slave To CertaPro!
Once that
minimum franchise fee kicks in, a franchisee might find
himself scrambling to try to make the minimum annual
sales requirement.
If you don't
make the minimum, you still have to pay the minimum
franchise fee.
I've seen
independent painters complain online about being underbid
by CertaPro. Think about that! They don't pay the
8% to a franchisor that a CertaPro franchisee pays.
Yet they were still underbid by a CertaPro franchisee!
That could very well mean the CertaPro franchisee is
desperate for work and has to sell paint jobs cheap!
When you've
got that minimum annual sales requirement hovering over
your head, you might very well drop your price (and
profit) just to get the work.
CertaPro
is guaranteed to make money.
You are not.
CertaPro has
loaded up YouTube with numerous videos, some of them by
franchisees who sing the praises of CertaPro. Some of
those franchisees may be relatively new and haven't yet
experienced their trial by fire. They may be gone in a
few years.
"National
Painting Company"?
Well, not really.
"Each franchise is independently owned and operated".
Certa ProPainters
Ltd. isn't really a painting company.
It sells franchises.
It doesn't do any painting.
It doesn't run even one of its own franchises.
It just sells franchises.
If other
franchisees get complaints, that "National Painting
Company" claim may actually be a liability. Because
many of those complaints simply say "CertaPro"
(they may not name the specific franchisee).
"National Painting Company":
The Double-Edged Sword
When
You Fail,
They WILL Demand the Money.
If their franchise "plan" is so great, why
do they demand a minimum franchise fee?
If their
"plan" works, you should make money and pay
royalty fees.
Everybody wins.
That's apparently
not good enough for them: There are minimum franchise
fees. Even if you don't make the "minimum"
sales, they probably will demand the minimum
franchise fee.
If their
plan was as successful as they might like you to believe,
they wouldn't have to have "minimum" franchise
fees.
Don't
they have confidence in their "plan"?
Why
should you?
If
you fall short of CertaPro's minimum annual sales requirement
(and
many CertaPro franchisees do), you will still be
expected to pay them the money. This minimum franchise
fee can be the final nail in the coffin for a struggling
franchisee.
Click
here to see CertaPro's demand letter to a failing
franchisee...
...and to learn a little about what happens to too many
CertaPro victims.
"Yeah,
but they've got so many franchises. Doesn't that indicate
the franchise is a success?"
Do you REALLY
want to be a painting contractor?
Or are you more attracted to the get-rich-and-run-your-own-business
hype?
If
you REALLY want to be a painting contractor, consider
this:
1. Find a painting contractor, maybe one who's retired,
to teach you.
2. Contact paint company reps (Sherwin Williams, Benjamin
Moore, etc.)
to ask them if they can provide
guidance.
3. There are painting forums online. Check them out.
4. Check out the website PDCA.org (Painting and Decorating
Contractors
of America). They have a lot of training
material available.
5. Buy an established, profitable, painting company.
If
you're interested in starting a business but don't know
what:
1. Contact the Small Business Administration (SBA). Web
site for small business startup info.
The site includes some online
assessments ("Are you ready to
start a small business?",
etc.)
The SBA
can help provide you guidance and maybe even a
mentor.
2. Do some online research to see what areas are expected
to
grow (e.g., assistance for the
elderly). Then decide if you are
interested in any of those areas.
Again, the SBA, or perhaps a
local community college, can
provide some guidance.
3. Search
the web for startup consultants. Personal story:
Before I made the mistake of
buying a CertaPro franchise, I was
considering opening a coffee
shop. Searching the web, I found a
retired coffee shop owner in
Seattle who helped people start up
coffee shops. His charge would
have been in the range of
$10,00-$20,000 as I recall. That
included planning, assisting with
equipment selection, business guidance
and assistance on-site
for the first week or two. MUCH less
expensive than buying a
franchise and you still get expert
guidance.
My
personal opinion: Stay away from "franchise consultants".
There are many "franchise consultants" out
there who say they will match you to the franchise best
for you. The "franchise consultant" may charge
you nothing. In fact many of these "consultants"
may get as much as 50% of the franchise fee. Their primary
interest (making money) may not be the same as yours,
and they may direct you to whatever pays them the most.
I recommend you avoid "free franchise consultants".
It has come
to my attention that at least one person at CertaPro
Painters may have accused me of extortion, claiming
that the reason I established this site was to get money
from CertaPro.
ABSOLUTELY
FALSE.
What can
CertaPro say in defense of what I offer about CertaPro?
Well, they certainly can't admit it's true.
So it appears they may have decided their best defense
is to to defame me ("Kill
the messenger").
This
is reprehensible.
Here
is the letter I have sent to Charlie Chase at CertaPro
Painters, demanding that CertaPro not accuse me of extortion.
Honest to
God, I don't know how those people can sleep at night.
Nasty People!
It appears
SOMEBODY is not happy with my telling others about the
CertaPro Painters franchise.
Someone posted
a youtube video which contained lies about the publisher
of this site (it has been removed). If you can't attack
the message, attack the messenger.
In
my opinion, CertaPro Painters is a Bernie Madoff of franchisors:
Lead them to believe they're going to make lots of money.
Take their money.
Leave them broke.
I
believe the vast majority, perhaps
70%, 80% or even 90% of all CertaPro franchises, fail.
Oh,
and that
"Work ON the business,
not in the business" bullshit?
A current franchisee sent me an e-mail which included
this:
"You blamed CPP for things you didn't know or things
you didn't do. You hired a bad painter and blamed CPP.
You didn't make the money you wanted, but never thought
to share where you overspent or made bad choices."
This site was established
by a former CertaPro Painters fanchisee,
to inform the public regarding the CertaPro franchise "opportunity".
My purchase of
a CertaPro franchise was the worst and most costly decision
of my life. I believe there may be hundreds
of other former CertaPro franchisees who share that experience
and view. I've heard some of the others' stories.
I believe the
vast majority of those who buy a CertaPro franchise
risk losing as much as $150,000 or more within a few years
and ending up emotionally distressed, saddled with debt or
forced into bankruptcy, faced with demands from CertaPro for
more money or finding themselves sued by CertaPro.
In my opinion,
CertaPro's deceptive marketing, combined with its actions
which serve to hide information about the many failures, represents
an intentional effort to deceive and misrepresent. I believe
they must KNOW they are making money at the expense of others
and that most new franchisees are probably destined to fail.
Potential victims
of CertaPro's actions should know about the dark side of the
CertaPro franchise.
I believe CertaPro's
motto should be: "We put
the pain in painting".
CertaPro
complaints: CertaPro is a client of Aviatech,
which provides "Reputation Management"
services. What does that mean? Essentially,
it means "bury the complaints".
read
more here and watch the video
