Top 5 National Handyman FranchisesA Side-By-Side Comparison Report

According to the United States Census Bureau, there are now over 126 million housing units in the United States, and of that number over 95 million were built before 1990. Today, these homes are nearing 20 years and are needing the necessary repair and maintenance to maintain their value. Roofs, kitchens and baths wear out or become outdated in a 15-20 year cycle. This means that these homeowners are going to need the type of help Handyman Matters can provide.

We live in a world where the average family has 16 hours of leisure time in a week. Most will agree that our time is better spent with our friends and family—not devoting each weekend to home improvements. The demand for a reputable and reasonable home repair service has never been higher. As the population rises, demand for services will follow.

The purpose of this report is to give you comparison information from the 5 main home repair/handyman franchises. We gathered all of this information out of the legally required Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDD) from each of the franchisors. To get these documents for yourself, you either need to qualify with each franchisor or buy them for $220 each ($1,100 total). We have completed the research for you—saving you time and money.

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COMPARISON REPORT

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How To Understand The Charts Included in This ReportThere are two charts included in this report. One is a Summary Comparison Chart (pg. 15-16), which is a simpler version of the Detailed Comparison Chart and utilizes color-coding to make the comparisons easier to visualize. The assumptions used to determine the scoring on the Summary Comparison Chart are listed below with the descriptions of each factor. The second is the Detailed Comparison Chart (pg. 17-18) that has all the details and numbers from each FDD.

Use these charts to get an overview of how each franchise scores on each factor by looking at the summary chart, and then refer to the detailed chart for the actual numbers the summary chart was based upon.

On the Summary Comparison Chart, the franchises that score best on a factor are colored GREEN, those in the middle are YELLOW and BLUE, and the worst are colored RED. You’ll have to decide for yourself which factors are important to you. We’ve included a description of each factor and why it is important within the industry.

Note that this report is not intended to take the place of doing your own due diligence; it’s just giving you a good place to start.

Detailed Comparison Chart

• HandyPro• TruBlue Handyman

• Handyman Matters• Handyman Connection• Mr. Handyman

The Franchises Discussed In This Report Are:

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Territory SizeOne of the first things to consider is your territory size. Territory sizes range from 50,000 – 300,000 plus. Another factor to consider is not only territory size, but if a territory is "protected". A protected territory means no other franchisee can work within your specific geographic territory.

On the Summary Comparison Chart we define a territory of 62,000 households or more as an “A”, a territory from 50,000 – 61,999 as a “B”, a territory from 30,000 – 49,999 as a “C” and 29,999 or under as an “F”. Regardless of size, if you are notprovided a "protected" territory, an "F" will be given.

Franchise FeeThe franchise fee is not the only cost of getting your business started, albeit a major one. Franchise fees range from $25K to over $54K. Since the territory sizes vary so greatly, we’ve listed both the franchise fees and also the equivalent fee for a 62,500-population territory.

We have included all fees you are required to pay to own the territory. Fees may be listed as franchise fees, territory fees, training fees, start-up markering fees, technology or software package fees, etc.

Can You Sell In Unoccupied Territories?This is not as important a factor as the preceding two, but we’ve indicated if the franchisor will allow you to service customers in a territory next to yours while it’s still unoccupied. Some will and some won’t – about a 50/50 split. If they allow you to sell in adjoining, unsold territories, it is a good indication that the franchisor is looking out for your business interest and the best service for local customers.

Other FeesOther fees can range greatly, but need to be considered in your total start up costs for your business. There is a major difference between a franchisor that requires you to have a commercial location plus several vans painted with their logo and a franchisor that allows you to start out from your home with no additional overhead expense. The Summary Comparison Chart coding is an “A” for $0 - 240 per year, “B” for $241 - $500 per year of extra fees, “C” for $501 - $1000 per year extra fees,

COMPARISON REPORT

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and an “F” for more than $1000 per year of extra fees. To see what the additional fees are included, refer to the “Detailed Comparison Chart” and item six of their FDD.

Royalty PercentageAll franchisors charge you a royalty on sales as a way to provide the funds to give you ongoing support and to make a profit themselves. We’ve coded those at a 5% royalty as an “A”, 6% as a “B”, 7% as a “C” and 8% or more as an “F”.

Minimum Royalty ChargeSome franchisors have a minimum royalty payment that is required regardless of your sales. The fee increases your costs of getting your business off the ground so we have included these charges in the Detailed Comparison Chart for you to review.

Advertising Fund ChargeYou pay this charge as a percentage of your sales to provide the funds for national advertising which benefits all franchisees. Some franchisors require you to spend a certain amount on local advertising instead of charging this fee. Make sure to look at both the advertising fund charge and the advertising minimum requirements on the Detailed Comparison Chart. On the Summary Chart we have graded them as A = 0-2%, B=3%, C=4% and F=5% or more.

Home Office Allowed?For the most part, the franchisors listed were questioned about allowing a franchisee to work from a home office. Being able to start in your home is a definite advantage and lowers your start-up costs. The systems that allow you to start in your home get a green coding and those that don’t get a red.

COMPARISON REPORT

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“The ideal franchisor is one who is both a

substantial size and who is also profitable.”

Term of AgreementThe Term of Agreement is important because a short-term agreement can change the rules when you renew. The franchisor could shrink your territory, raise the fees, or change anything they choose in your franchise agreement. If you have spent five years getting your business underway, it would be an unpleasant surprise to find the rules changing upon renewal. Ten years or longer gets an “A”, seven years gets a “B”, five years gets a "C", and four years or less gets an “F” .

Cost To Sell Your FranchiseThis is something most buyers don’t initially consider. Think about what would happen if you wanted to sell your business—what are the restrictions and costs for doing so? The costs can range from minimal to exorbitant fees that are the equivalent of buying an entirely new franchise. You may not intend to sell, but unforeseen circumstances can always happen, so this area is worth a look.

Most franchisors charge you less if you sell to a fellow franchisee in the system. This makes sense because less support is necessary from the franchisor. All franchisors require that they approve the sale because it is important to the system as a whole to have quality franchisees.

We give an “A” to those who charge $7,500 or less to sell your franchise. The “B”s charge $7,501 - $10,000. “C’s charge $10,001 - $13,000 and $13,001 or more or an unknown based on sales price gets an "F".

System StabilityThis is one of the most important factors on the entire list and here’s why: what is your franchise going to be worth if the franchisor goes out of business or doesn’t have the financial capability to live up to their part of your franchise agreement? You could end up out of business through no fault of your own.

There are two factors used to grade each franchise on financial stability. The first is size. The total number of franchises is an important factor because it tells you the success of their business model and is an indication of their ability to support you.

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Look at the Detailed Comparison Chart to see the actual number of franchisees each franchise system has. Size alone is not all that matters. An additional point of due diligence we suggest is to review item 20 of each FDD to determine how the number of units has fluctuated in the past 3 years. Is the franchise growing steadily? Or is the franchise losing units every year?

Those franchisors with revenues over $1 million and have at least 100 units get an “A”. We gave those who are smaller; between $500,000 and $1 million with 75 units, a “B”. The “C” was given to those between $500,000 and $1 million with less than 74 units and “F” was given to those with sales under $500,000 or less than 25 units.

• Advertising Fund• Home Office• Term of Agreement• Cost to Sell• System Stability

Here’s a recap of items you need to consider before purchasing a handyman franchise:

• Territory Size• Franchise Fee• Unoccupied Territories• Other Fees• Royalties

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Due Diligence: Step TwoBe Sure To Consider Critical Factors That May Not Be Included In An FDD

There are other questions you should ask to evaluate each franchise. Since the answers to these are not in the FDD legal documents, you will have to ask each individual franchise under consideration.

At Handyman Matters, we have the best model. You can determine why with the factors that follow—for this section we have exclusively included our information. Make sure to ask any franchisor you are considering the questions listed in each section below.

When you are buying a franchise, you are primarily buying the right to use documented processes and systems that operate under a national brand. The desirability of a nationally recognized brand is obvious as are the advantages to working with an established franchisor.

One caution is that systems are invisible. You may have no idea of how they do what they do or how it compares from one franchise to another. In the following section, we will describe the Handyman Matters system in several critical areas. We will include the questions necessary to evaluate any franchisor’s systems.

COMPARISON REPORT

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Systems Make The Difference Between Buying A Business And Buying A Job Businesses without processes and systems become expensive jobs for their owners. The owners end up working long hours and making less than expected (and hoped). As the business grows, the problems worsen because there are only 24 hours in a day and one person cannot do everything.

When you buy a business with processes and systems, you manage the business and train people to use the systems so you can have a life outside the office. You should expect an excellent return on the time you put into your business, but also an additional return on the capital you put in it.

We strongly encourage you to read Michael Gerber’s E-Myth Revisited, as it deals with this exact issue.

The key systems any business needs and the systems you get from us are:

1) How to get customers.

2) How to keep customers and get them to buy more and more often.

3) How to do the work that your customers are hiring you to do.

4) How to hire, train & motivate employees so you can grow.

5) Operating systems that help you run the business and let you knowwhen something is out of balance.

6) Systems to train you, the owner, to manage the business so you canwork less and less, not more and more. The ideal goal is to have allparts of your business running so well that you could leave for one yearand come back to a business that is stronger and more profitable thanit was when you left.

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Systems to Get CustomersMost franchisors will give you ads, brochures and other marketing pieces and tell you to spend a certain amount of money to promote your business. They may not really know how well each ad is working. There is an old saying that applies to almost all businesses: “I know half of my advertising is working, I just don’t know which half.”

Handyman Matters is different. We use a 21-step marketing system that develops, tests, and refines everything we do. We measure the results of everything you spend money on. The end result—you do not have to spend as much with us because we know what is working.

Your automated Web-based scheduling system, WebScheduler, captures the source of every customer and the results of every ad/promotion you do electronically—providing you with reports that show the return on investment (ROI) for every ad, mailing or promotion you run with the click of a mouse.

Knowing the ROI of all your marketing efforts gives you an advantage because your results are accessible, concise and reliable.

COMPARISON REPORT

Question to ask:Ask anyone you are investigating to show you his or her automatically produced reports showing you the ROI of each ad you run as an individual franchisee.

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“Fish In A Bigger Pond”All home improvement companies are competing exclusively in their own niches. Handyman Matters also has specific marketing programs to bring you business from 34 additional categories in the Yellow Pages—aside from Handyman Services.

Our founding principles include restoring public confidence in the handyman industry, giving back to the communities we live and work in, providing superior customer service, treating our customers and ourselves with respect, and being ethical in all our business practices.

And that’s not all. Unlike most other handyman franchises, we have marketing programs targeting specific customers. Your business starts with established relationships with commercial accounts and over 83 national companies whose names you will recognize already established for you.

Questions to ask:Ask anyone you’re evaluating these three questions and watch them squirm:

1) What is your “USP” (Unique Selling Proposition) for residential customers?2) What is your commercial marketing program?3) How many national commercial accounts do you have that I will be able to take advantage of from day one?

Building Customer LoyaltyNew customers are obtained through marketing, by use of continuity programs, referral programs and incentives and offers. Maintaining your customer is dependent on their experience with you. By experience, we include everything our brand offers…summed up in our promise to insure our customers receive our highest quality workmanship with the dedication, integrity and courtesy deserved. Handyman Matters, because quality matters— we expect our customers to have a positive experience every time they call us.

In 2005 Handyman Matters introduced systemized and automated quantifiable ways to measure customer satisfaction leading to referrals. The customer satisfaction index measures all aspects of a customer’s experience, including an appointment reminder call the night before, professionally dressed and background screened craftspeople, the safety of working with a bonded and insured company, and follow-up to assure customer satisfaction.

This measurement system includes our exclusive WebScheduler software. It allows you to measure your progress as a business and reward the performance of each craftsperson who is generating referrals for you.

A business that continually strives to only get new customers is going to find trouble. If the average customer brings us four more customers, the value of the first time customer is five times greater than another company not receiving referrals. In addition, our cost to acquire those customers is one-fifth what the others pay!

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Question to ask: Ask anyone you talk to what their “system” is to bring you referrals and whether they have a quantifiable way to measure both customer satisfaction and the likelihood of getting a referral from each customer you serve.

COMPARISON REPORT

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Systems To Do The WorkTraining—at Handyman Matters you receive two weeks of training at our corporate headquarters in Lakewood, Colorado, one week of on-site training 90 days after your opening, and continuing visits from our field consultant team on a regular basis. We also offer Advanced Training Sessions.

Additionally, we provide continuing education for all franchisees and the craftsmen they employ. Our collaboration with a construction certification program allows owners and employees of the system access to this 40–hour course covering everything between a home’s foundation and its roof. We want to make sure everyone is staying current on basic and advanced home repair techniques.

Additionally we provide an automated way to determine your customer satisfaction rating. Based on a study by Harvard Business School, we utilize the simplest of customer satisfaction surveys that determines the most detailed results. We ask our customers one question, and from their response we gauge the areas where franchisees are excelling and the areas needing improvement.

Systems To Hire, Train And Motivate Employees As a top performing and profitable business, you must hire the best people. The key to this is to create the best work environment—make your company the best place to work. Hire and train craftspersons with potential while offering benefits that attract and appeal to tradesmen already successfully working on their own.

Handyman Matters has employee screening, testing, and evaluation systems to help you recruit and hire the best people for each job. We have defined the ideal characteristics for someone in each position and provide you with this information to make the best hiring decisions.

We also have a national account used to run employment screenings for felons or sex offender charges. Using this system will ensure your employees meet our standards. Statistically seven out of ten applicants fail our robust screening process.

“If you want a top performing and profitable

business, you need to hire the best people.”

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Operating Systems To Run Your BusinessMost, if not all, companies have purchased “off-the-shelf” software for you to use to operate your business. Handyman Matters has spent $2.3 million over the last 10 years to develop and improve a highly sophisticated, Web-based, scheduling, estimating, and dispatching system. This system was developed specifically for the handyman business and was not adapted from any other industry. Handyman Matters knows of no other similar system being used in the handyman industry today.

Web-based technology lets you operate your business from anywhere, allows the corporate office to implement and install monthly upgrades for you, and collects both the marketing and operations data from our entire system on a daily basis to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your business. The use of this high-tech system and the monthly updates cost an affordable $159/month.

Collecting data is not all our software does. It also provides you with management reporting necessary to manage your business. As you grow the systems, a general manager can use this system to run your business for you.

Systems to Recruit and Train— You Build a Business, Not an 80–Hour Per Week JobThe test for this is if you can leave your business for a year and have it run so well without you that it’s stronger and more profitable when you come back. That’s the ideal goal. Although you will not accomplish that immediately, you can work toward reaching your goals.

We have developed hiring systems for all levels of the craftspersons you will need, from the beginning “helper” to the advanced craftsperson. We’ve also developed programs to hire and retain your office staff, from your customer service representative to your general manager. Our hiring systems outline where to search for candidates, what message to send, and the necessary steps to turn candidates into employees.

Once employees are on board, we have specific programs in place to retain them. From raffles and drawings to bonus incentives, we know how to keep our employees happy and performing at their best. If you are hiring and retaining the best employees you will benefit by knowing your business is running just the way you want it. It’s about building an investment—not investing in a job.

COMPARISON REPORT

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Extended SupportRegardless of what industry you’re coming from, everyone can use help in establishing, driving, growing, and maintaining a thriving business. Handyman Matters understands the diversity in the backgrounds of our owners and has made resources available to the system that will help them grow personally and professionally while achieving their personal and professional goals.

Additionally, we provide personality assessment support and resources that allow our owners to determine what characteristics to look for in different p ositions. People in our system know exactly what type of personality fits well as a craftsperson, customer service representative, general manager and more!

Do You Qualify?As you have seen, we have systems for everything, and that includes selecting people to be franchisees. We know the profiles of people who will succeed in our system, so we screen all applicants to make sure they have the right characteristics to be a top performer.

We are selective about who we bring into our system. This selectivity benefits our current franchisees and future ones. We know our systems work. We are searching for the right people—those who will use our tested systems to become successful.

Our discovery process is designed to let you learn more about us, and us to learn more about you to determine if there is a mutual fit. Not every business is right for everyone and we want to make sure our opportunity is right for you.

To start this process, call Handyman Matters at 866-808-8401. You can also visit us online at www.HandymanMattersFranchising.com.

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Territory size (1)

Sell in unoccupied territories

adjacent to yours?

Royalty Percentage (2)

Advertising Charge (3)

Other fees (4)

Home office allowed?

Term of agreement (5)

Cost to sell your franchise (6)

System Ability (7)

A

YES

A

B

A

A

YES

B

A

YES

A

B

NO

A

(1) A = 62,00 or more; B= 50,000-61,999; C=30,000-49,999; F=less than 29,999

(2) A=5% or less; B=6%; C=7%; F=8% or more

(3) A=up to 2%; B=3%; C=4%; F=5% or more

(4) A=$0-240 per month; B=$241-500 per month; C=$501-1,000 per month; F=$1,001 or more per month

(5) A=10 years; B=7 years; C=5 years; F=4 years or less

Summary Comparison Chart

A

A

COMPARISON REPORT

HandymanConnection

HandymanMatters

B

YES

C

B

B

YES

A

C

A

F

NO

F

N/A

A

YES

B

YES

A

B

F

YES

F

F

A

B

Mr.Handyman HandyPro

TruBluHandyman

(6) A=$7,500 or less B=$7,501-$10,000; C=$10,001-$13,000; F=$13,001 or more or unknown based on sales price

(7) A=over $1 million or over 100 units; B=$500,000-$999,999 or 75-99 units; C=$250,000-$499,999 or 50-75 units; F=less than $249,999 or 49 units with sales under $500,000 or less than 25 units.

C C

C C

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Handyman Connection

Franchise Fee

Territory Size

Initial Investment

Other fees

Royalty %

Minimum royalty charge

Advertising fund charge

Advertising requirement

Home office allowed?

Term of agreement

Transfer fee to existing franchise owner

Transfer fee to anyone else

# Territories

Franchisor sales revenue

FDD Publication Dates

$60,000**

approx 100,000

$103,000-$157,000

5% monthly

yr 3-5 $11,250yr 6-10$17,500

3% monthly

No

10 years

$7,500

$7,500

71

$100/mo technology plus 1% gross sales$150-250/mo software $275/wk phones

12% year 110% all others

03/2016 03/2016 03/2016

Detailed Comparison Chart

* Combined with other Franchise company financials** All initial fees.

Handyman Matters$45,000

62,500

$66,000-$116,000

$159 monthly

software fee

6%semi-monthly

2%

Yes

$10,000

$10,000

126

$1,824,124

TruBluHandyman

$42,900-$48,000

175,000 (max)

$66,000-$100,000

6% monthly

$300 permonth

2% or$350/month

Yes

10 years

19

$10,000 or 3% of sale price

04/2016 04/2016

Mr.Handyman

$60,900**

40,000 - 55,000

$106,000-$138,000

$89-$159/mo software plus $1250 setup plus $39/tech/month, $.12/minute for toll free number, $.75 per minute call center

7% weekly, plus 3.5%on materials, small & roll ins & 2.5% on large roll ins

weeks 26-78 $200 weeks 79- 130 $250 weeks 131-182 $300 weeks 183+ $350plus roll in minimums

2% Weekly plus1-2% roll ins

No

10 years

10% plus$5,560 fee

10% plus$5,560

195

Not reportedseperately

$3,000per month

HandyPro$49,000*

60,000

$70,000-$128,000

6% monthly

$350/month

1% monthly

Yes

5 years

$8,500

32

$1,045,132

$4500 1st 90 days then 5% per year

$9,500

$100/mo call center or 2% of gross sales, $199 setup plus $199/mo technology fee plus $25/non intended calls

4-12 mo $37513-24 mo $63025+ mo $870

10 years

$1,200/year tech fee, $500-$1000/mo call center fee, $500/month vehicle

3% of sales10% of sales

$1,848,446 $272,036

$10,000 or 3% of sale price

Ready to start your new future? Contact Our Development Department Today:

866-808-8401

12567 West Cedar Dr. Suite 150Lakewood, CO 80228

email: sales@handymanmatters.comvisit us online: www.HandymanMattersFranchising.com