Hire A Hubby Franchise Opportunity
Alice Tuffery, writer
Hire A Hubby is an Australian business and home improvement franchise that provides ‘handyman’ services to its customers – presumably single women who lack the self-assurance to carry out these jobs themselves – in different locations, including in homes, shops, restaurants, offices and factories. The business carries out a range of repair and installation jobs, from hanging a photo frame to fully renovating a kitchen.
The brand has its founders’ family friend to thank for its provocative name; in 1994, she asked the wife of a capable father of four, “Could I hire your hubby, please?” Unsurprisingly, this stuck with the founders, who created Hire A Hubby there in Melbourne shortly after. The business grew over time to become one of the largest franchise networks in Australia, but it was not until 2008 that the business was launched in the UK.
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The team behind Hire A Hubby have worked hard to expand the business during the 25 years it has been in operation. Today, there are 300 Hire A Hubby franchise units across the world. The franchise model is fairly flexible and allows entrepreneurs that are interested in joining the business to develop their franchise units in the way that suits them best. For example, they could either work as an individual handyman with a simple ‘man in a van’ set-up or build a workforce of administrators and contractors over time to support them in the franchise.
As you might expect, you don’t need any particular experience to be ‘hubby’ material, and current employees have previously worked in a wide range of different sectors, including retail, sales and marketing, banking and finance, the emergency services and the armed forces. However, ‘hubbies’ must be “approachable and flexible” and possess good time management skills. They should also be able to work to a plan and be confident enough in their skills to provide every customer with the brand’s hallmark 100 percent workmanship guarantee. Once they’re out providing services to their network of customers, they will also need to carry proof of identity and hold the appropriate health and safety certificates, as stated by the business.
In order to be a successful Hire A Hubby franchisee, you must be prepared to work closely with the franchisor and be open and honest about your financial situation throughout the contract duration, as well as any other issues that crop up. The business also requires you to attend its national annual conference and quarterly meetings to ensure that you have the best chance at success.
Hire A Hubby Franchising Process
The business is keen for all franchisees to excel, so it has put in place a number of systems to maximise the profitability of every unit. During the application process, the franchisor establishes a clear territory for each franchisee, following “demographic and geographic profiling” on each region to make sure that it will have a substantial customer pool. The company also provides a comprehensive training scheme that covers an array of different business areas, including sales, marketing, quoting jobs and estimating work time, as well as refining the physical skills required for common tasks. Franchisees will also get the chance to gain industry qualifications with health and safety certificates. Once you’ve completed your training, you will be invited to an induction day run by the business’ operations team, during which you can establish business goals and meet local businesses.
Once the franchise unit is up and running, a member of the Hire A Hubby franchise team will visit to conduct regular reviews of the business, helping to identify any flaws in the system and increase its efficiency and productivity. This means that you will always have someone to turn to for advice on problems that may crop up over time.
How much does a hire a hubby franchise cost?
Unfortunately, Hire A Hubby does not disclose exact information about how much it might cost to open a franchise unit with the business. However, because there is the option to launch the unit as a ‘man in a van’ model, you do not need to rent or buy offices or other business premises and pay for the utilities that go along with them. This could dramatically reduce the investment you will need to make to start up a Hire A Hubby franchise unit. What’s more, because this is not a retail franchise, you will not need to invest in a large amount of stock and wait for customers to buy it, but simply provide your services and receive the income at the same time. In fact, Hire A Hubby guarantees that investors will reach an income of £50,000 by franchising with them.
What next?
If you like what you’ve read and see yourself as a capable ‘hubby’, head to the franchise’s website to find out more and request an information pack. Alternatively, you could attend one of the Hire A Hubby ‘information nights’ to hear the team leaders talk about the business, its history and the franchising opportunities open to you. Here, you should have a chance to chat with current employees and learn more about what it is like to work for the business. If you can, seek out current franchisees and discuss their franchising experience. Were the franchisor’s financial forecasts accurate? Did they experience any issues during the launch of the unit? And did the process go smoothly for them overall? Current franchisees should be impartial and will be able to give you an idea of what you could get out of the opportunity.
Having been to the information night, you will be able to decide whether becoming a ‘hubby’ with this 1990s franchise is right for you. If it is, the vast support network put in place by the business should equip you with everything you need to provide varied home improvement services to local, DIY-shy customers in no time at all.
Alice Tuffery, writer