Hi
Ok – got my controversial cap on today!
More and more Virtual Tour companies are jumping on the Franchise wagon, charging thousands of pounds for a franchise. Indeed this was the initial route Richard went down when he first started in virtual tours (but not for long I might add).
Bear in mind that Richard has dabbled in photography as a hobby for over 30 years, he was confident that he could transfer his knowledge into a business, which it now is. He has, however, studied, practised and learned so much over the past four years and is improving on quality and technique all the time. How much control do the Franchise companies have over the quality of work their franchisees produce. I read one site offering franchises the other day saying ‘ no training required!’ Don’t kid yourselves!
Also – they offer ‘dedicated areas’ with no other franchisee working the same area. How do they know how many other Virtual Tour providers are already in that area? Are there other Virtual Tour companies franchisees already in that area? How big is an area? What happens if you are in an area with less business opportunity than some of the busier areas?
I can see the advantage of a company being able to cover a nationwide contract with a number of franchisees able to cover various parts of the country, but how do they explain to a potentially enormous customer like that, that every Virtual Tour will be exactly the same quality even though they will be photographed and processed by many different people?
While being an independent can be a hard slog to get established, I dont see that franchisees have any advantages on start-up. They still have to market, sell, contact, advertise etc etc.
How many of these franchise companies can hold their hands up and honestly say ‘ we are in this to produce quality Virtual Tours’ as opposed to ‘we are in this to raise a lot of money in lump sums from franchisees, and the more the better’.
Oooops did I say that?? ;o)
Anyway – if you think I am misguided then please feel free to comment, particularly those franchisees that are making good livings from their initial investment and haven’t wondered what they paid all that money for!
Of course – this is just my personal opinion…….