How did you get into the industry?
The three founders came from a variety of backgrounds (corporate, legal, service) but shared a passion for sports, especially bicycling. They also shared an annoyance for how hard it was to get a bike fixed when things went awry. With mobile services on the rise as well as large communities needing those services, we took that germ of an idea and developed it into a thriving business.
What’s New in the Business or in the Franchise Model?
93% of US households have a bicycle, but only the most avid riders regularly care for them. We built a service model around servicing ALL bikes with the convenience of just bringing it to your community center. And you get it serviced and returned the same day. Our customers book online to reserve a spot on the day we are in their community, bring it to a central location (they fitness center, rec center or otherwise) and we do the rest. There are other mobile bike repair businesses, but we designed ours to have a low cost of entry so that even a bike mechanic (especially a bike mechanic) can afford to own their own operations.
Where do you See Opportunities or Challenges for the Franchise/Business Moving Forward?
The biggest opportunity are communities in areas with year-round bicycling weather. Florida, as an example, has thousands of gated communities and HOAs. Our online booking system now makes it relatively easy to manage many communities and many customers in each community. The challenge to capturing this unmet demand is finding mechanically-inclined, people-oriented individuals that can serve this need.
What is your Goal for the Business Moving Forward?
We want to create great experiences for our customers and their communities. We want more people riding safe bikes. And we want to create hundreds of jobs for mechanically-savvy, service-oriented owners/operators who want to their own boss and make a good living through their own mobile bicycle operation. We will achieve this by growing the business, rather quickly, having a Mobile Bike Medic franchise in every viable county throughout Florida and expanding from there.
Talk to us About Training and Support, How Do You Deliver?
We will be there for our franchisees. The three of us bring together business development, operational excellence, and a customer-first attitude. We help our franchise partners set up their delivery infrastructure (the bike shop), give them the tools, techniques, and targets for business development, and, if they need it, advice on the financial and inventory management issues that come with a fast-growing business.
Your most difficult moment at the Franchise Business?
Developing a business model that grows quickly, but also is highly profitable took some doing. Initially, we did home service calls, but ended up driving most of the day rather than servicing customers. Once we tested and expanded the concept of working with established communities, the business moved to another level. Now our most difficult moments are turning customers away because we cannot keep up with the demand.
Define your franchise model:
- Define your Training and Support Model:
A. OPERATIONAL SUPPORT
We provide ongoing training and support in many areas, including unit operations, maintenance, customer-service techniques, product ordering, pricing guidelines, and administrative procedures.
B. MARKETING SUPPORT
Without customers, we have no business. We will coordinate the development of advertising materials and strategies, community and consumer marketing plans, call scripts, and other materials.
C. ONGOING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT
We operate our own units and will provide our ongoing research methods and techniques to enhance unit-level revenue and profitability.
1-What is the Fee Structure?
$30,000 franchise fee. 8% royalty of gross sales.
2-Territory Definition?
Territories based on a population in a specific market, ideally 250,000 to 500,000 people
3-Day in the life of a Franchisee?
Although each community you serve has its own personality and types of bikes, the days follow a similar pattern.
Prior to leaving home base: Daily accounting and Activity Coordinator communication/community scheduling
-Community event: Arrive to community, check in customers, fix bikes. This is the part of the day with the most direct interaction with the end customers. While the bikes may be simple, people love to talk about what they do, how they ride, where they are from. So keep up great interaction, but do get the work done.
-Afternoon service calls: Drive to respective houses to perform at home service calls (all service calls have an additional fee added)
-Arrive at home base for the evening: Respond to any emails, check inventory and order parts as needed. We have established relationships with the best parts distributors in the USA.
What does your franchisee do in the business every day?
Communicate with customers and Activity Coordinators, fix bikes, run reports, schedule communities
Who is the Ideal Franchise Candidate?
-An entrepreneur that is mechanically inclined
-An investor with a passion in the industry
What goals do you have for the franchise model in the future?
Drive higher gross revenues through the addition of services. Improve operational efficiency to drive the bottom line of the franchisees.
For more information on the franchise, visit the site: www.floridabikemedic.com