How did you get into the industry?

Andy and I have been friends for forty years, and we saw the most underserved market (gutter cleaning) that I have ever seen.  Nobody wants to do this work, and yet every house needs this service.  Our original thoughts have proven to be true, and our one corporate and two licensed locations are meeting with great success.

What’s new in the business or in the franchise model?

We have streamlined the entire process; Marketing, the office model, the booking and scheduling process, the work process itself…

Where do you see opportunities or challenges for the franchise/business moving forward?

The opportunities in gutter cleaning are huge right now, the opportunity to own a multi-million dollar per year business.  There are many reasons for this, not the least of which is that nobody else is doing what we are doing the way we are doing it.

 

What is your goal for the business moving forward?

We have many goals right now, but the most important one is to open five to six new franchises by end of 2021, ten more the following year.

Talk to us about training and support and how do you deliver. 

We currently have three locations; Cape Cod Gutter Monkeys, South Shore Gutter Monkeys, and South Coast Gutter Monkeys. We provide training in all aspects of gutter cleaning, gutter installation, gutter repair and maintenance, and many additional skills that only help to expand the model. We provide office training, office set-up, and our cloud-based system. We also help the new franchisee install our award-winning marketing process.

Your most difficult moment at the business? 

The first six months is the most critical.  We need to ensure that the new franchisee is fully funded, fully aware of the challenges, and fully trained.

Define your franchise model:

 

  • Training and Support Model?  Two to three months of hands-on training for all aspects of the trade; installation, cleaning, repairs, and maintenance of gutters and roof-top water control systems.  We also train in all aspects of the office, from quoting, scheduling, time management, etc.  We implement our cloud-based office system as well as help set up our award winning marketing program.
  • What is the Fee Structure? $50,000 franchise fee with $1,500 monthly royalty for the first year and 7% per month (or $1,500 per month, whichever is greater) thereafter.
  • Territory Definition? Our current territory size is a group of towns (or county, villages) with a population base between 350,000 and 400,000.  Our target market is the upper-middle income to higher income earner, homeowner, age 50 to 85…

 

  • Day in the life of a Franchisee? We arrive at the office/shop around 7:00 AM and meet the crews.  Each crew loads its’ own truck and heads off for the day.  The owner may be scheduled to be running a crew either cleaning gutters or installing gutters.  End of day, the owner/franchisee will have some phone calls to return, ledger entries, and some other office type work.

What does your franchisee do in the business every day? 

Installing, cleaning, and maintaining gutter systems.  Managing a team of 2 – 8 service techs and an office team of one to three people.  

 

Who is the ideal franchise candidate? 

Though I do not think there is a perfect prototype candidate, I believe that a fairly successful corporate mid-level manager with a fair amount of equity, cash, savings will make a nice candidate.  But I am not opposed to a totally different personality type.

What goals do you have for the franchise model in the future?

I can see 50 or more franchisees in the next five years.

For more information on the American Gutter Monkeys franchise, visit the franchise site here:
https://hiregibiz.com/franchise/american-gutter-monkeys/