Franchise: Lawn Doctor or Weedman

[group501]

Originally Posted by PSUTURFGEEK

As you most likely already know, buying groups sound great but the product you get is almost always older dusty fert and being the vendor is making nothing or losing money on you just to get the volume sales your'e always gonna be last on thier list.

I pick up my material at a local supplier. I am often loading my truck with the exact same inventory that the other local guys are using. However, more times than not I am paying substantially less for the materials. Also, I would not say that the vendor is making little or nothing from us. They may not be making as much per bag but they do make it up on volume. Once the bid is awarded to a particular vendor we are obligated to purchase from that vendor. If we do not honor the integrity of our buy group we will be suspended from it.

[ted putnam]

I have done very well with my business. I am proud of myself for this and my family is as well. I have done this without the help of a franchise. I just don't feel that I need one. I am on the threshold of what I consider to be the "next level." The only "piece of the puzzle" that is missing for me is finding good quality,dependable help. I think that is a problem shared by independants as well as franchisees. So unless there is a majic bullet out there that only the franchises know about then I honestly don't think I need it at this point JMHO

[sclawndr]

Originally Posted by ted putnam

I have done very well with my business. I am proud of myself for this and my family is as well. I have done this without the help of a franchise. I just don't feel that I need one. I am on the threshold of what I consider to be the "next level." The only "piece of the puzzle" that is missing for me is finding good quality,dependable help. I think that is a problem shared by independants as well as franchisees. So unless there is a majic bullet out there that only the franchises know about then I honestly don't think I need it at this point JMHO

Congrats for your success. The purpose of a franchise is to help you learn the business quickly without a lot of trial and error and then to help you grow it to whatever level you want. You might not "need" a franchise now but think how much easier it might be for someone just starting out with little or no experience. For you now, the benefit might be having access to a group of owners who could share their experience and a lot of hard data that could help you go from one level to the next, whatever those levels may be. I see a lot of posts from independents asking about material, pricing, insurance, etc. Franchisees don't have to worry about most of this because the franchisor and the internal buy groups are doing that work for us. Good franchisors are always working behind the scenes to develop new products and strategies to help owners grow their business and profitability.

[americanlawn]

I have known our local Weed Man franchisee guy for twenty years. I think this answers your questiion, but I'm not sure how this helps you??


I also tried (via previous posts) to provide answers to your previous questions. These went to the wayside. ??? What more do you want??

Originally Posted by Military Lawns

Does anyone here own or have a relationship with a "Weed and Feed" franchise. Example: Lawn Doctor or Weedman.

I would like the pros and cons of owning such franchises.

DJ

[PSUTURFGEEK]

Originally Posted by group501

I pick up my material at a local supplier. I am often loading my truck with the exact same inventory that the other local guys are using. However, more times than not I am paying substantially less for the materials. Also, I would not say that the vendor is making little or nothing from us. They may not be making as much per bag but they do make it up on volume. Once the bid is awarded to a particular vendor we are obligated to purchase from that vendor. If we do not honor the integrity of our buy group we will be suspended from it.

What do you do when a supplier gets the bid and they don't have any central locations like what happned this year??

[group501]

Originally Posted by PSUTURFGEEK

What do you do when a supplier gets the bid and they don't have any central locations like what happned this year??

Our local buy group did award the bid to a supplier that is about 20 minutes from us. However, if it became a situation where I had to take a truck delivery then so be it. In 7 seasons it has not happened. Other buy groups in the company have been taking truck deliveries for years and I have never heard of any problems with inferior products being shipped. I have heard of problems with the shipping and with billings but never with the quality of the products. One thing that I have learned is that if you don't pay careful attention mistakes do happen and they are not usually in your favor. If there is a problem, a supplier is often more prone to step up to the plate when you are part of a group that buys large quantities of their products.