9. What if my son or daughter doesn’t like it, then what?
If your son or daughter decides that they don’t want to run a business at some point after signing their franchise agreement, they can quit, but not without costs. That is why our "eyes wide open" philosophy exists and why we let your son/daughter know it will be hard work and that this opportunity is not for everyone. This is real and we want to ensure the excitement of running their own business is tempered with the reality. We only want people who are prepared to work, who are prepared to take on responsibility, and who are prepared to make a commitment.
Once your son/daughter signs their franchise agreement for an exclusive territory, a lot of wheels get set in motion. They are assigned to a college Pro GM who begins to invest time in them. College Pro also orders business materials for them, as well as a guarantee that we won’t hire any other franchise managers in their specific area (they have exclusive rights to all work done in their area.)
There are penalties for deciding to quit. College Pro doesn’t require an initial franchise fee and we start to invest time and resources into our franchisees. The penalties are clear and are stated in the franchise agreement and are fully reviewed before signing the agreement. Currently, the minimum financial penalty for quitting in the US is $4,000.
We want to make sure that if your son/daughter is selected to be a franchisee, and if they decide to accept the responsibility of running a franchise, that it is something they are committed to doing in the summer. We feel that the fee represents a significant enough amount of money that it will make people think about whether this is something they want to do.
It’s not fair to College Pro, the painters, or the homeowners to just try this out. The franchise manager’s job is about taking responsibility. If you don’t think you’re son or daughter is up for the responsibility – that’s okay; this job isn’t for everyone!
Remember our "eyes wide open" philosophy- we won’t ask your son/daughter to sign the franchise agreement until they’ve had a chance to review it, and have any other person they’d like to look over it. We encourage our candidates to get as much information from us, from previous franchisees, and any other sources they feel that they need, in order to ensure that this is a good fit for them.