5 Tips for Building a Business Plan for a Successful Windscreen Repair Franchise

If you’re looking to start a windscreen repair business in 2022, joining a sector that enjoys steady demand and high levels of repeat custom, then you need to know how to go about building a business plan for that windscreen repair business. Read on, and discover Point Franchise’s five best business plan tips. The better your plan, the more smooth and simple you’ll find actually running a windscreen repair franchise.

There are many pros and cons that come along with running your own business - especially when you choose to make a supported franchise investment in the growing windshield repair sector. But even with all of your franchisor’s guidance and training, a strong business plan is essential to running your windshield repair franchise effectively and efficiently (and attaining financial backing, if you require any).

How to build a business plan for a windscreen repair franchise

When you’ve decided to make a career change with a windscreen repair franchise and committed to an investment, it’ll soon be time to start building a business plan for your windshield fixing business. A strong franchise business plan is essential in any sector and for any investment, as not only will you often be required to present it to your franchisor during the initial stages, but you’ll also have to present it to a bank or other funding body if you’re seeking any financial backing. 

Most importantly of all, though, your business plan will be something that you benefit from. It’ll be a bible for your windscreen repair franchise. It’ll be something that you can regularly look back on and dynamically update, using it to measure your progress towards goals and keep yourself on track. Every franchise business plan, regardless of the industry or company that you’re investing with, should include the following elements:

• An executive summary
• A business description
• Product/service descriptions
• A management summary
• Market analysis
• Operational details
• Business premises details
• Sales and marketing plans
• Financial projections and requirements

Beyond those core components that must be covered in order for your business plan to be truly considered comprehensive, here are five business plan tips specific to launching and running a windscreen repair franchise in a growing sub-sector of the vast and in-demand automotive sector. Follow each one, and you’ll be able to start your repair franchise smoothly and effectively…

1. Assign job roles and responsibilities if you’ll be hiring a team from launch (or add these details at a later date, if your franchise grows over time)

The best possible way for your franchise to hit the ground running in the windshield repair and replacement sector is for every member of your team to know exactly what their role is and what they should be doing on day one. When expectations are clearly set and demarcations are clearly indicated in your business plan, you can be certain that everyone is on the same page, and that confusion won’t cause negativity or annoyance.

Obviously, this isn’t applicable if you’re starting a van based franchise at a low initial investment and going it alone, with plans to expand and hire team members later down the line (something you could do, for instance, with a franchise like Screen Rescue). But it will be in time! And when it is, you should be sure to return to and update your plan to reflect the current state of your business.

2. Demonstrate an understanding of the car repair industry, as it is in 2022

The automotive industry is incredibly fast-paced. Things are changing not just year-on-year, but month-on-month. If you’re able to demonstrate, within your business plan, that you are following the latest trends and developments in the field of car care and repair, you’ll show your franchisor and your potential funders that you’re serious about this investment. This is especially important if you don’t have an automotive background, as it will begin the process of bridging your knowledge gaps ahead of your training.

3. Share ideal customer profiles for your windscreen repair franchise, and explain how each profile can be targeted

There can no longer be one singular target customer these days. Instead, you should be aiming to promote your services towards an entire target market. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get specific and concrete. Sharing ideal customer profiles in your business plan is a great way to build out your target market and develop a stronger sense of a) what the people in this market want and need and b) what type of advertising the people in this market would respond to.

4. Outline your marketing and advertising plans, setting measurable performance goals

This ties into tip three, as many of your marketing and advertising plans will be drawn from the things you learn about the people you’re attempting to capture the interest of. It’s important that as you lay out your ideas and goals in your business plan, you’re also laying out a framework. One by which to say: Yes, that marketing campaign was a success. Or, indeed: No, that marketing campaign didn’t perform well at all. Set goals that are SMART…

• S = Specific, clear and understandable
• M = Measurable, trackable and in line with certain progress metrics
• A = Achievable, actionable and possible
• R = Relevant, realistic and valuable to your franchise
• T = Timebound, with a reasonable deadline/timeframe for achievement

5. Be comprehensive about your costings and financial projections 

This tip is important regardless, but especially crucial if you are seeking financial backing for your franchise investment. When making predictions, it’s easy to lean towards vagueness or to assume you can say whatever you like. But accuracy matters when you’re going to present your business plan to people who know what’s a reasonable projection and what isn’t. With the support of your franchisor, make the final element of your business plan as accurate as it can be. Don’t cut any corners.

Creating a business plan is one of many important steps on the way to building a thriving windscreen repair franchise

Hopefully, the tips above have equipped you with a deeper understanding of what will go into not just the plan itself, but the active running of your windscreen repair franchise. To continue your research ahead of your potential investment, stick around on Point Franchise. Discover the top windscreen repair franchises in the UK, dive into a day in the life for the owner of a windscreen repair franchise, and find out once and for all how to choose the windscreen repair franchise that’s perfect for you.