How to Make a Career Change With a Construction Franchise

If you’re looking to start a business in a dynamic sector that enjoys steady demand, construction would be a strong choice. Even after a year and a half of COVID-19, the industry is growing and thriving, having adapted and innovated in many different ways. Here’s how you can make a career change with a construction franchise.

With franchisor support and training, you can build a profitable construction business in no time. Franchising in the construction sector is a safer move than starting your own business and going it alone, as franchising comes at a far lower level of risk. In fact, in 2018, just 1% of franchise units closed citing commercial failure as the reason [British Franchise Association]. 

Why start a construction franchise?

As touched upon above, the construction industry continues to thrive in 2021, making it a lucrative and dynamic place to invest your money. Though most construction businesses did feel an impact during the pandemic, particularly during the first lockdown in March 2020, the sector has now largely been able to bounce back, with quarterly construction output growing by 3.3% between January – March 2021 and April – June 2021 [Office for National Statistics]. Beyond this demand, there are many other advantages to investing in construction and home improvement, such as:

• The chance to have a positive impact in your operational area
• The opportunity to see the direct results of your work
• The chance to specialise in an area of expertise
• The ability to develop and hone new skill sets (and put existing skill sets to use)
• The room for growth and expansion later down the line
• The health benefits of working in an active role, often outdoors
• The chance to help others and solve problems as a career

How to make a career change with a construction franchise 

Having determined why you might want to make a career change and enter the construction industry, it’s time to dive into how you can do that. Follow these four steps, and you’ll be well on your way to building a profitable and successful construction franchise...

1. Assess your skills and narrow down the kind of role you’d like to fill

When you’re entering the construction sector as a franchisee, many of the opportunities that you come across won’t require you to have any previous relevant experience. They’ll give you the training you need to fill your knowledge gaps and prepare you for success. That said, there are certain transferable soft skills that you’d benefit from possessing in the world of construction. Skills like:

• Communication
• Problem-solving
• Resilience
• Teamwork
• Organisation
• Confidence

The skills and experience that you’ll need will depend on the kind of work that you’re interested in doing in the sector, so if you already feel confident that you have many of these skills, it’ll then be time to narrow things down. Do you want to work in a management role? An IT role? A manufacturing role? An office-based role? A design role? Whatever specialism you want to pursue, you’ll need certain abilities to do so.

For example, if you’re interested in a career in the sub-sector of surveying, you will need some prior knowledge of:

• IT and technical skills
• An understanding of the construction process
• Knowledge of planning legislations, environmental legislations and building regulations
• An ability to negotiate and communicate

2. Research franchise opportunities and narrow things down

Once you know where you stand in terms of the kind of role you’d like to fill, and the skills that you already possess to help you thrive in this role, it’s time to research franchise opportunities and to filter down your options. There are many important considerations to make at this stage:

• What franchise locations are available, and do I want to operate in any of them?
• What support and training will I receive, and will that adequately prepare me?
• What do existing franchisees think of working in this franchise network?

And the most important question of all: What will this franchise investment cost me and can I afford it? The average cost of starting a franchise is £42,200 [British Franchise Association], but figures can vary greatly depending on brand name, location size and specialism, and in many cases, funding support is available if you can’t cover the costs outright. To give you an idea of what to expect in the construction industry, here are a few investment cost examples:

• Approved Resin Driveways - To become an Approved Resin Driveways franchisee, you’ll need to make a minimum initial investment of £8,000, with franchise fees of £16,950, royalty fees charged at a rate of 7%, and a total investment cost of £25,000.
• Happinest - To become a Happinest franchisee, you’ll need to make a minimum initial investment of £7,500, with a total investment cost of £20,000.
• Granite & TREND Transformations - To become a Granite & TREND Transformations franchisee, you’ll need to make a minimum initial investment of £35,000, with franchise fees of £28,700, advertising fees charged at 2%, and a total investment cost of £123,000.
• Schmidt - To become a Schmidt franchisee, you’ll need to make a minimum initial investment of £100,000, with a total investment cost of £420,000.

3. Create a strong business plan (including marketing strategies)

A business plan won’t just help you to secure funding if you need it - it will also help you to connect with and deeply understand your franchise business, setting goals that you can stick to and reach for in the years to come. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the process of creating this business plan, don’t forget to turn to your franchisor for support (and the seal of approval!). As a place to start, all franchise business plans should include the following key elements:

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

4. Access all the support and training that you can

Finally, you can make your career change as smoothly and successfully as possible by fully throwing yourself into the job once the franchise agreement is signed and you’re officially in business. Make sure you’re on the lookout for development opportunities even beyond the initial training period, and never hesitate to reach out to your franchisor for guidance.

Build your ideal career by running your own business in the construction sector

Hopefully, this article will serve as a strong jumping-off point, and you’ll now be able to deepen your research with the knowledge of the steps you’ll need to take. Stay on Point Franchise and discover the top four construction trends in 2021, or browse the wide range of available home improvement and construction investment opportunities.