Sears: Bringing the Best Services Home
For someone who never planned to work in franchising, Larsen Sharp, President & CEO of Sears Home & Business Franchises, has already had a spectacular career in this dynamic field. And in his current role, he’s building on that rich trove of experience to change the game yet again.
His past includes senior positions at House Doctors, SportClips and Strategic Franchising along with nearly 20 years at Pizza Hut. Among other advances at the fast food powerhouse, he opened outlets in unusual venues such as food courts and college arenas. “We started putting Pizza Hut into convenience stores, where a lot of the traffic is during rush hour, and not a lot of people buy pizza for breakfast,” he recalls. So this innovator and his team came up with the perfect alternative—a ‘panwich,’ a breakfast treat with ingredients he remembers easily to this day.
The home services market is huge, estimated to be $400 billion
And now he’s at Sears, one of the greatest brands in American business. It’s the perfect environment for a visionary and thought leader, whose singular goal is to drive topline revenue and deliver profitable business models. Sears is the market leader in a macro sense, with deep resources, a global brand and massive scalability—the company performs some 12 million repairs annually. Sears Home & Business Franchises, a subsidiary of Sears Home Services, brings that brand directly to the neighborhood.
“One of our principles is to be nationally known, locally owned,” Mr. Sharp emphasizes. “Our franchisees are people who want to build their own business, to serve their communities, and to thrive. They’re deeply embedded in their own communities.” This is the best of all worlds in every sense: a great corporation helping individual entrepreneurs serve individual customers.
Sears provides Five Leading Home Services Franchise Businesses
Size of the Home Services Market
The home services market is huge, estimated to be $400 billion overall. Specific segments are similarly massive:
Floor covering sales & renovation in 2014 alone accounted for over $19.5 billion. Perhaps as a result, the market is heavily fractionalized, with many lone vendors competing for the same customers.
In this environment, the Sears brand is incredibly valuable. However, even with so many common needs, no two neighborhoods—and no two entrepreneurs—are exactly alike. Sears Home and Business Franchises meets that challenge with five distinct concepts that allow franchisees to put together a multi-service package that best suits their abilities, resources and target markets
Sears provides Five distinct concepts that allow franchisees to put together a multi-service package that best suits their abilities, resources and target markets.
Investment Needed
The startup cost varies a little based on the business selected. In each case there is an initial franchise fee, then related costs for equipment, advertising signage, etc. and the total estimated initial investment for each franchise is:
- Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning: $56,250 – $167,050
- Air Duct Cleaning: $56,250 – $167,050
- Garage Solutions: $46,150 – $113,350
- Maid Services: $52,900 – $134,800
- Handyman Services: $47,900 – $135,300
Training & Support
For its part, Sears Home & Business Franchise is deeply invested in helping its franchisees succeed. The company offers a week of new franchisee training at its home base in Columbus, Ohio, then provides on-site follow up and ongoing support, along with consulting services as needed and of course brand marketing. Most businesses are up and running in 60 to 90 days.
Sears Home Services’ franchisees are provided with:
- New Franchise Owners School
- Customer Service Representative Training
- Technician Training
- Ongoing Training Webinars
- Comprehensive Operations Manual
- In-Field Franchise Owner Support
- Marketing Assistance
- A National Convention
- Network of Franchisees to Share “Best Practices”
- Information Technology Suppor
Click here to OWN A SEARS HOME SERVICES FRANCHISE Or call toll free 1-888-537-3569
Great Opportunity for Immigrants
It’s not a surprise that there’s great diversity—there are former bankers, salespeople, marketers and more. The one common thread is a sense of entrepreneurship. And as with the best franchises, the franchisees come from all over the world. Mr. Sharp proudly names some of the countries of origin: Israel, India, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Canada, Palestine, Cambodia, and Jamaica.
This is the future of home services franchising, and it represents the perfect fusion of big business and individual entrepreneurship. Sears Home & Business Franchise is already flourishing, and it’s just getting started.
Information on Owning a Sears Franchise
Sears is the nation’s largest provider of home services with more than 12 million service & installation calls made annually.
Now you can be part of the Sears story.
Sears is looking for entrepreneurs who want to own & operate their own franchise business. Click here to OWN A SEARS HOME SERVICES FRANCHISE
Or call toll free 1-888-537-3569
