Eliminating the Hurdles of Becoming a Franchisee: Threshold Brands Finances Franchise Fee

When Threshold Brands landed on its brand promise of “Opening doors for franchise owners, customers and employees to pursue their dreams”, they meant it. Through the rest of 2022, the 500-plus unit multi-brand franchisor of MaidPro, Men in Kilts, USA Insulation, Heating + Air Paramedics, Plumbing Paramedics, Granite Garage Floors, Pestmaster, Patio Patrol and Sir Grout, is changing the franchisee game, launching a franchisee-first model in which franchisees pay 25% of the franchise fee upon signing and begin paying the remainder 1 month after they open their unit. In addition, the deferred fees will be paid back interest-free.

“This model does two things. First, it eliminates a cash barrier for franchisees choosing to partner with our brands to achieve the dream of business ownership.. We wanted to give each new franchise owner more cash flow flexibility versus having a large sum of cash tied up prior to opening. Second, it allows the franchisee to secure multiple units on day one, meaning, they can start laying the foundation for a multi-unit/multi-brand portfolio,” said R. Scott Sutton, Chief Growth Officer.

In franchising, the franchise fee is used to offset the costs of getting a franchisee up and running. For the well capitalized Threshold Brands, this is not a necessary cash flow stream, rather, an opportunity to partner alongside the franchisee as they start their pathway to franchise ownership.

Sutton noted that his team is still diligent in the selection process.

“We have incredible franchisees driving the growth inside of our world-class brands. This is an opportunity to provide more cash flexibility for our franchisees as they get open. We want to eliminate as many hurdles and stress points for our franchise owners as possible, especially when going from signing to opening. We want our franchisees focused on training, staffing, marketing, opening and driving value for our consumers,” he said.