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  Mitchel ingham October 8, 2014 at 10:24pm

  Gardens on average smaller?

  Guessing also moneys tighter remeber there is a gap in the average wage to.

  Think another thing is because it is cheaper to live up here you need less work to live on so alot more people give it a try so more people fighting for work and undercutting each other. Where as down south you need to get more work in due to the cost of living?
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  Stuart October 8, 2014 at 10:33pm

  I've always been against the vast majority of franchises for service and trades type businesses. Those looking to sell a franchise model are always keen to suggest that it gives the franchisee a marketing advantage. This is simply not the case.
  
  I was chatting with a colleague a while ago about this (someone I did my Chartered Institute of Marketing exams with) and we were considering building a business purely based on advising those thinking of buying a franchise. We worked out that it would take us an average of 3 days consultancy to enable clients to out perform the franchise model. Not a bad investment when you see how many thousands it often costs to buy a franchise.
  
  I don't know why there is less franchise activity up north though, if indeed there is.
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  Freshscaped October 8, 2014 at 10:38pm

  I'm not convinced that's true Ben, at least from the customer perspective. I seem to be getting regular maintenance work even now. There are affluent pockets here in the old industrial belt of West Yorkshire but it could hardly be called a generally affluent area. Is it the way it's being sold by contractors, or that it's not being sold by them? Or that they are targeting the wrong people?

  Unless I have badly misunderstood something, in which case why is it working for me, regular maintenance is of most use to people who are very busy, i.e. time poor, but like to and can afford to live in nice surroundings, i.e. cash sufficient. Who are you trying to sell the idea to?
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  Mitchel ingham October 8, 2014 at 10:38pm

  We have plenty of green thumb vans round here
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  Freshscaped October 8, 2014 at 10:48pm

  Loads around here too. I really do sincerely doubt competition is the issue.
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  Ben Marshall October 8, 2014 at 10:48pm

  I Live in East Manchester, round here i Never see any garden maintenance franchise vans, ive looked online many times, just to check my assumption and there is no franchises that i can find North of Birmingham. Im not talking about lawn treatment firms by the way, just specifically garden maintenance. Are you a franchisee for a national company? if so who is it you work for and how is there coverage of the UK?
  
  Mike Goodman said:

  I'm not convinced that's true Ben, at least from the customer perspective. I seem to be getting regular maintenance work even now. There are affluent pockets here in the old industrial belt of West Yorkshire but it could hardly be called a generally affluent area. Is it the way it's being sold by contractors, or that it's not being sold by them? Or that they are targeting the wrong people?

  Unless I have badly misunderstood something, in which case why is it working for me, regular maintenance is of most use to people who are very busy, i.e. time poor, but like to and can afford to live in nice surroundings, i.e. cash sufficient. Who are you trying to sell the idea to?
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  Ben Marshall October 8, 2014 at 10:50pm

  They're not garden maintenance though Mitchel, they are mainly lawn treatment and scarifying,etc. im talking specifically about garden maintenance franchises.
  
  Mitchel ingham said:

  We have plenty of green thumb vans round here
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  Freshscaped October 8, 2014 at 10:52pm

  Aha, sorry, I see what you mean now. As a southerner living in the north and still visiting "home" after all this time, I can't honestly say I've picked out franchise vans from other landscapers at either end of the country. Simply not something I've taken note of even if I've seen any.
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  Mitchel ingham October 8, 2014 at 10:59pm

  I have however seen a fair few national vans around ground control being one of them.

  What franchises are there down south?
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  Ben Marshall October 8, 2014 at 11:03pm

  There was a lad that set up in my neck of the woods about 4 years ago, but was told by a mutual aquaintance that his repayment costs to the company and the brand new sign written van they insisted he get were hundreds of pounds every week! he didnt last a year, his van dissapeared from my area and that particular company no longer has a franchisee in Manchester. Obviously i cant say the name of any companies involved for fear of libel accusations, but im not bad mouthing the companies that do it anyway, just discussing the topic really.
  
  Mike Goodman said:

  Aha, sorry, I see what you mean now. As a southerner living in the north and still visiting "home" after all this time, I can't honestly say I've picked out franchise vans from other landscapers at either end of the country. Simply not something I've taken note of even if I've seen any.