By David Chilton Saggers
Many businesses stem from modest beginnings, with a savvy entrepreneur, an identified market niche, and the determination to build something of significance. From there, a single concept can grow infinitely, and become an iconic franchise system helping others pave their way to business ownership. The following brands, all Canadian-born and bred, began with a single insight, and have grown into successful systems.
Tire Butler
Fifteen years ago, Jack Benzacar needed new tires for his car and had to travel to a distant suburb to get them. This inconvenience marked the genesis of Tire Butler.
Tire Butler is a mobile automotive operation that offers tire and wheel sales, tire changes, tire storage, flat tire repairs, fleet tire management, rim repairs, and interior detailing. “We come to you,” says founder and president Benzacar from his Toronto office. His system services any customer with a car, a van, or a light truck, who are pressed for time but need assistance.
While the brand started small—for the first 18 months Benzacar was its sole employee—Tire Butler now has 12 trucks on the road in Toronto and 20 staff composing the team, in addition to a Canadian call centre that helps ensure the team never misses an opportunity to assist a customer.x
While the buesiness grew organically for a long time, Benzacar explains, after a certain point, he decided that franchising would promote further expansion. He’s already sold his first franchised location in Toronto, and is now busy marketing his system in the Greater Toronto Area and around Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe.
Next year, Benzacar wants to have 18 to 20 franchises up and running, and strives to eventually reach 90 across Canada, with another 300 in the U.S. Each franchise costs between $175,000 and $275,000 in initial investments. For new franchisees, training takes three months: beginning at the head office, then sending the franchisee out on a company truck with a corporate employee, before they head off in their own vehicle with a trainer for additional support. Tire Butler territories are established using census data and postal codes, and no job is more than a five minute drive from the next.
As for potential franchisees, Benzacar says, “I want them to learn how to run the business. They need to start as owner-operators and have an entrepreneurial mindset.” A commitment to the client is also crucial, he goes on to say, because “the most important thing for me is exceptional customer service.” Exceptional it must be, because Tire Butler has a 90 per cent customer retention rate. The benefits that come with a Tire Butler franchise include the corporate will to succeed and their desire for franchisees to share in that success, says Benzacar. Furthermore, the brand offers a low investment cost, proprietary software packages, and its suite of services. And then there’s the expansion plans: The Globe and Mail has named Tire Butler one of Canada’s fastest growing companies.
Fire-Alert
Fire safety is important for everyone, from large businesses to individual residential homes, and the best way to be prepared is to ensure fire safety devices are installed, functioning, and up to code.
That’s the premise behind Fire-Alert, a mobile extinguisher and fire safety inspection service founded in Ottawa by Yvan Houle 40 years ago.
Today, Sylvain Houle, Yvan’s son, co-owns the company with his wife Vanessa. Business has boomed with Fire-Alert’s corporate locations in Ottawa and its 22 franchise locations across Canada, including Toronto, Gatineau, Saskatoon, and Calgary. Another franchise in Vancouver is currently in training, says Houle, from his office in Ottawa. “We’re always looking at expansion,” he continues, “and we have major growth plans, including expanding in the U.S. market.”
Fire-Alert offers a wide range of inspection services for fire prevention and suppression tools such as fire hoses, fire extinguishers, fire alarms, sprinklers, and emergency lights. Fire-Alert is fully mobile, says Houle, and a franchise can be operated remotely.
Industrial and commercial customers make up about 90 per cent of the system’s business: “We go after the national accounts,” says Houle, adding that franchisees have access to “a substantial amount of work from the get-go.” The cost of a franchise is between $110,000 and $150,000, depending on the territory and individual equipment needs. As for training, Houle shares that they have a unique training facility in Ottawa where instruction lasts two to three weeks, with ongoing operational support for new investors. Fire-Alert also offers comprehensive training on fire code compliance, Houle emphasizes; all jurisdictions have a fire code and every industrial and commercial venture has a legal obligation to conduct regular fire inspections.
Houle says that franchisees with the brand don’t need a background in fire protection, but they need to be mechanically inclined for installations and repairs. They also need to be motivated, good team players, and personable, because they will be dealing with the public. Currently, he’s primarily seeking owner-operators.
The benefits of investing with Fire-Alert are substantial, says Houle. For a start, there is a steady stream of work due to fire code requirements. “We’re not just awarding franchises. We’re selling a service required by law,” he notes. Then there’s Fire-Alert’s leadership role in the industry, the low overhead, truck fleet discounts, and a fresh look with sharp new branding.
Visage Beauty & Piercing
Even now, 1969 stands out as year of big happenings: the moon landing, the Woodstock Festival, and the launch of Boeing’s 747 jumbo jets. And, it was also the year that a fashion model turned the cosmetics industry upside down.
Discontented with the cosmetics industry’s offerings, Toronto’s Caryl Baker journeyed to New York City to find someone who would help her create the Visage Cosmetics line. What she wanted, says Cindy Machado, president of Visage Cosmetics Ltd., was a product that would be suitable not only for an actress or model, but for all women. With that, Caryl Baker Visage was born.
From there, Baker started to offer free makeup demonstrations that allowed clients to learn about both products and the application techniques she had developed. That, Machado says from her Toronto office, removed the “counter” between customer and makeup artist, and introduced the “try before you buy” concept to the industry.
Baker’s success led to the opening of four corporate Face Spa locations in Toronto, and, in 1978, her first expansion into the world of franchising. Now there are 25 franchises in Ontario across Toronto, Barrie, Ottawa, Hamilton, and Windsor, to name a few. Expansion remains at the top of the system’s to-do list, according to Machado. The company is now privately owned, and during the last year has made some changes. It has stayed true to its Caryl Baker Visage roots, but also been modernized and rebranded as Visage Beauty & Piercing. “We’ve brought the core of what we do directly into our name,” says Machado.
Visage Beauty & Piercing targets women of all ages—from their first ear piercing to their first facial, and prom night makeup to professional skin care. So, in addition to this wide-ranging customer foundation, franchisees can call on a multi-generational client base. Machado wants investors with leadership skills; the ideal franchisee is passionate about beauty and exceptional customer service, and inspires those around them. Some exposure to franchising or the beauty industry is an asset, but it’s not required. While a new franchisee’s Face Spa is being built, the investor and their team complete comprehensive Beauty Academy training. The cost of a franchise runs between $384,000 and $520,000, and benefits include the brand’s time-tested success, says Machado. Visage Beauty & Piercings continues to thrive in an ever-evolving industry, she adds, based on its decades of experience setting industry standards.