Happy Window Cleaning® is headquartered in Grand Rapids Michigan, a metropolitan statistical area of over one million people and the only truly big town in West Michigan. Although Happy Window Cleaning® competes favorably against the national franchisors, it didn’t start as a big city company. Some might be surprised to learn that, I, Scott Britton the founder of the company have spent more than half my life living in small-town West Michigan, having built a very healthy window cleaning company in tiny Mason County. So I was excited to take the opportunity to explore Oakland County. In the following weeks and months, I will be taking more time off from my routine to explore viable territories for franchising Happy Window Cleaning®.”
Oakland County is covered by the area codes 248 and 947. With a median household income of $85.991, it ranks number one in the State of Michigan and is part of the metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,202,362, making it the second-most densely populated county in Michigan, just behind neighboring Wayne County. The county seat is Pontiac and within the top ten wealthiest counties in the entire nation (Source: Wikipedia). According to the US Census Bureau, Oakland county has a total area of 907 square miles including 62 cities, townships, and villages. To a potential Happy Window Cleaning® franchisee, the 248 and 947 designation including Oakland County offers the most challenge and the greatest potential reward of any territory within Michigan borders. [NOTE; Happy Window Cleaning uses the North American Numbering Plan (NPA) better known as an “area code” to differentiate its territories by economically and culturally connected regions. Since these are truly expansive areas this creates enormous added value for our potential franchise partners].
From the prestigious Bloomfield Hills, Rochester Hills, and Auburn Hills Mansions to the rural living of white Lake Township, the County truly has something attuned to every taste. Aside from the numerous residential window cleaning prospects, Pontiac, the county seat with its rich history of both auto and movie making offers rows of midrise buildings to feed an ambitious commercial window cleaning book of business. Projects like the renovation of the former Sears building in 2012 which is developed to be a Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design (LEED) mixed-use complex show us that there has been much investment and revitalization in recent years around the city. It is possible to find yourself working at the Curtis Armstrong estate (actor in the Revenge of the Nerds) in the town of Berkley. Jack Kevorkian, the infamous assisted suicide physician was born and raised in Oak Park, which is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit with about 30,000 window cleaning prospects. Even weirder than Dr. Kevorkian is the Eagle Scout from Commerce Township who constructed a DIY nuclear reactor in his family’s yard exposing tens of thousands of people in the area to radioactive materials. On second thought, you may want to skip prospects in that part of town for the next 500 years or so. (Source: The Radioactive Boy Scout, by Ken Silverstein).
It is no secret that window cleaners have an extraordinary trust of their client’s given that unlike most services we are invited to conduct our work in almost every room of a private residence. Although we cannot comment on what we see in private homes, one does wonder what keepsakes someone like Dan Scanlon who works at PIXAR animation studios might be hoarding on his trophy walls. Since Dan has never been a customer of mine, and I can’t tell what I don’t know, (and couldn’t tell even if I did know, since we keep the confidentiality of our clients), it just seems noteworthy to mention that window cleaning is an interesting experience from one day to the next.
If you enjoy architecture, Hazel Park boasts a good number of Michigan bungalows built after World War II and you will find just about every style and period represented within Oakland County. It is a very special place and it will require a person of a certain stature to fill this territory. Happy Window Cleaning® has the potential to provide six-figure incomes in any number of area codes across Michigan but the iron rule of markets being what it is, there are only two area codes where a 7-figure income is possible and our Headquarters is located in one of those. The other is 3.5 hours due east in Oakland County. No worries, we could help a good franchise develop a very nice lifestyle business in other places across the state.
Clarkston, the hometown of Henry Ford has over 400 households that while larger than most found elsewhere around the State are humble compared to the approximately 81,000 people having a median income of $79,000 in the City of Troy, Michigan. In 2011, Troy was ranked the safest city in Michigan. This could be because the people there are loaded and spend their free time enjoying the fruits of their labors, on such things as goods and services. The sense of family values and general stability in the area is also reflected in events like the annual Pumpkinfest in South Lyon. There are around 5,000 households in Beverly Hills Michigan with a median household income of over 90k. With another 80,000 people in Farmington Hills (and a median family income of nearly 200K), overall Oakland County is a window cleaning territory that promises continuous growth under the right management.
These are just some of the viable places to start a window cleaning business in Michigan. The good news is that Happy Window Cleaning® has this territory available for franchising (other territories will be featured in our future blogs).
Given the following numbers, it’s easy to see that Oakland County is a viable place to open a Happy Window Cleaning® franchise. But then you ask yourself: Why franchise when I can do it on my own?
The difference is whether you want to be someone who simply cleans in a business. In that case, there is a steep learning curve for marketing and managing to achieve financial sufficiency. By comparison, a franchise grooms its people to become successful business owners which entails a whole lot more than having a squeegee, a ladder, and a bucket of water. Happy Window Cleaning® trains you on all aspects of business management – office administration, finance, marketing, sales, field operations, etc. On top of that, the franchisee gets valuable assistance throughout the life of their business and benefits from the marketing campaigns of the Headquarters in Grand Rapids.
When a person purchases a Happy Window Cleaning® franchise, he is buying an established and successful business model. The history of Happy Window Cleaning® supported by actual documentation shows that we have flourished even during the housing slump in 2008, and we are also growing now even as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistics show that franchises have a much better chance of success than independent start-up businesses.
And so, your next question might be: why Happy Window Cleaning® when there are other companies with the same offering?
It is not the same offering. You will learn that there are not one but many different window cleaning markets and different companies have developed models that work more or less within the industry’s ecosystem. We understand that times are hard given that we are in a pandemic, so the idea is to offer a real opportunity that is not as onerous as typical franchises in an industry that is truly resistant to economic downturns. We are offering a new breed of franchising that veers away from traditional franchising that turns off most people. It’s new because of who we are as reflected in our values and reputation. At Happy Window Cleaning® we provide the space for everyone whether your ambition is to build a lifestyle business, or to grow a large company of your own, we understand the particular challenges and have paved a road. All you have to do to succeed in your goals is to follow our directions.
Sure, there will be rules and guidelines but the goal is not to make it oppressive upon the franchisee. As a Christian company, we share our purpose to bring value to others, which is exactly what it means to “love and serve others”. Window cleaners work with our hands, living a quiet life, minding our own business and in doing this we are not being dependent on anyone other than God to make our way in life. Systems and rules are standard requirements in all franchises because we can do more cooperating with other talented people than any of us could achieve independently. Yes, there are ongoing costs, but then again there is also real value continuously realized for your money. Happy Window Cleaning® is mindful of financial burdens business ownership presents and we make business ownership as reasonably affordable as it can be to ensure the franchisee’s success because the franchisee’s success is also the Headquarters’ success.
Transparency is our best feature besides the affordable rates and fees. There are no surprise charges, terms and conditions are laid upfront, and most of all, we are willing to work with serious franchisees who know what they want but don’t know how to do it.
Do you find this blog interesting? Are you interested in having your own Happy Window Cleaning® franchise but prefer another territory? Talk to us. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or if you want to learn more about Happy Window Cleaning Franchising.