Written Assignment: After viewing the video clip on $$Two Men and a Truck$$ provide an argument that Joel Trost has made a solid business decision with the purchase of this franchise. Can you relate some of the chapter material to this franchise example? What additional research would you have dome before purchasing this franchise? Be specific.

Field Interview: Next, find a Two Men and a Truck franchise in your area and set up an interview with the owner. Using Table $7\mathrm{.}3$ on the Costs of Franchising, find the amount that each of these costs apply to this franchise. Also, ask if the owner has a copy of the FDD and if he$/$she used it to assess the franchise opportunity. Report back on what additional information was found.

Transcript:

I started as a mover in the late $1990\text{'}$s$.$

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I worked as a mover for about a year and a half in Lansing, Michigan. Took on another in St$.$ Louis, Missouri. Worked there in a management role for about $10$ years. And then towards the end of my tenure there I became an owner. There's certainly more involved with being an owner now. You have to keep track with numbers and all the other day to day things, but I think it was really helpful for me to be a mover. The movers are the backbone of our business. One of the great things about owning a franchise would be that you have a network with your home office. There is a brand that s built there. There's a support system there, In our particular franchise we can see the numbers of where everybody stands financially. By reviewing their numbers, looking at their numbers which gives us an idea; a benchmark of where we should be$.$

$>>$ Hi$,$ Nadia. This is Valerie with Two Men and a truck today.

$>>$ Thanks for calling, what is your name please?

$>>$ All right, this information gives me a good idea.

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We own six franchises.

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$>>$ The particular franchise we are standing in today is our Des Plaines location. We have five other franchises in the Chicago market there are thirteen franchises total in the Chicago and suburbs and we own six of those thirteen.

$>>$ As an operations manager, you need to have the ability to manage multiple levels of our office staff as well as our crew out in doing moves. Another big part of that is making more right decisions than wrong.

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Well the arrangement between Two Men and a Truck here in Chicago and the home office is pretty simple. We go out we do moves we generate revenue and a portion of that is paid back to the home office in royalties.

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Everything still going smooth for you?

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$>>$ Very good, yes.

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$>>$ Perfect. Perfect.

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You know it's one of those things that you have to manage yourself really well. Our business is a summer business. In the winter we're really slow and that's an industry thing $...$ Excellent. Thank you again, Tim. Have a good day, sir. Some of the challenges in getting started are trying to find a good office space where you have good exposure, where customers can see you, and at the same time have adequate parking for all of our vehicles.

$>>$ And the unit number that you're coming from now is unit $1204.$ And that is the $12$th floor. One of the biggest differences between having a mom and pop store and actually owning a franchise is when you do get started you do have more brand recognition within your market. There are more people who have heard of you before or have worked with a Two Men and a Truck location in another city. We do have ongoing communications with the corporate office. In my role as Marketing Manager I work with them on some of the projects that I$\text{'}$m doing. And there is somebody there who has a lot of experience in that.

$>>$ Well, we had Mike in from franchise $0192$ yesterday, Garrett and Jody. And I think the emphasis today is to figure out where we go from here. Each one of the franchisees we work with has unique needs, unique challenges and they are at a unique position in their franchise life cycle. One of the other things I was thinking with Alan is looking at a mentor set$-$up for him. He's kind of at that point with his business, that he's ready to take it to the next level. An FBC is also known as a franchise business consultant. And their role here is to be that first point of contact for our franchisees. Depending on how you're looking at it one of the pros and cons of franchising is you're part of a system. So even though you bring an entrepreneurial nature to the location you're working in$,$ you're still part of an overall system that we need to protect.

$>>$ Not every idea that you want to implement can you implement. And the reason for that is that there's a brand there and you have to remember that in a franchise system, all locations, what s good for yours is not necessarily good for all the rest. And you have to think to yourself without being discouraged, is this something that works for the system as a whole.

$>>$ The nice thing about being a part of the fr