Other Facts
- Financing: Third party.
- Royalty: 11% of gross sales (paid weekly)
- Advertising Fee: $275 per week after first 90 days
- Training: 1 Week
- Annual revenue: N/A
- Average revenue per location: N/A
Is Geeks on Call a Good Franchise Opportunity?
One of the most innovative service-based franchise concepts in a long time, it is not a surprise that Geeks on Call has grown to over 330 locations in the United States since 2001. About 30% of existing franchisees are multi-unit owners. With the computer and Internet age upon us, it is surprising that there aren’t more Geeks on Call franchisees out there.
With home services ranging from upgrades to network installations and business services ranging from repair and troubleshooting to one-on-one training, Geeks on Call franchise opportunities would appeal to a defined demographic, namely the home-based entrepreneur with a passion for computers and computer repair. Even though the company advertises that no computer experience is required, you may not want to pursue this opportunity without some liking to the machines that have changed the way we live, work, and play.
In terms of investment, it ranks about average for those opportunities in the home business category. Like any other franchise offering, your working capital is key, so while they suggest about $16,000, you may be better off at about $20,000 or more. It could take some time to develop your client base so there’s no point running out of money just when business starts to pick up.
One aspect of their fee structure that caught our attention was the weekly advertising fee of $275. That amounts to $1,100 a month, which seems quite high for a concept that costs about $65,000 to start. Our thoughts are that they lead an aggressive ad campaign, namely national TV commercials. Add to that the 11% royalty on gross sales (most royalty structures range from 5% to 8%), and you could be seeing a lot more money going out than coming in at the early stages of your business.
Geeks on Call is definitely one franchise concept to consider if you are a people-person, enjoy taking on new challenges, and have a passion for computer technology. These people really seem to know what they are doing and first impressions from their website presentation are favorable. Onsite computer service and repair probably isn’t cheap, not to mention computers breakdown is frequent. If you nail down a successful marketing plan and put this business into high gear off the start, you may do well enough to justify the franchisor’s monthly fees.
