ORANGE, Calif. – Chad Hallock, Budget Blinds CEO
and Co-Founder, recently presented Budget Blinds franchise offering to over 50
prospective franchise owners via a webinar
“We’re looking for people with positive attitudes who want to escape
their cubicles to own and operate a local small business of their own to become
Budget Blinds Franchisees,” said Hallock.
Hallock recalled that Budget Blinds started amid less than
desirable economic conditions.
“It was 1992,” Hallock recalled. “Orange County was in a recession
and the five of us decided to launch a brand new business. We all knew that it would take hard work,
offering something our competition didn’t, and doing things outside of our
comfort zones to survive in that sort of economic environment.”
Budget Blinds not only survived, it thrived. The five entrepreneurs offered homeowners the
opportunity to shop for window coverings at home where their windows were.
“Few places were offering free in home consultations for window
coverings in 1992, “ said Hallock. “Homeowners were ordering out of catalogs or
driving to department stores and hoping that the product they chose coordinated
with their décor and that their measurements were correct.
“We would visit the homeowner, share a number of samples, discuss the features
and benefits of each of the options, take the measurements and install the
product when it arrived,” said Hallock.
Within in months, they were selling $100,000 in window treatments
monthly. By 1994, friends and past customers of the five founders of Budget
Blinds were asking how they could open their own Budget Blinds businesses.
In 1996, Budget Blinds was ranked at the top of its category in Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500
listing and has remained there every year since.
The company will celebrate its twentieth anniversary in 2012, and
the founders would like to add to its franchise base. Budget Blinds currently has 802 territories
serving roughly 4,000 cities throughout the United States and Canada.
“We have plenty of desirable, exclusive territories available,”
said Hallock. “We are about 40 percent sold out in the United States and 80
percent sold out in Canada.”
Hallock said that although there are 2,000 exclusive territories
available throughout the United States that the company’s magic number is
1,500.
“With 1,500 franchise territories, we will reach a saturation
level that will allow us to do really wonderful things on behalf of our
franchisees, including more robust advertising and lead generation activities,”
said Hallock.
FranData reports that Budget Blinds is unique among franchise
organizations. Of the 1,500 franchise
organizations in operation, only 30 of them have national advertising funds in
excess of $10 Million. Further, Budget
Blinds is among the less than one percent of franchise companies that
contribute corporate dollars to its national advertising activities.
Already the company has developed programs that make it a
desirable opportunity, like a Vendor Alliance with over 70 participating partners,
preferred pricing, two private label product lines, an exclusive
no-questions-asked customer assurance guarantee program, and free upgrades.
Recently, Budget Blinds re-launched its National Key Accounts
program, which provides local franchisees access to larger commercial jobs they
may have been excluded from if they’d been a small local independent window
treatment provider. Scott Spielberger,
the Budget Blinds franchisee serving Memphis, Tenn., recently completed a
corporate project valued at approximately $200,000.
“Being a recognized brand makes us a desirable partner,” said
Hallock. “Corporately, we’re able to secure a broader group of products at
volume prices than a local independent operator could on his or her own. That,
coupled with the fact that Scott is just a phenomenal franchisee was critical
to completing that landmark project.”
Budget Blinds is actively seeking franchisees in the United States
and Canada. Interested parties are encouraged to contact Budget Blinds to learn
more about the franchise opportunity.
“It’s exciting to help people realize their dreams of owning and operating
their very own local small business, but it also comes with a tremendous sense
of responsibility to give folks every opportunity to do well,” said Hallock.
QUICK
FACTS:
·
Budget Blinds celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2012.
·
Budget Blinds Franchise and Territory Fee is $74,950.
·
The total investment range is $89,240 to $174,070.
·
Budget Blinds is a home-based franchise opportunity
·
Budget Blinds franchisees enjoy low overhead.
·
Budget Blinds franchises require no inventory.
·
Desirable, exclusive territories are available in the U.S. and
Canada.
About
BUDGET BLINDS, Inc. and Home Franchise Concepts
Based
in Orange, California, Budget Blinds, Inc. was founded in 1992 and currently
boasts over 800 franchise territories serving nearly 4,000 cities throughout
the United States and Canada. In 2006, the founders of Budget Blinds, Inc.
created Home Franchise Concepts to be the parent company to Budget Blinds and
its sister concepts. As consumer demand for its quality, convenient services
continues to grow, Budget Blinds is on its way to dominating the multi-billion
dollar window covering market. Budget Blinds has been recognized as a
leader in the franchise industry by organizations such as Entrepreneur, AllBusiness.com, Canadian Franchise
Association, Inc. and Franchise Business Review. For more information on
Budget Blinds please visit www.budgetblinds.com
or our press room at www.budgetblinds.com/pressroom
or call 1-800-519-6298. Learn even more
by liking us on Facebook www.facebook.com/budgetblinds
or follow us on Twitter @BudgetBlinds.
#
# #
Budget Blinds Founders in 1992 and in 2011.
Top Row, L to R: Brent Hallock, Chad Hallock, and Tony Forbes
Bottom Row, L to R: Todd Jackson and David Lewis
Budget Blinds Founders, 2011: L to R: Todd Jackson, David Lewis, Brent Hallock, Tony Forbes, and Chad Hallock.