Showhomes Strikes a Balance Between Low Costs, Scalability

“Becoming a Showhomes franchisee starts at under $50,000,” said Showhomes COO Matt Kelton. “It’s definitely a lower-cost opportunity.”

He went on to explain just how Showhomes is able to provide franchisees with such a low financial barrier to entry. Chief among them is that Showhomes is a home-based business.

“You don’t need a retail storefront or an office,” Kelton said. “You need very minimal inventory to get started. Our franchisees need some basic infrastructure – things like computers and phones. But most people have that stuff already.”

However, the fact that Showhomes represents a low-cost franchise opportunity is far from the only reason people are drawn to it.

“It’s a business where you can use the creative side of your brain,” Kelton continued. “It appeals to people leaving corporate America. And you can create a very nice lifestyle – most of our work is done during the week, from nine to five.”

What’s more, the business model is designed to scale along with franchisees.

Showhomes has seen huge sales growth in recent months, and it’s attributed to the brand’s expansion into different revenue streams. Franchisees benefit from this diversification, giving them the opportunity to tap into revenue from services beyond home staging, such as home makeovers for occupied homes that are for sale and home update remodeling.

“We’re looking for people who want to grow their business,” Kelton said. “Some people, all they want to do is decorate houses. That’s great, but we’re looking for people who want to scale into an actual business that will bring in revenue from multiple sources.”

The brand supports this by offering a comprehensive training program, which includes certification processes. Franchisees can receive their training and start their home-based businesses with relatively inexpensive initial costs and the potential to immediately start growing.

Eventually, Showhomes franchisees will need to add team members, whether full-time or part-time, Kelton said.

“This isn’t like getting a staging certification for fun - we want people who will be putting a team together over time,” he said. “After a while, you’ll be managing several different teams overseeing different aspects of the business.”

In this way, franchisees are able to grow their new businesses at their own pace, scaling up and tapping into new revenue streams as they go. It’s this business model that has helped Showhomes become the premier home staging service across America, and is positioning the brand for even more significant growth in the future.

“The past year was one of the best in our almost 30-year history,” Kelton said. “And 2015 is shaping up to be even better.”

With the brand helping franchisees grow through new revenue streams, it’s a trend that’s likely to continue in the years ahead.