98 Canadian Franchise Association http://www.cfa.ca | http://www.LookforaFranchise.ca
Another unique benefit of the Black Bear Trades con-
cept is agility when dealing with any issues on site: “If
an issue arises, all the necessary trades are there,” Wark
notes. For example, if a Black Bear client calls because
they’ve got a hole in a wall, then all the necessary trades
for the job are coordinated by Black Bear. The hub con-
cept offers a one-stop-shop for builders and developers,
whether they’re at the outset of a project or in need of
renovations and repairs.
Hands-on franchisees
Every prospective franchisee needs to have a trades
background – Black Bear Trades is looking to build its
brand with those who know building best. Franchising is
an opportunity that many people in the trades may not
know they have, and Black Bear aims to change that. “I
can see how the trades are reacting, and how it’s working
for them,” Wark says, noting that the positive response
to Black Bear’s concept has been even more enthusiastic
among the trades than he thought it would be.
Since tradespeople aren’t necessarily thinking of fran-
chising when they think of expanding their services or
business, Wark is hoping that the growing reputation and
visibility of Black Bear Trades will bring those tradespeo-
ple to franchise shows. Black Bear is looking for franchi-
sees who can do the work the company is built on, rather
than investors per se. Potential franchisees look to benefit
from the support of a franchise, without the overhead.
Since Black Bear Trades is not looking for people to be
solely financiers, it may be surprising that their potential
franchisees don’t necessarily need the start-up capital
often associated with becoming a franchisee. The start-
up capital range begins at zero – since all Black Bear’s
tradespeople are required to be professionally practic-
ing trades, many of them already have all the equipment
they’d need as a franchisee. (This has been the case with
all of Black Bear’s franchisees to date.)
It’s important to Black Bear that its potential franchi-
sees be able to continue working, keeping their trades
sharp, while becoming a part of the franchise. “Right
now, we’ve got a one-week course that we do in-house,
but we’re looking to turn it into a six-week course that
runs three hours a day instead,” explains Wark.Strong foundations
Black Bear has set up master franchises to best support
each of its seven current franchises. Within that struc-
ture, each franchise has its own head for each individualEMERGING SYSTEM
BECOME A FRANCHISE OWNER TODAYNO AUTO EXPERIENCE
REQUIRED
$100M IN FLEET WORK
TO SHOPS
$1,287,448 AVERAGE
SALES*
RECESSION RESISTANT
BUSINESS
GREAT HOURS, M-F43+ YEARS
EXPERIENCE[email protected]704-858-0729
Reliable. Iconic. Proven.*Please see item 19 of our FDD for further details