FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Patio Patrol's franchise fee starts at $20,000 for a Hometown Territory (17,000 Qualified Households) and $35,000 for a standard territory (35,000 Qualified Households). This includes the price of one territory. We offer discounts for military veterans and special incentives if you're already in the mosquito/tick control business and want to convert to a Patio Patrol franchise. Inquire to learn more!

Patio Patrol's royalty fee is seven percent (7%) of gross sales. Imagine the savings in comparison to the typical flat ten percent (10%) royalty fee charged by a few other mosquito and tick control franchisors! Of course, these lower operating costs translate into greater profit for you. And, we only bill the royalty fee once per month vs. every week.

Patio Patrol charges a modest two percent (2%) national marketing fee that is directed towards local and national marketing programs.

The estimated initial investment for a Patio Patrol Franchise ranges from $74,545 - $169,545 and includes the franchise fee, working capital and more. See Item 7 in our Franchise Disclosure document for details on the total investment.

Patio Patrol has a dedicated staff of business coaches to support franchise owners. Our business coaches work with franchisees in a very personal way. There are no highly structured monthly calls. Business life just doesn't work like that. Sometimes you'll need to make a quick call out of the blue. Other times a text will suffice. There are times when you'll need a few hours to really discuss a situation. Business coaches are just that, coaches. They provide advice and are that second set of eyes to keep your business moving forward.

Patio Patrol has some of the most creative and effective marketing materials in the industry.

Patio Patrol allows you to manage most of your marketing needs through our exclusive intranet site and vendor network - it takes just minutes to send a direct mail piece to a demographically targeted list, place pre-printed inserts in your local newspaper or order marketing materials like magnets or car wraps.

We utilize dedicated, in-house experts to incorporate local search engine optimization (SEO) into our content marketing strategy to drive traffic to franchisees' local web pages so that their mosquito and tick control franchise will be visible in consumers' online searches. Patio Patrol is a leader in digital marketing including pay per click (PPC) management, directory management and other on-page and off-page strategies.

At Patio Patrol, franchisee training can start from the moment you sign the franchise agreement. In many cases, by the time someone signs a franchise agreement, they are well on their way to learning the ins and outs of the business.

Patio Patrol's initial franchisee training is broken down into 3 sections. The first section is all the training you'll do prior to the official "training week". The second section is the week of on-site training that you'll do at Patio Patrol headquarters. And the third section is post training and follow-up during your first few months in business.

Once the agreement is signed, you'll immediately be given access to our Intranet which serves as our collective knowledge base. You'll be assigned a personal training coach, who will guide you through the training process and initial business setup. There are usually 6-12 weeks from agreement signing to the training week. During that time you will get your truck(s) and equipment ready and attend workshops and training webinars to familiarize yourself with our software. The goal is to do as much training as we can before you come in for the on-site week.

Then comes the on-site week, which is, on-site here at our Boston headquarters. Training is a full week and usually runs 8a to 5p. You'll receive hands on training from our local technicians, you'll meet and work with a number of our support teams like our National Sales Center, Marketing and Operations departments, and you'll have many meals with the founders and other executives. This is not only your time to learn how to run a Patio Patrol but also a great time to connect and get to know each other.

After training you'll be ready to open your doors. Training doesn't stop there. Training is really a lifelong affair. Those first 90 days after a business are critical and we'll be there to help you every step of the way.

At Patio Patrol, we don't train more than two new owners at a time. Many Franchisors put 4, 5, 10 or more franchisees into the same training session. They'll have all the reasons why training in larger groups is beneficial. Some will have you watch videos while at their headquarters. Others you won't even have but a cursory 10 minute meeting with the Founders...and that's if they are even around anymore. We are personal at Patio Patrol. And we take that very seriously.

Patio Patrol's proprietary business management software is truly amazing. The cloud-based system is so simple to use that we can train you to use it in a day. You can access it from any computer. Want to use a Mac? Go ahead. Want to log in from an iPhone, iPad or Droid? Go ahead. With Patio Patrol's management system, there's no need to back up your software. There's no installing. There's no upgrading. And, there's no more hiring computer geeks to configure your office computer network.

We talk with each of our franchise candidates to select the available territory that will help meet their business goals. We will review detailed demographic data of the markets available in your area and, will work together to come up with the best territory for you.

The simple answer is "no". While we do update our Franchise Agreement annually, we don't make adjustments on an individual basis. We have some very good reasons not to do so. You see, many other franchisors will changes terms from one franchisee to another. Many do this in order to "sell" the franchisee. There are many problems with this. First, as a franchisor, we would have to manage different legal terms for every franchisee. Second, every franchisee would be wondering if they got the best deal. Franchisees would be asking each other what their royalty fee percentage is for example. Do you think that adds to franchisees getting along? It doesn't.

At Patio Patrol, we've put together a very fair agreement that we feel comfortable standing behind. We don't negotiate because it's best for everyone involved, not because we're hardheaded.

Patio Patrol offers every franchisee an extensive training program that consists of the right mix of at-home training along with hands-on and classroom training. After completion of this program you will feel confident opening the doors of your mosquito and tick control franchise. Our training and support doesn't stop there - you will be assigned to a dedicated coach to support your journey in business ownership from startup to maturity.

We are headquartered in Boston, MA. Being located in Boston, we have access to the most highly trained software developers and marketing experts in the country. Many of the country's top universities, including Harvard and MIT, are only blocks away from our office. This location means an extraordinary pool of talent and resources are available to us - all to better assist you.

Come visit us! Based upon our discussion, if we both feel you may be a good match for Patio Patrol, we will extend an invitation to tour our headquarters. You will meet the Patio Patrol team, see our facilities, preview our software and marketing materials, and get a first hand look at the Patio Patrol system.

This is an interesting question. While there is no single quality that determines success, there are a few qualities we've noticed over the years that certainly improve one's odds of being successful.

Here is a partial list...in no particular order.

• Successful Franchisees like people. They enjoy personal interaction and work well with others.
• Successful Franchisees speak clearly and confidently. They inspire trust and confidence.
  
• Successful Franchisees understand that technology is important. They are willing to invest in systems.
  
• Successful Franchisees are open to new ideas and spend time learning new concepts.
  
• Successful Franchisees have a vision for their business and what type of culture they want to create.
  
• Successful Franchisees are good with numbers and accounting doesn't scare them.
  
• Successful Franchisees love to be hospitable. Making customers happy is fun for them.
  
• Successful Franchisees can check the drama at the door. Life happens, but they can keep it out of the office.
  
• Successful Franchisees feel that they are lucky.
  
• Successful Franchisees are coachable. They understand even someone as talented as Tom Brady (ok we're in New England) has a coach.