Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to be an electrician or fire technician? 

A short answer is yes, you will need to be an electrician or a highly skilled Fire Technician/ Fire Trades person. To ensure a high level of success in this business, we require industry experience. This ensures you have the required skill sets needed in the field and ensures you can deliver the high level of service our clients deserve. Ensuring we have skilled operators, technicians, franchisees, business owners in each area.?Due to the knowledge required to become a certifier we are here to help you in technical issues and business.

Can I merge my current business into FCF? 

Short answer is Yes and FCF can assist you in helping make that decision is the right choice for you. We have helped successful businesses re-brand and the benefits. FCF has also helped one man bands that need assistance asap as capital is running out. Let us know what you require help with and lets see if we can help you.

I want to sell my electrical contracting business to FCF, would you buy my electrical contracting business? 

FCF has done many acquisitions and if you’re looking to retire, we would like to help you achieve your financial exit goal from the electrical contracting business. Some options maybe a walk-in walk out option and others are a let’s work together to achieve the sales figure you’re looking to reach for your electrical contracting business.  

Electrical contracting businesses can be hard to sell especially since the future of the electrical industry looks to be a greater number of electrical contractors running smaller teams and providing a high service level to a smaller group of clients. Ultimately to gain the best sale price for your electrical contracting business, FCF would like the business to be a self-managed level. This is also the electrical contracting business level which provides the highest returns, to the existing owner. 

Can I get help from a technical point if a tricky situation arises?? 

Our team has multiple electricians, certifiers, designers, and overall experts in each field that FCF operates in. With the overall technical experience in the group exceeding 100 years, we are here to support each other.?The business also trains 10 times a year in a group setting (normally the third week of each month minus December and January), these sessions are interactive.  

Is the work only supplied by the FCF Support Office? 

Work is gained via both the Support Office and the Franchisee. With our in-house Estimator and Key Accounts Manger working on State and National Contracts/Tenders, they can also assist in local tenders/quotes. The Franchisee will market in their local area, to help build a strong brand in the area.? 

What happens if my marketing plan isn’t working in my area?? 

After many years of experience FCF typically implements different marketing plans and strategies in regional businesses and the metro businesses. We use dedicated SEO, marketing, and media teams and at any point we can adjust your marketing plan to suit the market or type of work. An example of this was demonstrated during Covid, where we were able to adjust our marketing plans and strategies quickly to ensure the new franchisees gained work.

The territory that I purchase, how is it operated? 

FCF offers an exclusive Marketing Territory which only you can actively market in, with additional input/ support from the National Support Office online marketing. You will be able to offer services which match your skill sets and we have the ability to bring experts to you, who have the licenses and skills to service other equipment that you do not hold the licenses for to ensure to you are meeting all of the client’s needs.? 

The Marketing Territory is further explained in the franchise agreement and a brief explanation is that the territory is exclusive meaning no one can sell it without your approval and no one can market in your territory. If a client has multiple locations and only requests you to do the work, we do have a process to allow you to work in another’s area and them to do the same.

If something out of my control occurs, like a family member is ill, what happens? 

FCF is a family-first focused business, and we do our best to provide the support and assistance you need. Life has ups and downs which require the business to adjust. We are here to help.? Other franchisees can also assist as we have legislation time frames that must be followed. As a team we can navigate the event together.

Can I have employees? 

We encourage you to hire employees to help your business grow. Adding employees also allows for a better service level for clients. The FCF Team has guides set up to support you in conducting interviews, onboarding new staff and managing employees KPI’s.?Using the same HR Profiling that you will be required to complete we use a similar target range for employees to reduce the hiring damage of an employee that isn’t the right fit for you or your team.

Can I grow the business into a bigger business if I choose to? 

FCF offers two options of growth, which includes purchasing additional territories, or upskilling to run a bigger business adding additional services, with your own administration, accounts, and management team.? 

Before we offer the second offering in the franchise structure, the Franchise needs to be demonstrating growth in the business and the Franchisee needs to demonstrate their understanding of their business.? 

In some cases, FCF business owners change their plans and decide to stay as one man in a van. This can be for various reasons, and one is called earning capacity. This is when you earn more than enough and don’t want to employ staff or prefer the one-on-one client relationships. FCF has the option for both and the preference is yours. 

How do I gain extra skills to complete more work?? 

Working with training organizations has allowed many FCF team members to grow their personal skillset and be state or nationally recognized. You also learn from the other Franchisees.? FCF also runs regular training to improve your knowledge and keep you up to date with the legislation. The Fire and Electrical industry require improvement in skill sets as new products come to the market or industry standards change.? 

Why does the FCF Opportunity have a lower initial outlay than other offers?

Setting up a business is costly, and each franchise system will have different costs, relevant to the required skills and activities required.? FCF focuses on our costs and offer the lowest entry point that we can for you to start in a FCF Franchise.?Our goal isn’t to make as much as we can out of you in business, our aim is to work together to form an unstoppable team. This wouldn’t be possible if you didn’t get a responsible start in business.

How long are typical terms for the FCF Franchise? 

Our standard terms are 5 plus 5 years. However, we have a very successful Franchisee, that after completing their first term, has now opted for a 25 year term.?The franchise agreement can be exited if you would like to sell earlier than a 5 year term. To gain the best results for you we recommend setting up a position of sale with the business team to ensure your best possible return.  

After the first term, can I sell the business? 

The business can be sold at any point. For the best results in a successful sale, we recommend that the business have at least three years of 20% growth, good profits, and growing clients. At the beginning many businesses invest in their growth by adding employees.?

How long from when I enquire will I be able to start? 

In our experience in following the Franchise Code of Conduct the process takes roughly three months to start the business. 

Which location is training completed at and how long will I need? 

Training is held in our Support Office at Hervey Bay Queensland and is dependent on the franchise model. Our starting model is 5 days as the FCF office completes majority of the administrative parts. A full franchise with all aspects is normally 2 weeks with additional time required after start date. This is dependant on current skill level and how quickly your able to pick up the processes. In the event you’re here for a weekend, we have lovely Fraser Island next door to spend the weekend.  

My Question isn’t listed here, can I ask someone? 

You are more than welcome to fill out the contact us form with your question, so that we can assist.?Typically, our General Manger or CEO will jump on a call with you to assist with questions.