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Find a mobile business at the Sydney expo

Sarah Stowe

Are you looking to invest in a mobile franchise business? The freedom from a premises-based business, being out and about on a daily basis, using technical skills and a lower investment level can boost the appeal of a mobile system for franchise buyers.

Once you’ve selected some key brands to consider, it’s important to be ask the right questions about the business before you buy and essential to understand how you will manage the cashflow

Here are four very different business models trading in diverse sectors in the mobile arena, showcasing their offers:

Xpresso Coffee

Australia’s multi-billion dollar love affair with espresso coffee shows no sign of slowing. The only difference is the move towards quality coffee. Australians are increasingly becoming knowledgeable about espresso coffee and now have very high expectations. That said, it’s incredible how many businesses still get it wrong.

Xpresso uses premium specialty coffee – Di Bella Coffee – sourced directly from farmers through the Crop to Cup direct trade green bean buying programme. The program enables the company to make significant contributions to coffee farming communities through employment, healthcare and education. To continue the theme of ethical business, it only uses biodegradable BioCups which help to offset carbon emissions. Franchisees are encouraged to make wholesale food arrangements with their local suppliers so that they make a better margin on food items sold rather than the franchisor.

The turnkey cost is $119,500 + GST. This includes regular customers as well as the ‘fast track’ program which guarantees an income during the initial launch period. 

Snap-On Tools

Snap-on provides mechanics, engineers and technicians with a high quality range of products and services. Snap-on offers more than 19,000 products to customers, including tooling, tool storage, software, shop equipment and other solutions for vehicle dealerships and repair centres.

The global business invests $50 million in R&D, has more than 19,000 products in the range, works with more than 4,500 franchisees worldwide and offers a finance program.

Franchisee Rod Brown says “It’s been fantastic. I should have done it earlier; I love the product and I’m passionate about it. That’s what got me over the line.”

Investment is from $37,000 to $304,000.

Express Business Group

Express Business Group offers franchises ranging from home and maintenance services, professional services all the way through to wellness and self-development services. Each of the divisions has all business and on the job training provided to ensure the franchisee is fully equipped to run their own business. 

There is no lead fee charged to franchisees who benefit from national advertising campaigns which include shopping centre promotions, TV and radio advertising and print campaigns. 

Our franchise prices start from just $5,950 + GST and majority of our services cost less than $10,000. This includes all training, equipment, marketing materials, operations manuals, a personalised marketing campaign and ongoing support from our head office business coaches. 

Appliance Tagging Services

The workplace health and safety (WHS) sector is amongst the highest growth sectors of business to business services in Australia. Appliance Tagging Services electrical safety and fire protection services are governed by both WHS legislation and Australian Standards.

Sarah Allen, general manager, says “Our proprietary systems and testing technology enable ATS franchisees to provide the most comprehensive and efficient testing service in Australia. A significant level of national contract work servicing major networks is offered to our franchisees.

“A highly user friendly online portal is available for ATS clients and franchisees. Scheduling, invoicing and data management support is provided to franchisees with one-on-one, field sales support for franchisees and territories over 10 times larger than many other test and tag franchise systems.

ATS franchisees Megan and Ken Black from Canberra say that the administration support provided by ATS was a major factor that attracted them to the system.  

“Being new to business we were looking for the support of a franchise system. With the professional team at ATS head office managing client reporting and billing, as well as national tendering for the franchise network, we can focus on providing the very best face-to-face experience in our community. 

“We believe that is what will set us apart from our competition.”

The turnkey cost is $47,000 + GST. In addition, a franchisee needs to purchase a suitable vehicle which normally costs from $18,000 to $35,000 + GST.

  • You can find these franchises alongside a diverse range of brands showcasing their franchise or licensed systems exhibiting at the Sydney Franchising & Business Opportunities Expo. The show is on 10am-5pm Friday 27 March – Sunday 29 March 2015 at the Royal Hall of Industries at Moore Park. You can pre-register at franchisingexpo.com.au for a discounted entry fee.