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Testimonial From a Franchisee

My name is Corey Holmyard. I am the owner of the Ottawa territory of Sell My Stuff Canada, and I was the first to purchase a Sell My Stuff franchise. My experience has been nothing but positive from day one. Of course we were faced with the usual growing pains of opening a new business in a market that was largely unaware of our industry’s service sector, but with the in-depth direction provided from our enthusiastic franchisor, we were equipped with the skill-set required to immediately open our doors for business. In fact in hindsight, it was perhaps even more important that head office had extensively educated us on what not to do; the long list of pitfalls, that we would have encountered had we ventured out on our own, have all been keenly avoided through the years, and as a result our healthy growth-curve has exceeded expectations.

To address the nuts and bolts of the franchise arrangement: franchise fees and royalties are reasonable, company communication is excellent, and general website admin/SEO is appropriately handled by head office. Each location is given a 90% free-hand to operate how it best sees fit, and the only times we have encountered interference from our franchisor has come from a reasonable stand-point and been in our best interest. Our fellow franchisees are wonderful people, and are very willing to collaborate with one-another to achieve common goals; when one of us has a problem, we all band together in an effort to overcome it, and everybody learns from the experience. The job itself is fun! I spend half of my work-week at a clients’ home, encountering new environments/circumstances, and the other half of my work-week is spent either networking or in the comfort of my home answering phone calls and fulfilling my back-end responsibilities. Accounts receivable is not a concern within our business-model, and this fact may often be overlooked by anyone who has not spent years chasing after delinquent accounts in a previous life; we are paid on the spot, and every new project has a one-week turnover. The business is relatively seasonal, however as we currently enter season 4 of our franchise life-cycle, we have reached the point where the Winter months bring in enough revenue to break-even, but the vast remainder of the year is so busy we are looking to expand.

As for the warning section of my franchisee review, I honestly have nothing out-of-the-ordinary to report. My business partner and I were experienced businessmen when we began our Sell My Stuff venture, but if you are not it would be a good idea to take a course in basic business management before undertaking the role of a franchisee. Although the in-home estate sale business model is relatively simple and easy to manage, please be aware that head office provides its franchisees direction regarding critical operations. Although marketing, risk-management, and top-to-bottom procedures are addressed, aspects such as accounting, government reporting and HR practices are not. In my opinion however, these skills should be a prerequisite for any person entering a business ownership role. As well, it would be foolish to expect to make enough money to fully support yourself within the first few years. Once again as with any new business venture, a small pool of savings will be required, and it will take time to raise awareness, grow your location, and grow your take-home income to personal sustainability. However, once you get to the point where your Sell My Stuff responsibilities become a full-time job (and it will happen), ample monetary reimbursement becomes a regular occurrence and the financial potential of the venture will become happily apparent.

My brother-in-law asked me this past weekend, whether or not I would have bought into the franchise if I could teleport back to early 2012 and advise my past-self… the answer was a resounding yes! Not only do my business partner and I now operate a successful business in this turbulent economic environment, but I can honestly say that I feel empowered as a professional and deeply satisfied by our progress-to-date. I enjoy waking up to challenge every working day, and I take personal pride in every stride we take towards improvement (be it a new big sale signing, a successful meeting, or something as simple as an eloquent social media post). If you have a drive to succeed, and are willing to put forth the effort to achieve success, then Sell My Stuff Canada has the equation for your future.