Franchisor sees fertile ground, seeks to expand its turf in CT

The grass and shrubs are not the only things taking root in Connecticut this spring. A professional lawn care company is planning to expand its turf in the Greater Hartford area by opening a third franchise in the region sometime this year and as many as 19 across the state over the next five years.

Lawn Doctor Inc., founded in 1967, offers grass, tree and shrub fertilization, weed control and pest management services across 40 states and Puerto Rico.

Scott Frith, vice president of marketing and franchise development, said the Holmdel, N.J.,-based company, which has 460 franchises in operation, has not signed any new agreements in Connecticut yet.

Franchisee David Hof operates the two Lawn Doctor businesses in Connecticut. He invested in the Manchester franchise in 1993 and later secured the territory rights for Avon.

Now the company wants to branch out and since December, Lawn Doctor has received 34 inquires about franchise development in Connecticut, according to Frith.

He says the demand for affordable, all-season lawn care services combined with the company’s revamped business model and investor support system will continue to fuel franchise inquires as the economy recovers.

Tighter credit standards have made it tough for franchisors like Lawn Doctor to grow in recent years.

Business loans are difficult to access, with many banks requiring borrowers to pony up 30 to 40 percent compared to only 20 percent a few years ago, according to Darrell Johnson, president and CEO of FRANdata, an Arlington, V.A.,-based independent research company that tracks and analyzes the franchise industry.

To attract investors, Lawn Doctor made its franchise system more affordable by offering incentives and in-house financing. Minority and veteran business owners receive half off the $25,000 franchise fee and qualified start-ups are eligible to borrow 50 percent of the $80,000 buy-in cost.

Lawn Doctor opened 20 new locations and grew its customer base by 17 percent in 2010, Frith said; so far this year, the company has signed seven new franchise agreements and anticipates growing its customer base another 7 percent.

By comparison, national rival TruGreen, a division of ServiceMaster and a 260-unit chain of lawn care businesses headquartered in Memphis, secured 15 franchise agreements in 2010; Scott’s Lawn Care, an 84-unit franchisor in Ohio, added five units.

The market for professional landscaping is estimated at $29.8 billion.

For Hof, 54, the appeal of a franchise business was immediate. He explained that he owned a landscaping firm in New York until the 1980s recession crippled sales and put him out of business. After Hof and his family moved to Connecticut in the early 1990s, he decided to take another shot at business ownership and invested in a Lawn Doctor’s turnkey system, which included proprietary software to manage accounts.

“When you invest in a business like Lawn Doctor, you’re getting a national brand name that people recognize, group support and buying power,” he said.

“I get calls all the time from new customers who tell me they’ve just moved to the area,” said Hof. “They had Lawn Doctor back home and they were happy with the service and now they want it here.”

Hof declined to provide revenue figures or disclose how many customers his business serves. But Frith said an average franchisee in the New England market generates around $393,000 in sales annually. The largest franchisee in the northeast region reports sales over $2.3 million.

The company targets areas with high-income households that earn an average of $75,000 a year.

Each Lawn Doctor typically operates as home-based businesses and use a branded vehicle outfitted with the company’s signature green thumb logo and supplies. Each territory consists of 10,000 homes.

“We model our current customers and project this model into markets we wish to expand in to ensure there is ample demand and existing brand presence, so when a new franchise opens, the credibility is already there,” said Frith.

“We look at whether we have personnel on the ground to support franchises we would open,” said Frith. “We also look at the number of available territories and decide if we can ultimately dominate a market with several locations.”

Lawn Doctor Inc. Contact: Scott Frith, vice president of marketing and franchise development Address: Holmdel, New Jersey Phone: 866-529-6362 Website: http://www.lawndoctorfranchise.com Founded: 1967 2010 Revenue: $86 million Total Investment: $80,000 Franchisee Fee: $25,000 Working Capital: $15,000 Required Net Worth: $125,000 Terms: 20 years, renewable In-House Financing Available: Yes Training and Support: Two weeks at company headquarters, followed by periodic site visits and quarterly regional sales meetings Vet and Minority Discount Available: $12,500 SOURCE: Lawn Doctor Inc.