Subway is one of the largest franchise systems in the world (45,000 locations), so it's no surprise that people that are interested in our franchise would also consider opening a Subway. But, since Subway is widely considered one of the worst franchises to open, the prospect of actually losing a potential franchisee to them had never truly been considered. That was until we got the news that someone (Daniel - North Carolina) that had gotten fairly far into the process of becoming an Honest Abe Roofing franchisee had decided to go with Subway instead.
We were shocked! Subway, really? Talk about a punch to the gut! That "wake up call" got us thinking - if this could happen once, it could happen again. We took it personally (as you should all do when you lose a prospect). We failed to show Daniel the value in our system. That is why we are writing this article. This should shed some light on the differences between our two franchises.
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The Numbers
Startup costs for both Honest Abe Roofing and Subway are relatively low. You will be investing around $150,000 to open your Subway and $98,000 to open your Honest Abe Roofing. Again, both numbers are low when compared to the $2.2 million it will cost to open a McDonald's franchise. Royalty fees are similar with both companies - 7% for HAR and 8% for Subway. Potential annual revenues are where the major differences are.
Since there is no Item 19 financial performance representation on the Subway F.D.D. we had to do some digging. According to Business Insider (https://www.businessinsider.com/what-it-costs-to-open-a-subway-2015-3
), the average Subway franchise does $422,000 in gross sales annually. Compare that to the $8.1 million that Honest Abe Roofing reports in Item 19 of their F.D.D. and you have a clear winner!
Lifestyle Differences
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Subway
- You will be working 7 days a week, making sandwiches, sweeping floors, ordering inventory, managing employees, etc. If that's your idea of success, then by all means, contact Subway and get the process started. Or, better yet, you can stop by your local Subway and apply to be a "sandwich artist".
See quote below from real Subway franchisee taken from http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/subway-franchise-complaints/