If you're interested in starting your own franchise, you might want to learn more about Merry Maids franchises. Merry Maids is a cleaning company that provides services to homes, apartments and businesses. From scrubbing floors to cleaning grout, Merry Maids offers housekeeping services to those in need of help. Two Merry Maids staff members are sent to clean each home/business at a time as a team. If you are considering opening your own Merry Maids franchise, you'll need to do some research. You'll want to find out all you can about the franchise itself and the overall history of Merry Maids. How successful have franchises been over time? How much time and money will you need to invest to become a Merry Maids franchise owner? Read on for more information on how to open a Merry Maids franchise.

Merry Maids is among the largest home cleaning franchises in the world. Each Merry Maids franchise is owned locally, and the company puts certain provisions in place to ensure that each of its franchise owners has a set territory without competition from another owner.http://www.merrymaids.com/franchise/support.php Merry Maids offers detailed information about its franchise operations on its official website, including general company information and details about support and training provided to franchise owners.http://www.merrymaids.com/franchise/request.php

Merry Maids was established in 1979 in Omaha, Nebraska, by Dallen Patterson. The Patterson family franchised Merry Maids quickly and the company continued to grow. In the late 1980s, Merry Maids was acquired by ServiceMaster and its headquarters were moved to Memphis, Tennessee. Today, Merry Maids franchises are located in more than 600 cities throughout the United States and Canada. Merry Maids operations can also be found globally - services are available in Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, South Korea and Malaysia.http://www.merrymaids.com/company/ Merry Maids continues to expand and is seeking new franchises both in the U.S. and worldwide. Interested potential franchise owners can sign up to receive information about Merry Maids' franchises online from the official Merry Maids website.http://www.merrymaids.com/franchise/request.php

Merry Maids franchises have been ranked consistently among the most successful franchises by Entrepreneur magazine. In 2010, Entrepreneur listed Merry Maids 38th on it's annual Franchise 500 rankings list. Merry Maids has been ranked in the top 100 for several years previously. Entrepreneur also ranked Merry Maids number 32 among America's Top Global Franchises. In addition, the magazine lists Merry Maids at number 11 among it's list of low cost franchises.http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/merrymaids/282578-0.html

In order to establish whether you want to pursue starting your own Merry Maids franchise, you'll want to learn as much as possible about specific franchise requirements. Start by requesting this information directly from Merry Maids - you'll be sent a packet outlining details of Merry Maids franchises, including requirements for potential owners.

Merry Maids offers detailed training for all its franchise owners. You'll spend approximately eight days training at the company's headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee, and possibly at your own franchise location. This training will help to prepare you to become a successful Merry Maids franchise owner by teaching you about business management, budgeting and marketing.http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/merrymaids/282578-0.html Along with general business management skills (you'll need to know how to effectively manage your team of housekeepers), you must also meet specific financial requirements in order to become a Merry Maids franchise owner.

• Franchise fees: The franchise fee for new Merry Maids franchise owners is between $21,000 and $31,000.http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/merrymaids/282578-0.html This fee also includes cleaning supplies and equipment for two Merry Maids cleaning teams.http://www.merrymaids.com/franchise/supplies.php

• According to Entrepreneur magazine, Merry Maids franchise owners must have a minimum net worth of between $33,500 and $50,000, in order to open a business.http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/merrymaids/282578-0.html

• The cash liquidity requirement for Merry Maids franchise owners ranges from between $29,700 to $44,300.http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/merrymaids/282578-0.html

• Agreement terms: All Merry Maids franchise owners will be required to sign a five year, renewable term of agreement with the company. The royalty fee ranges from between five to seven percent.http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/merrymaids/282578-0.html

If you wish to pursue ownership of a Merry Maids franchise, you'll need to be certain you have the money to make the initial investment and to sustain the business as you get it off the ground. If you're not sure that you have the capital to invest, you will want to pursue financing. Merry Maids offers in-house financing to franchisees that can help to cover the costs of the franchise fee, equipment and inventory. The company does not offer third party financing.

There are other financing alternatives that may be available to you as a Merry Maids franchisee. You can pursue securing a personal loan, either from a lending institution (banks) or from friends or family members. You can also pursue angel investors to secure the money you need to make your investment in a Merry Maids franchise. Another alternative is to research and possibly apply for one of many guaranteed loan programs that may be offered through the Small Business Administration.http://www.sba.gov/financialassistance/borrowers/guaranteed/index.html

The content in this page is not a substitute for professional financial advice. Please contact a finance professional before using the information presented here.