I bought in because they said they had no failures (!) I got a copy of the list of owners from Signworld in January of and called them up that year. Turns out, the shops that "opened" in 2003 were nearly all existing, established sign shops that Signworld talked into "joining" to improve their numbers! For example, one 2003 "new shop" had actually opened in 1997!! About a THIRD of the shops on the list are now CLOSED. Gone. Yet Signworld says they have no failures. Can you believe that???! You can verify this yourself: I will add the link as an image, to this report, for the txt file of the owners, complete with name, address, phone numbers, etc. It is the attached image, so simply right-click and save, and you can type that address into your browser and see the list anytime.
Perhaps as bad as the "No Rules, No Morals" attitude of the founder, who works from home, has no regular full-time employees (contracts a tech center in California to keep the owners happy) - is the broker that sold me this "opportunity." Frannet must not have any standards whatsoever. They earn a big, fat commission check, and the guy was my very best friend. Until I reported to him that my "training" was horrible, then he wouldn't return my calls. (Their "entrepreneurial aptitude test is BS - designed to hook you in). Ken Kindt, Signworld founder, won't know you from Adam after he has your money. I had to borrow four times after I opened, because he said I wouldn't need more than $15K working capital— all that I had.
He also said it doesn't matter where I open, and that I could be anywhere - not true. I had to move from a hidden site to be visible, and then did better. Ken told me that "he could do $100K net profit whether he operated out of his home, his garage, an industrial location, or a shopping center."
IN HIS DREAMS. Is a Fortune 1000 company going to come to your garage to order signs??!! Are your retail bread and butter accounts going to drive around hunting for you? BUT, everything I learned, I got from the other owners. Signworld did not even teach us about ADA signage - which is required by law in every state! We got three manuals, which were just like the ones you can buy on the web for a small fee.
BTW, Ken Kindt told me that "I will not allow you to leave the island until you get every bit of training that you need." HAH! I concur with others, he is a silver-tongued devil.
Used to be I might call someone to call for support, but Signworld keeps adding and subtracting contractors. The rent-a-tech place is fine for equipment, but what about marketing and education programs for sales and sales people? If you are looking for a way into the sign business, do your homework, get some real support and training. Check out the trade associations and trade magazines for organizations that can give you a start, that actually have employees who know the sign industry and can help you whenever you need it. Talk to some of the industry leaders like Mark Roberts or Mark Rugen. You will need some help because it is a complex and changing business. I have my shop, but have nothing to do with the people who used my money to put in a pool.
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