Schooley Mitchell, the largest independent cost-reduction consulting firm in the U.S. and Canada, offers a network of franchised consulting specialists who can provide expense-reduction services to any business. By Cindy Charette
Schooley Mitchell, the largest independent cost-reduction consulting firm in the U.S. and Canada, offers a network of franchised consulting specialists who can provide expense-reduction services to any business. In addition to having a low cost of entry, Schooley Mitchell’s business model offers many benefits for franchisees, such as being both home-based and mobile.
According to Founder Dennis Schooley, a home-based business has a lot of advantages, while being mobile offers others. “A lot of franchises might have home-based businesses, but that doesn’t mean they are completely mobile,” he said.
Schooley Mitchell’s franchisees are mobile in that they don’t have territories. “Our franchisees can get clients anywhere, which makes their business completely mobile in the sense of how they develop, but it’s also completely mobile in terms of where they can move to,” Schooley said.
Also, franchisees can meet with clients in person, virtually or both. While many businesses were shut down during the pandemic, Schooley and his team quickly created a way to meet with clients virtually, which kept franchisees going strong. “We got very good at virtual two days after the pandemic hit,” he said. Now, most franchisees have virtual and in-person meetings.
Schooley explained that his brand considers everything about the franchisee experience, including the need for an exit strategy. In the case of Schooley Mitchell franchisees, whoever buys their business can be located anywhere in the U.S. and Canada, adding to Schooley Mitchell’s mobility factor. Also, if a franchisee wants to move their business or family to a different part of the country, they can do so and keep their business with Schooley Mitchell. “We have a unique model here,” Schooley said. “We have a unique set of characteristics.”
The home-based business requires no overhead, for example. A franchisee only needs a cell phone, a scanner and printer, and a computer. “There’s no inventory, no equipment, no vehicles, no leasehold improvements – all of those things that really eat away at a business’s profits. They don’t exist with us,” Schooley said.
With a research department always looking for opportunities for clients to save more money, which increases earnings for the franchisee, Schooley Mitchell continues to grow. It recently added five cost-management categories for a total of 12, with opportunities for adding more in the future.
Categories now include telecommunications, waste disposal, merchant processing, utilities, fleet fuel, electronic logging devices, shipping, eSignature, Software as a Service (SaaS), Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), uniforms and linens and factory supplies.
To help franchisees, the corporate team reviews every client’s business expenses in the applicable categories and matches them against Schooley Mitchell’s databases to identify areas where costs can be reduced. The franchisee then negotiates with service providers to secure reduced costs on their client’s behalf. The franchisee is paid a fee only from a portion of savings realized.
Schooley Mitchell clients love this no-risk business model, and franchisees feel good about ensuring their clients are getting the best business services and prices by identifying billing errors, eliminating redundancies and improving efficiency for their clients.
Cindy Charette