Entering the world of franchise ownership means weighing opportunities across different industries. One option you might be considering is the Benjamin Moore, A Berkshire Hathaway Company franchise opportunity – essentially owning a Benjamin Moore paint retail store. Benjamin Moore is a legendary name in the paint industry, but how does running a paint store stack up against owning a commercial cleaning business franchise like Assett Franchise? In this in-depth review, we’ll explore the Benjamin Moore franchise (its background, benefits, and costs), compare the paint retail industry to the commercial cleaning industry, and show how Assett’s model offers unique advantages. The goal is an honest comparison that acknowledges Benjamin Moore’s strengths, but ultimately highlights why Assett’s commercial cleaning model can come out on top for long-term stability, scalability, and profitability.
What Is the Benjamin Moore Franchise Opportunity?
Company Overview and Industry
Benjamin Moore & Co. is one of North America’s oldest and most respected paint companies. Founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, NY, by Benjamin Moore and his brother, the company has over 140 years of history in manufacturing premium paint. In 2000, Benjamin Moore became part of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, adding even more stability to its legacy. Today, Benjamin Moore’s products are sold through a vast network of independent retailers – over 5,500 stores across the U.S. and beyond. These stores are typically family-run paint and hardware shops that exclusively carry Benjamin Moore’s paints and finishes.
Importantly, Benjamin Moore doesn’t operate like a typical franchise system – it’s actually a dealer model. Store owners are independent business owners who partner with Benjamin Moore but “are not part of a franchise”. That means no franchise fees or royalties to the company. Despite this distinction, the arrangement offers many of the hallmarks of franchising: you get to leverage a nationally recognized brand with 140+ years of expertise behind it, and you receive extensive support – but you retain more independence in daily operations than a typical franchisee. In essence, a Benjamin Moore dealership is a chance to run a local retail paint store under the umbrella of a premium, well-known brand.
The paint and coatings industry that Benjamin Moore inhabits is substantial and steady. The U.S. market for architectural paints and coatings is valued at tens of billions of dollars annually and grows consistently in the mid-single digits percent range. Paint is a product perpetually in demand – homeowners repaint rooms, contractors need paints for new construction and renovations, and property managers maintain buildings with fresh coatings. This ongoing need gives the industry a baseline of stability. Many consider the paint retail business to be relatively recession-resistant, since property upkeep can only be deferred for so long. In fact, one experienced Benjamin Moore store employee noted that if you can handle the high startup costs of opening a store, it can be “a good business that’s pretty recession proof,” with steady clientele and reliable demand. Being backed by Benjamin Moore’s reputation for quality also helps attract loyal customers – the brand is known for its high-end, durable paints and innovative color technology, which can set your store apart from generic paint outlets.
In summary, the Benjamin Moore opportunity places you in the retail home-improvement sector, specifically selling paints and finishes. You’d be aligning with a century-old industry leader, benefitting from Berkshire Hathaway’s rock-solid backing, and tapping into the ongoing demand for paint products. It’s a chance to run a community-oriented storefront where both DIY homeowners and professional painters come for premium paints.
What Franchisees Get
Although Benjamin Moore retailers aren’t “franchisees” in the legal sense, it’s fair to ask what an owner gets by partnering with this company. In short, you receive a blend of independence and support – often described as getting the “best of both worlds” of business ownership. Here’s what’s included when you join the Benjamin Moore network as a store owner:
- Product Line & Services: You’ll exclusively sell Benjamin Moore’s extensive line of premium paints, stains, and coatings, which cover everything from interior wall paint to exterior finishes. These products have a reputation for exceptional quality and eco-friendly innovation. Customers come to Benjamin Moore stores seeking top-tier paint and expert color advice. Many Benjamin Moore retailers also expand their services to include things like color consultations, design advice, and related products (wall coverings, painting tools, etc.) to enhance revenue. Your customer base will be a mix of residential DIY customers (homeowners updating their living spaces) and professional clients – especially local painting contractors and builders who need large quantities of paint. Benjamin Moore helps you hit the ground running with pros through its Contractor Rewards™ program, an exclusive system that connects you with painting contractors and incentivizes them to shop at your store. This built-in network of loyal painting professionals gives you a head start in capturing repeat B2B business from day one.
- Training & Ongoing Support: Benjamin Moore provides extensive training and resources to prepare new store owners for success. New dealers attend a training program (including a week-long educational seminar at Benjamin Moore’s New Jersey headquarters, as cited by one dealer) to learn all aspects of the business – product knowledge, retail operations, customer engagement, and how to manage inventory and point-of-sale systems. Beyond initial training, the company offers continuous learning and consultation: you get ongoing financial consulting to help with your store’s performance, regular training updates, and dedicated field support. For example, Benjamin Moore assigns local sales and support reps to assist with store layout, merchandising, and growth strategies. In the words of one multi-store owner, “Benjamin Moore stands ready to help you succeed. No constraints. No fees. No royalties.” – the support “goes way beyond our premium product”.
- Marketing & Brand Power: As part of this program, you tap into national brand advertising that Benjamin Moore conducts to drive consumer awareness. The company’s marketing (TV, online, magazine ads, etc.) helps keep the brand top-of-mind, and your store benefits from that exposure. Additionally, they provide local marketing support and guidance – helping you plan grand opening promotions, local advertising campaigns, and community outreach to get customers in the door. The brand itself is a major draw; homeowners and contractors often seek out Benjamin Moore paints specifically, so having that trusted name on your storefront gives you credibility instantly.
- Financial Incentives: One standout benefit of Benjamin Moore’s New Entrepreneur program is the financial assistance offered. The company will provide up to $242,000 in financial support during your first two years of operation. This is a significant boost to help with startup costs like initial inventory, store build-out, and working capital. It might come in forms such as extended credit terms on inventory, assistance with store fixtures, or co-op advertising funds. Essentially, Benjamin Moore invests alongside you to establish a strong foundation in those crucial early years. Moreover, you’ll have access to expert financial consulting to ensure you’re managing cash flow and margins effectively.
- Independence and Flexibility: Unlike a conventional franchise, as a Benjamin Moore dealer you have greater independent decision-making power in running your business day-to-day. You can retain your own store’s identity (many dealers give their store a unique name in addition to carrying the Benjamin Moore brand). You won’t be micro-managed by a franchisor on every detail, and you do not pay any royalties or franchise fees back to corporate. This means more of your profits stay in your business. Yet, you still benefit from a proven business model and support system much like a franchisee would. It’s a rare model where you get strong backing but “it’s your business, your decisions” as one description puts it.
Overall, a Benjamin Moore franchise (or more accurately, dealership) gives you a turnkey paint retail business: premium products to sell, a known brand name, training, marketing support, and even financial assistance – all without the ongoing fees that typically come with franchising. Your store becomes the local hub for anyone seeking quality paint, whether it’s a homeowner repainting a bedroom or a contractor tackling a commercial project. The customer loyalty to the brand can be significant, with clients returning whenever it’s time for a new project because they trust the paint’s quality and the expertise offered in-store.
One thing to note is that, because Benjamin Moore isn’t a formal franchisor, they do not provide a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) and thus do not publish any average financial performance data for stores. Prospective owners will need to perform due diligence – for example, speaking with existing Benjamin Moore retailers – to understand revenue and profit potential in their market. In other words, you won’t get an Item 19 earnings claim as you might from a franchise; you’ll be relying on your business plan and perhaps guidance from the company and other dealers to project your store’s financial performance.
Startup Costs and Ongoing Fees
Starting a Benjamin Moore paint store requires a significant upfront investment and financial qualifications, in line with launching a full retail business. According to the company’s program requirements, a candidate must have access to approximately $385,000 in total capital, with at least $110,000 of that in liquid cash. This total investment covers the various startup expenses such as securing a retail location, store build-out and signage, initial inventory purchase (paint stock, tinting machines, mixing equipment, supplies), insurance, and working capital to cover operating expenses until the store becomes self-sustaining.
Here’s a breakdown of key cost components and fees:
- Initial Investment: ~$385,000 total (minimum) – this includes all the costs to open the store and keep it running in early months. Benjamin Moore’s process involves helping you find and lease a suitable store location in your market, for which you’ll incur build-out costs (renovating the space into a showroom/warehouse for paint). You’ll need to purchase or lease paint mixing machines and shaker equipment, set up shelving and color displays, and stock a broad inventory of paint colors and product lines. The initial inventory order and equipment can be substantial – as one insider noted, the “initial paint order, mixers, tinting machine etc.” contribute to high startup costs for a paint store. Benjamin Moore helps offset this by offering up to $242K in support as mentioned, which might effectively subsidize a large portion of your opening inventory or other costs.
- Net Worth/Liquid Capital: You’ll need strong financials: at least $110,000 in unencumbered cash (liquid capital) and the rest can be in other assets or financing to reach the ~$385K total. Additionally, a good credit history is required, and while not mandatory, having a background in retail or business management is preferred to increase your chances of approval. Essentially, Benjamin Moore wants owners who are financially capable of sustaining the business and savvy enough to operate a retail store.
- Franchise Fee: $0 – there is no franchise fee at all, since this isn’t a typical franchise sale. You aren’t paying an upfront fee for the brand name. Instead, your capital is going directly into building out your store and buying products. This is a big advantage; you’re not writing a large check to corporate just for the opportunity.
- Royalty Fee: 0% – likewise, no ongoing royalties are charged on your sales. In a traditional franchise, it’s common to pay perhaps 5–8% of gross revenue as royalty. Benjamin Moore does not take a cut of your sales. Your obligations will be to purchase Benjamin Moore products (paint and supplies) as your inventory – that’s how the company earns revenue, as a manufacturer selling paint to you at wholesale. This means the more you sell, the more profit you keep (after covering cost of goods and expenses) since there’s no skim off the top going back to franchisor.
- Marketing/Advertising Fee: There is no required marketing fund contribution noted. The company provides national advertising out of its own budget. They may encourage you to invest in local advertising and will guide you on that, but there isn’t a fixed percentage fee you must pay. In fact, Benjamin Moore often gives new stores marketing support dollars especially around the grand opening and initial market entry. That said, as an owner you should plan for some local marketing spend (grand opening events, local media ads, contractor outreach) as part of doing business.
- Other ongoing costs: As a retail operation, you’ll have typical business expenses: rent or mortgage on your store location, utility bills (lights, climate control for the paint stock), salaries for any staff (you may start with a small team of sales clerks or store managers), insurance (property and liability), and continuing inventory purchases to replenish stock. You’ll also invest time and money in networking with local contractors and perhaps providing excellent in-store services (like color matching, which may involve some cost for software/equipment). While these aren’t fees paid to corporate, they are part of the cost structure of running the business.
Because Benjamin Moore dealerships have no royalty drain and benefit from corporate support, an efficient store has potential to be quite profitable. The gross margins on paint products can be healthy (paint is known for decent markups, and Benjamin Moore’s premium status often commands premium pricing). Each sale can have a strong profit margin that stays with you, so long as you manage expenses. Some successful Benjamin Moore dealers have even expanded to open multiple store locations over time, indicating that the model can scale if the demand is there – for example, one dealer started with one store and grew to four stores in the NY/NJ area over 25 years. However, keep in mind the operational commitment: running a retail store typically means full-time involvement, especially in the beginning. Store hours might be standard retail hours (e.g. 7am–5pm to cater to contractors in the morning and homeowners on weekends), so owners often either work in the store daily or hire a manager, which is an added salary expense.
No earnings claim provided: It’s worth reiterating that Benjamin Moore, being a non-franchise, doesn’t publish average revenue or income figures for its dealers. Prospective owners should investigate local market conditions – e.g., how many painting contractors operate nearby, the level of competition from other paint stores or big-box home improvement stores, and the spending power of the DIY customer base. Also consider seasonality: paint sales can spike in spring/summer when exterior painting is feasible and home renovation projects peak, and be slower in winter. This means you must be prepared to manage cash flow across seasonal cycles, unlike a business with steady year-round contracts.
In summary, the cost to start a Benjamin Moore store is on the higher end for franchise-type opportunities (several hundred thousand dollars). But once open, you have the upside of no ongoing franchise fees, a supportive corporate partner, and the ability to potentially build an asset that grows in value. You are investing in a brick-and-mortar retail enterprise with a strong brand behind it. Next, let’s look at how the paint retail industry of Benjamin Moore compares to the commercial cleaning industry that Assett Franchise operates in.
How the Industry Itself Compares
Choosing a franchise isn’t just about the company – it’s about the industry you’ll be working in. The Benjamin Moore opportunity places you in the paint retail industry, whereas Assett is in the commercial cleaning industry. Each industry has its own market dynamics, customer types, and operational considerations. Let’s compare these two industries in practical, financial, and operational terms. We’ll consider what advantages the paint retail (Benjamin Moore’s) industry offers, and then contrast them with the advantages of the commercial cleaning industry (where Assett Franchise competes).
The goal here is to be objective about each industry’s merits and challenges. Both selling paint and providing cleaning services fulfill real market needs – but as you’ll see, the commercial cleaning industry offers unique benefits for franchise owners seeking long-term stability and scalability.
Benjamin Moore’s Industry Advantages
Benjamin Moore’s business lives in the wider home improvement and property maintenance industry, specifically focusing on paints and coatings. Here are some of the advantages of this industry that might attract an entrepreneur:
- Strong Brand and Product Demand: As a Benjamin Moore store owner, you are leveraging a beloved, nationally-recognized brand in paints. The company’s 140+ year reputation for quality means customers often actively seek out Benjamin Moore products. This brand pull can reduce some marketing burden – people already trust the name and may travel to find a Benjamin Moore dealer when they have an important painting project. In a sense, you have a built-in demand from brand loyalists and professional painters who insist on using “Ben Moore” for its color quality and durability. This is a significant advantage; not every franchise starts with a product that has such a loyal following.
- Large and Steady Market Need: Paint is something virtually every property owner will buy at some point. The U.S. paint and coatings market is valued at around $30–$40 billion and continues to grow steadily each year. Homes, offices, schools – all need painting and repainting over time. New construction, remodeling trends, and the general upkeep of aging buildings create a consistent stream of customers. Even during economic downturns, while people may postpone cosmetic projects, essential maintenance painting (like preventing wood rot or complying with property standards) still occurs. This gives the paint retail industry a degree of resilience – indeed, some consider it “almost recession proof” because basic maintenance can’t be ignored indefinitely. There’s also a psychological factor: paint is one of the more affordable ways people improve their space, so even if they cut back on major renovations in a recession, they might still repaint a room to freshen things up.
- High Transaction Values and Margins: In retail paint, individual transactions can be sizable. A contractor might come in and buy $1,000 worth of paint for a single big job. Even homeowners often buy multiple gallons of premium paint that can run $50–$80 each. With no royalties to pay, the profit margin on these sales goes to your bottom line (after cost of goods). Premium paints can carry healthy margins, and accessories (brushes, rollers) also add profit. If you provide services like custom color mixing or design consulting, you can potentially charge for those or build loyalty that leads to larger sales. Each satisfied customer could return years later for their next project, or refer friends, giving you repeat business without continuous re-acquisition cost.
- Support Without Fees: A unique advantage of Benjamin Moore’s model is the franchise-like support without franchise restrictions. You get corporate training, marketing, and even capital support – but you aren’t locked into franchise fees, nor strict operational mandates on every little detail. This can appeal to entrepreneurs who want a bit more freedom or creativity in running their store. For example, you might carry complementary non-paint products that make sense in your local market (as long as you meet your Benjamin Moore product commitments), something a more rigid franchise might not allow. You’re part of a dealer community more than an employee of a franchise. Some owners appreciate this autonomy greatly, saying it allows them to innovate and truly make the business their own.
- Backed by Berkshire Hathaway: Being affiliated with a Berkshire Hathaway company can instill confidence in your customers and business partners. Berkshire’s ownership (since 2000) signals that Benjamin Moore has deep financial backing and stability. The company isn’t going anywhere – a point that Benjamin Moore dealers themselves highlight: “The commitment that Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway has made to Benjamin Moore is rock solid,” as one store owner put it. For you, this means you can trust the franchisor (or rather, the parent company) to be around for the long haul, continue investing in the brand, and not suddenly change direction due to financial trouble. For customers, the Berkshire name adds an aura of trustworthiness as well.
- Personal, Community-Focused Business: Owning a Benjamin Moore store is often a very community-oriented business. You build relationships face-to-face with homeowners, local contractors, interior designers, and so on. If you enjoy providing in-person customer service and being a local expert in home improvement, this industry offers that fulfillment. You’re not just selling a commodity; many customers seek your expertise on color selection or surface prep or which product line to use, so you become a go-to resource in your community. This can be rewarding for an owner-operator who likes being hands-on and social. Over time, a successful paint store can become a fixture in the community, known by name to locals – which can be a point of pride.
These advantages make the paint retail industry, and the Benjamin Moore opportunity within it, attractive especially to those who love home improvement and want a brick-and-mortar business with an established brand. You get a tangible retail experience – customers walk in your door, you see the products on the shelf, you can literally paint the town (so to speak) with what you sell. And being the exclusive Benjamin Moore dealer in your area can give you a quasi-protected territory, since the company doesn’t flood the market with multiple dealers in the same town. In an industry sense, that exclusivity (no identical competitor across the street) is a plus.
However, it’s important to balance these positives with the operational realities: a retail paint store comes with inventory management, employee scheduling, store hours to staff, and the need to drive foot traffic. Next, we’ll contrast these aspects with the commercial cleaning industry.
Compared to Commercial Cleaning Industry
Now, let’s shift to the commercial cleaning industry, which is the arena for Assett Franchise. This industry involves providing janitorial and cleaning services to businesses, offices, schools, medical facilities, and other commercial buildings. It’s quite a different model from running a retail store, and it carries a compelling set of advantages for franchise owners – particularly those looking for stability, recurring revenue, and scalability without huge overhead. Here’s how the commercial cleaning industry stacks up, especially in areas where paint retail or other service industries might face challenges:
- Massive Market Size and Essential Demand: The commercial cleaning industry is enormous – over $100 billion annually in the U.S. alone. In fact, it’s larger than the paint retail market by a wide margin. Every commercial building you drive by (office complexes, hospitals, schools, retail stores, banks, and factories) needs cleaning regularly, regardless of the economy. Cleaning isn’t a luxury or optional purchase; it’s a baseline necessity to keep businesses operational, safe, and presentable. This makes commercial cleaning essential and highly recession-resistant. Even when the economy dips, businesses and institutions still require janitorial services (if anything, cleaning standards have increased post-2020 for health reasons). Unlike a homeowner who might delay repainting a room during tough times, a business cannot skip cleaning its premises without risking hygiene and reputation. This means demand for commercial cleaning is steady in all seasons and all economic climates – no major seasonal slumps like some home services experience, and less exposure to consumer whims. It’s often said that commercial cleaning is “stable and not trend-dependent”, because as long as buildings exist, dirt and dust accumulate and someone has to clean them.
- Recurring Revenue Model: One of the biggest draws of commercial cleaning as a business is the recurring revenue. Most commercial cleaning clients sign long-term contracts – for example, a one-year agreement where your company cleans an office 3 nights a week, every week. This creates a steady, predictable income stream month after month. In contrast, a retail store relies on one-off purchases; you have to keep selling products each day, and revenue can fluctuate with customer traffic and seasons. With cleaning contracts, you often have guaranteed monthly revenue that you can count on and plan around. This leads to more predictable cash flow and easier scalability: you add more contracts to grow, rather than hoping more customers walk in the door. An Anago Cleaning Systems report highlights that unlike businesses dependent on “one big sale or a particular season of the year,” commercial cleaning provides reliable income because of its contract-based model. This B2B, contract-driven sales approach is a huge advantage for long-term financial stability. Each contract can last years and renew continually if you keep the client happy, effectively compounding your revenue base over time.
- Low Cost of Entry, High Income Potential: Commercial cleaning franchises are generally far more affordable to start up than a retail store. In many cases, you don’t need a brick-and-mortar location – you can start home-based or with a small office – and equipment costs are minimal (basic cleaning equipment and supplies are inexpensive). For example, starting a commercial cleaning franchise typically costs between $30,000 and $100,000 total, a fraction of the Benjamin Moore $300K+ investment. Assett Franchise itself is a low-cost franchise; publicly listed estimates show total initial investments on the order of $70K–$116K, and some cleaning franchise packages can start even lower. This means a much lower financial barrier to entry and often a faster path to profitability since you’re not servicing massive debt or overhead. Despite the low startup cost, the income potential can be very high. A commercial cleaning business can scale from a solo operation to managing dozens of cleaners, and with that scaling comes revenue in the high six or seven figures. It’s not uncommon for successful commercial cleaning franchise owners to achieve $1 million+ in annual recurring revenue after building a solid client base. The Assett Franchise model, in particular, is built around hitting that kind of seven-figure recurring revenue by securing numerous long-term contracts. Because you’re accumulating clients, the upside grows as you expand – without an equivalent rise in fixed costs. In a retail scenario, hitting $1M in revenue might require a large store, extensive inventory, and many staff on the floor; in cleaning, $1M revenue might be managed with a lean team and efficient systems.
- Semi-Absentee Ownership Potential: Commercial cleaning is often cited as a business that can be run semi-absentee or with part-time oversight once it’s up and running. Many cleaning franchise owners start by working hard to sign contracts and set up operations, but then transition to a more executive role, letting field supervisors and crew leaders handle the day-to-day cleaning work. Assett Franchise is explicitly designed for owners who want to work on the business, not in it. It’s feasible to manage a cleaning business with as little as 5-10 hours per week of your time after the initial ramp-up, essentially overseeing the operation and focusing on growth, while a hired manager or automated systems handle scheduling and quality control. In contrast, a retail store like a paint shop often needs the owner present or a full-time manager on-site during all business hours, which can mean a much heavier time commitment or extra payroll. The cleaning industry’s flexibility comes from being able to do much of the work after-hours (cleaning offices at night) and using technology to track crews. You’re not tied to a storefront schedule. This makes commercial cleaning attractive for those seeking more freedom or the ability to keep a day job initially. It’s one of the industries known for accommodating semi-absentee franchise ownership, meaning you can scale to multiple contracts (even multiple cities) without physically being everywhere all the time.
- No Expensive Real Estate or Inventory Needed: A commercial cleaning business doesn’t require a retail storefront or heavy equipment investment. You typically don’t need to lease a prime location on Main Street or stockpile products. Cleaning supplies are purchased as needed for each contract and are relatively low-cost (chemicals, mops, etc., often billed into the contract costs). Equipment can be just some vacuum cleaners, floor polishers, or maybe a van – nowhere near the capital outlay of outfitting a retail store with fixtures or buying bulky inventory. This means lower ongoing overhead: no retail rent (maybe a small office or storage space at most), no concern of unsold inventory tying up capital (since services are produced on demand). Your business can be mobile and lean. Moreover, as you grow, adding new clients mostly adds variable costs (labor and supplies) but not huge fixed costs, preserving margins. In comparison, scaling a retail operation might require opening additional store locations (each with big fixed costs). Cleaning scales by increasing service volume, not duplicating infrastructure.
- Scalability and Fragmented Competition: The commercial cleaning industry is highly fragmented, with no single company dominating nationally. There’s plenty of room for local and regional players to grab market share. With the right franchise system, even a small entrant can win contracts from competitors. The fragmented nature means customer contracts are up for grabs if you offer better service, and it’s not as if there’s a Benjamin Moore-equivalent giant in cleaning that every client is loyal to. This dynamic, combined with recurring revenue, allows you to scale aggressively – each new contract increases your revenue base significantly, and you can keep stacking contracts. Franchises like Assett provide a framework to do this systematically. The cleaning industry’s growth is also robust – it’s expected to have double-digit growth in coming years in the U.S. – fueled by increasing outsourcing of cleaning by businesses and heightened cleanliness standards. You can ride that wave with relatively low risk. Even a small slice of this huge market can translate to high revenue for an owner. Compare this to a paint store: your growth is largely limited to your store’s local market and how much product you can move in that area; you might max out without opening a second location. A cleaning business, on the other hand, can often service a wider territory or multiple cities from one base, simply by deploying crews, allowing more scalability within one franchise territory.
- Operational Simplicity and Resilience: Running a cleaning business is operationally different from retail. There are certainly challenges (managing cleaning staff is a big one, which we’ll discuss in Assett’s solution), but the model is relatively straightforward: hire cleaners, train them, get contracts, schedule the work, and ensure quality. Technology today makes scheduling and monitoring easier (apps for check-in, etc.). The work itself – cleaning – is not subject to fads or rapid change, so you’re not constantly reinventing the business. And crucially, cleaning cannot be offshored or digitized away – you can’t clean an American office building from overseas or via the internet. It’s a durable service business. In contrast, retail faces online competition (people can and do buy paint or supplies online or from big-box chains) which can pressure sales. Cleaning services are performed on-site and thus insulated from e-commerce disruption.
- Avoiding Common Pitfalls of Other Industries: Earlier, we outlined some issues that many service franchise industries face:
- Seasonality: Many home-service franchises (pest control, mosquito spraying, lawn care) have slow seasons where business drops. Commercial cleaning is truly year-round – offices need cleaning whether it’s January or July, and typically at the same frequency year-round. There’s no winter hibernation for dirt! This means no large swings in revenue due to weather or season.
- Heavy Equipment or Real Estate Requirements: Some franchises like fitness gyms or junk hauling require buying expensive equipment or leasing large facilities. Commercial cleaning requires none of that heavy apparatus. As mentioned, you stay asset-light – some basic cleaning machines at most.
- Commoditized Markets: While cleaning has competition, a franchise like Assett differentiates with professionalism, technology, and reliability in a field where many competitors are mom-and-pop operations. You can stand out by offering consistent quality and leveraging the franchise’s systems. Meanwhile, industries like basic residential painting or retail can be highly commoditized on price. A local cleaning franchise can shine by being a one-stop solution for facility services where trust and consistency matter more than just lowest price.
- Residential Customer Challenges: Dealing with individual homeowners can mean emotional buying decisions and one-off jobs that may or may not repeat soon. Commercial cleaning deals with business clients who think in terms of budgets and needs, often making rational long-term decisions rather than impulse purchases. B2B clients tend to be more stable and less fickle than retail consumers. As long as you meet service expectations, commercial clients often prefer to renew contracts rather than switch frequently, providing you a stable book of business. You’re less at the mercy of a homeowner’s changing personal preferences or financial spur-of-the-moment decisions.
In summary, the commercial cleaning industry offers a franchise owner a path to build a scalable, stable business with recurring revenue, lower startup costs, and flexibility in involvement. You’re riding on a huge, essential market that isn’t going away or fluctuating wildly. While the paint retail industry has its merits, the cleaning industry tends to come out ahead in terms of long-term stability, ease of scaling, and resilience. It’s worth noting, however, that commercial cleaning does come with its own challenge – primarily, managing a workforce of cleaners (often a large, distributed team) and maintaining service quality. High turnover in cleaning staff is common across the industry (annual turnover rates can exceed 200% in janitorial jobs), which can be a headache for owners. This is precisely where Assett Franchise excels with an innovative solution, as we’ll explore next.
How the Assett Franchise Compares
Given the above industry comparison, Assett Franchise positions itself as a way to harness all those commercial cleaning industry advantages with a modern, streamlined franchise system. Assett is the cleaning business franchise in question – a commercial cleaning franchise brand built by founder Matt Pencarinha specifically to offer a simpler, high-potential business model for first-time entrepreneurs. Let’s compare Assett directly to the Benjamin Moore opportunity in a few key areas that matter to franchise owners: business systems and potential, hiring and operations, and the nature of the company’s leadership/support.
Simpler Systems, Bigger Potential
One of Assett Franchise’s core selling points is that it offers a simpler operational model with a bigger revenue potential than many traditional franchises. How so? Assett is already operating in the commercial cleaning industry, so all the industry-wide benefits we discussed (essential services, recurring B2B revenue, low overhead, etc.) apply by default. But beyond that, Assett has been “built for owners who want to work on the business, not in it.”
In contrast to running a Benjamin Moore retail store – where an owner might find themselves manning the cash register, mixing paint, or handling inventory every day – an Assett franchise owner is encouraged to take an executive approach. The model is designed so that you focus on high-level activities: securing contracts, building client relationships, and overseeing growth, while the cleaning work itself is handled by your hired team. The systems and processes are already in place to handle scheduling, quality checks, billing, etc., which reduces the need for you to micromanage daily tasks.
Assett provides a “full business playbook” so even no industry experience is required – you don’t need a background in commercial cleaning or janitorial work. Just as Benjamin Moore trains paint novices on running a store, Assett trains franchisees on running a cleaning company from scratch. This includes how to price contracts, how to pitch to businesses, how to manage crews, and how to use their technology platform. The idea is that Assett’s proven model acts as a shortcut to success, letting a newcomer avoid the trial-and-error typically involved in starting a business. In fact, Assett’s founder Matt Pencarinha developed the franchise after years of figuring out what works and what doesn’t in cleaning – he “skipped decades of testing” by creating systems that competitors can only dream of, now provided to franchisees.
When it comes to income potential, Assett is explicitly engineered for high recurring revenue. The model cites a $1M+ recurring revenue potential, which is not just theoretical – the founder’s own original cleaning business surpassed $1.5M in annual revenue within 5 years. Many commercial cleaning franchise owners scale to seven-figure revenues by adding more contracts and staff, and Assett uses those industry best practices to guide franchisees on that journey. By comparison, while a Benjamin Moore store could reach a million in annual sales, it would likely require either an exceptional market or multiple locations due to the constraints of one store’s capacity. Assett’s service business has virtually no ceiling on growth within its territory – you can keep adding client accounts without needing a second “location,” just more team members.
Another aspect of simplicity is scaling without heavy reinvestment. In Assett’s cleaning model, to double your business you typically just need to double your workforce and supplies (which can be incremental and funded from cash flow). In the Benjamin Moore model, doubling sales might require either doubling floor traffic (which could be limited by your market size) or opening another store (another big capital project). Assett’s scalability is more linear and controlled, which is ideal for first-time entrepreneurs who want a clear growth roadmap. Assett encourages franchisees to think big – not just replace a job, but build an enterprise that generates long-term income and possibly can run with minimal owner intervention once established.
In short, Assett Franchise compares favorably by offering a business that’s easier to run and grow for the owner. The systems (from marketing to operations) are simplified and often automated, the required time investment from the owner can be lower, and the revenue/profit potential is very high relative to the initial investment. It’s a model geared for those who want to scale up and eventually step back, rather than being tied to a storefront day in and day out.
Automated Hiring = Time and Money Saved
If there’s one operational headache that nearly every service business owner can relate to, it’s hiring and retaining employees. In commercial cleaning, this can be especially challenging – as noted, the industry often faces over 200% annual turnover in staff, meaning an owner might have to hire constantly just to replace people who leave. Recognizing this, Assett Franchise has made a game-changing innovation central to its model: an automated hiring system that essentially takes care of recruitment and onboarding of cleaning staff.
This automated hiring system is a proprietary technology and process that Assett developed to solve the #1 pain point in cleaning (and many other franchises). Instead of the owner spending hours every week posting job ads, screening resumes, setting up interviews, and processing paperwork for new cleaners, Assett’s system does the heavy lifting. It continually attracts job candidates (often through digital ads or job boards integration), then uses automation to screen, vet, and even schedule interviews or orientations for prospective cleaning employees. The result is a pipeline of pre-qualified cleaners ready to hire as your business grows, without you having to manually manage each step.
For an owner, this translates into massive time and cost savings. Assett estimates that this system can save owners 20–30 hours per week, which would otherwise be spent in HR tasks, or equivalently save the expense of having to hire a full-time recruiting or HR manager. Essentially, you don’t need to be constantly worrying “how will I find enough cleaners for that new contract I just sold?” The automated system ensures you always have a pool of candidates to maintain a high-quality workforce at scale. Moreover, by automating repetitive hiring tasks, it tends to be more efficient and can filter for the best candidates using consistent criteria – improving the overall quality of hires and reducing turnover.
Consider how this compares to running a paint retail store or many other franchises: if a Benjamin Moore store loses an experienced paint mixer or a key salesperson, the owner has to jump into a hiring process that can be time-consuming (and meanwhile, the store might be short-staffed). Assett’s approach is proactive and constant, meaning staffing levels remain robust without pulling the owner’s focus from growing the business.
Additionally, Assett’s hiring system likely integrates training modules so new hires get up to speed quickly on cleaning standards. This consistency in hiring and training means clients get a reliably good service experience, which in turn keeps those recurring contracts secure – all without the owner personally training every individual. It’s an example of using technology and smart processes to solve a very human challenge in business.
By eliminating the biggest operational bottleneck (labor management), Assett frees its franchisees to concentrate on expansion and client relations. In essence, Assett franchisees bypass one of the toughest parts of being in the cleaning business, which is worth its weight in gold. The owner’s role becomes managing managers, rather than managing a revolving door of entry-level employees. This advantage can’t be overstated: many independent cleaning business owners burn out because of hiring woes; Assett bakes in a solution from day one.
Personalized and Founder-Led
Another area where Assett Franchise stands out in comparison to larger, older franchise brands is in its culture and leadership approach. Assett is a family-owned and founder-led company, not a faceless corporate or private equity-owned franchise, according to bizbuysell.com. The founder, Matt Pencarinha, is directly involved in the business and in supporting the franchisees. This means when you join Assett, you’re not just getting a system – you’re joining a community where the people at the top know your name and are invested in your success.
Matt Pencarinha’s background is part of the Assett story: he personally started and grew a commercial cleaning business (the prototype for Assett) after leaving the corporate 80-hour-workweek grind. He’s been in the shoes of a new entrepreneur, and even in the shoes of a franchisee for other brands. Having a founder who has “been a franchisee and also built businesses from scratch” means the guidance you get is grounded in real experience. Franchisees have reported they get direct access to leadership – for example, Assett provides private coaching sessions with the CEO and frequent one-on-one support as you build your business. This level of personal attention is rare in large franchise systems where you might be just one owner out of hundreds and interactions with the CEO are minimal.
Because Assett is family-owned, decisions can be made with a long-term, values-driven perspective rather than short-term investor pressure. The company emphasizes being community-focused with a clear mission, meaning they care about the quality of service delivered and the reputation of each franchise in its local market. They aren’t trying to rapidly sell hundreds of units at the expense of support – they’re growing carefully and ensuring each franchisee aligns with the brand’s values of partnership, innovation, and professionalism. For a franchise owner, this can translate to feeling truly supported and heard. If you have a suggestion or face a challenge, you can talk to the decision-makers directly and trust that they are approachable.
Contrast this with a huge franchise or dealer network like Benjamin Moore’s 5,000+ stores – while Benjamin Moore does have support staff, you’re ultimately one of thousands. You might never speak to the executives in charge, and if the company’s priorities shift (say, they focus on corporate initiatives or shareholders), you could feel less attended to. Assett’s small, tight-knit franchise family environment can be a big plus if you value personal mentorship and a sense of camaraderie. Franchisees often can connect with each other easily as well, sharing tips in a less formal network.
Furthermore, Assett being founder-led means it’s nimble and modern. The company can adopt new technologies or strategies quickly to benefit franchisees (for instance, their early adoption of automated hiring and other tech-forward tools reflects this innovative spirit). They are not burdened by century-old traditions or red tape. This modern mindset is ideal for an era where things like digital marketing, AI, and automation can give a competitive edge – Assett appears committed to leveraging the 21st-century approaches to help franchisees succeed.
All told, the Assett Franchise offers a more personalized, mentorship-driven franchise experience compared to many indirect competitors. It feels like joining a growing startup family, led by someone who is passionate about helping new owners avoid the mistakes he made and replicate the success he achieved. For someone who wants not just a business, but a supportive network and direct line to the founder’s expertise, Assett delivers that in spades.
Final Thoughts
When evaluating the Benjamin Moore franchise opportunity versus Assett Franchise, it’s clear that both have their strengths – but they cater to different types of entrepreneurs. Benjamin Moore (a Berkshire Hathaway company) offers a solid path for someone who loves retail, wants to be hands-on with a product-driven business, and values the backing of a heritage brand in the home improvement space. It can be a great fit for the right buyer – perhaps someone who enjoys interior design, has an existing hardware store background, or is passionate about the paint industry and community retail. You’d get a respected brand name and a business that can anchor you in your local community.
However, for an aspiring franchise owner who prioritizes scalability, stability of income, and low operational complexity, the Assett Franchise offers more advantages. Assett takes the crown in areas that matter for long-term success: a scalable, stable business model with predictable recurring revenue, minimal risk due to lower startup costs, and a faster potential ROI as you grow a base of contracts. The commercial cleaning industry’s fundamentals (essential B2B service, huge market, recession-resilience) simply make it a more reliable path to sustained profitability than a retail model that depends on walk-in sales.
Assett then amplifies those industry benefits with its modern systems – from automated hiring that saves time and money to simplified operations that allow semi-absentee ownership. It’s a modern business model built for executive ownership, meaning you can truly work on the business and design a lifestyle with flexibility, rather than being tied to a storefront or bogged down in daily firefighting. Assett’s personalized, founder-led support structure further de-risks the journey for a first-time entrepreneur; you’re never going it alone, and you have a mentor who has a stake in your success.
In contrasting the two opportunities, one might say: Benjamin Moore is a strong franchise alternative for someone who wants a traditional business with a premium product, but Assett Franchise is the better choice for someone who wants a scalable, streamlined service business that can adapt to their life. Assett is about building an income-generating asset (no pun intended with the name) that works for you, rather than you constantly working for it. For the individual who dreams of leaving their career and achieving long-term income, flexibility, and control through business ownership, Assett’s cleaner, simpler model is a compelling choice.
Ultimately, your decision might come down to personal preference and goals. If you love paint and retail, Benjamin Moore could be rewarding. But if you’re looking at franchise opportunities more broadly and asking “what will give me the best odds of financial and personal freedom?”, the commercial cleaning route – and Assett Franchise in particular – deserves serious consideration for all the reasons we’ve discussed.
If you’re exploring franchise opportunities and want a model that can deliver long-term income, flexibility, and control — we’d love to show you how Assett Franchise can help you build a business that works for your life. Visit https://assettfranchise.com to connect with our team and learn more.
