Rent A Grandma Franchise Question and Answer with Todd Pliss

Todd Pliss, the Franchisor of Rent A Grandma was kind enough to answer some question about the business just before the episode of Shark Tank featuring him and his business was due to air on ABC.

Just Elementary: Rent A Grandma has been written up in articles from the Christian Science Monitor, ABC News, Entrepreneur Magazine, Hispanic Business, to NPR. How has the publicity from them benefitted the business? Were there any surprises to people’s reactions from those exposures? Which ones elicited the most response?
Todd Pliss of Rent-A-Grandma: Publicity has gotten us a lot of people interested in a franchise. Though, many don’t seem to have any funds to invest. Plus, many people from all over who want to be/hire Grandmas.  That’s why we set up the website to accommodate them worldwide. Most of what we do is now directly via the website. We have a franchise in Dallas open and one in Virginia opening shortly, plus our office in L.A. People’s reactions are usually the same – super enthusiastic. AARP Bulletin and Fox News Channel generated the best response so far. But, we’ve been featured in dozens of local papers/newscasts, etc. They all get some response.

Just Elementary: In which states are you offering franchises?
Todd Pliss of Rent-A-Grandma: We offer franchises in 37 states – all the non-registration states plus Virginia. At this point.

Just Elementary: How have you handled questions or issues with “Age-ism”?
Todd Pliss of Rent-A-Grandma: We haven’t had any issues with age-ism. Only thank you by the 100’s from older woman who are experiencing age-ism on their end. If a 20 year old wants to take us to court, good luck to her!

Just Elementary: What have been the unexpected hurdles in terms of getting a network of franchisees up and running?
Todd Pliss of Rent-A-Grandma: Franchising is very time intensive and lawyer fees are high. Most people who want information are “tire-kickers”. We are focusing on running the business over the web. That makes much more sense for us.

Just Elementary: Are you selling Master Territories?
Todd Pliss of Rent-A-Grandma: We do sell master franchises.

Just Elementary: Do you run a corporate location or two for yourself?
Todd Pliss of Rent-A-Grandma:  Yes, we have the corporate location here in Los Angeles.

Just Elementary: How many franchise units do you expect to have signed up by the end of 2012?
Todd Pliss of Rent-A-Grandma:  We’ll probably have 15-20 franchises by the end of this year. After Shark Tank, maybe much more?

Just Elementary: Do you offer demographic information for prospective franchisees to help determine good areas to franchise in?
Todd Pliss of Rent-A-Grandma: Yes, we offer demographic information by zip codes to help franchisees map out a territory.

Just Elementary: What do you have in place to help support Franchisees?
Todd Pliss of Rent-A-Grandma: We have a training manual, unlimited phone support, in person intensive training.

We’ll ask more question of Rent-A-Grandma after the show airs to follow up on the changes in the business from the show.

For more information about Rent-A-Grandma you can visit the website www.RentAGrandma.com.  Also you can email Dan Clapp at cdan@nwlink.com or call him at 855-746-3443.  Dan Clapp is the franchise contact person for Rent A Grandma.

Alternatively, you can drop us a message through our contact form.

For more information about how Just Elementary,Inc. Commercial Business Brokers can help you with franchising, contact our Client Care Manager, Sonia Chhabra, by phone (888) 926-9193 or email cs@justelementary.com