Fish Window Cleaning Services Inc.

Founded: 1978 Franchising since: 1998
S. Michael Merrick had lost his job as a bank manager when the window washer for the branch said he was interested in selling his business. Merrick looked at the company's books and was impressed with what he saw--low overhead and virtually no inventory. In 1978 Merrick and his wife, Linda, purchased the company, renamed it, and Fish Window Cleaning was born.

After 20 years of cleaning windows, screens, gutters, skylights and chandeliers in the St. Louis, Missouri, area, the Merricks began franchising.

200 Enchanted Pkwy. Manchester, Missouri 63021

Phone: (877)707-3474

Franchisor is a privately-held company with 23 employee(s); 15 employee(s) in franchise department.

Franchise Growth

Year	U.S. Franchises	Canadian Franchises	Foreign Franchises	Company Owned
2009	234	0	0	2
2008	223	0	0	2
2007	214	0	0	1
2006	211	0	0	1
2005	189	0	0	1

Where Seeking Franchisees
In the U.S. Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North carolina, North dakota, New hampshire, New jersey, New mexico, Nevada, New york, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode island, South carolina, South dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West virginia, Wyoming

Exclusive territories available.
Territory size: 40,000-400,000 population

Total investment: $57.5K-131.5K Franchise fee: $19.9K-49.9K

Ongoing royalty fee: 8-6% Term of agreement: 10 years, renewable

Type of Financing Available

	In-House	Third Party
Franchise Fee	No	Yes
Startup Costs	No	Yes
Equipment	No	Yes
Inventory	No	Yes
Accounts Receivable	No	Yes
Payroll	No	Yes

Third-party financing source(s): The Business Resource Store

Qualifications
Net worth requirement: $150K-500K
Cash liquidity requirement: $60K-120K
Business Experience:

• Marketing skills
• Management skills

Operations

• 25% of all franchisees own more than one unit
• Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 5
• Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

Training

• Available at headquarters: 10 days
• At franchisee's location: 2 days

Ongoing Support

• Newsletter
• Meetings
• Toll-free phone line
• Grand opening
• Internet
• Security/safety procedures
• Field operations/evaluations
• Purchasing cooperatives

Marketing Support

• Co-op advertising
• Ad slicks
• National media
• Regional advertising

Other marketing support

• Sales brochures, training videos, national accounts referrals

Franchise 500® rank:
#238 (2009); #247 (2008); #161 (2007); #137 (2006); #322 (2005);

Ranked #1 in category in:
2009; 2006;

Fastest-Growing Franchises:
#70 (2006);

America's Top Global Franchises:
#184 (2009);