Merry Maids

Founded: 1979 Franchising since: 1980
Dallen W. Peterson founded Merry Maids in 1979 in Omaha, Nebraska. The public company cleans more than 300,000 homes, apartments and condominiums each month in North America. It has franchises in Denmark, Hong Kong, Japan and the United Kingdom. In 1988 Merry Maids joined the ServiceMaster Quality Service Network, which includes franchise companies AmeriSpec, Terminix and Furniture Medic. Merry Maids is based in Memphis, Tennessee.

3839 Forest Hill Irene Rd. Memphis, Tennessee 38125

Phone: (800)798-8000/ (901)597-8138

Franchisor is a publicly-held company with 60 employee(s); 25 employee(s) in franchise department.

Franchise Growth

Year	U.S. Franchises	Canadian Franchises	Foreign Franchises	Company Owned
2009	727	71	610	212
2008	748	71	438	202
2007	747	71	430	202
2006	771	71	427	178
2005	776	70	432	156

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
Worldwide

Exclusive territories available.
Territory size: Varies

Special Programs
The annual Dallen Peterson Awards program honors one franchisee for overall excellence. Other awards include President’s Achievement and Merit Achievement, which are rewarded with free trips to conferences in exotic locales.

Total investment: $25K-59.5K Franchise fee: $21K-31K

Ongoing royalty fee: 5-7% Term of agreement: 5 years, renewable

Type of Financing Available

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

Qualifications
Net worth requirement: $60K-70K
Cash liquidity requirement: $60K-70K
Business Experience:

• General business experience
• Management experience

Operations

• 60% of all franchisees own more than one unit
• Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 12
• Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (98% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

Training

• Available at headquarters: 8 days
• At franchisee's location: As needed
• Additional training in Memphis, Tennessee and regional locations

Ongoing Support

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

Marketing Support

• National media

Other marketing support

• Yellow Pages ads and placement support; internet ad composition site

Franchise 500® rank:
#59 (2009); #65 (2008); #46 (2007); #56 (2006); #45 (2005);

Ranked #1 in category in:
2006; 2005;

Low-Cost Franchises:
#15 (2009); #15 (2008); #15 (2007); #15 (2006); #14 (2005);

America's Top Global Franchises:
#50 (2009); #53 (2008); #35 (2007); #45 (2006); #33 (2005);