GROUT GROUCH IS EXPANDING WE’RE LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT PERSON IN YOUR AREA
Are you good with your hands, comfortable working in customers’ homes and ready to build something of your own? You may be the person we’re looking for.
LIMITED LOCAL MARKETS AVAILABLE
WHAT WE HELP YOU BUILD AND CONTINUE TO PROVIDE
- Remote training and ongoing assistance
- Tool, material, supplier and vendor resources
- Local website built, hosted, maintained and updated
- Vehicle wrap, apparel, customer forms and print materials created
- Google Ads, business listings and Facebook content managed
- 24/7 call answering, estimate scheduling & appointment confirmations
BUILD A LOCAL BUSINESS AROUND ONE FOCUSED SPECIALTY
Your Grout Grouch business focuses on maintaining and restoring customers’ existing tile, grout and caulk through regrouting, recaulking, cleaning, sealing and tile repair. It gives you one focused specialty instead of unrelated handyman work or large remodeling projects involving multiple trades.
GOOD WITH YOUR HANDS
Previous tile experience is helpful but not required. You should be comfortable using tools, learning detailed techniques and taking pride in careful work.
COMFORTABLE WITH CUSTOMERS
You are comfortable speaking with homeowners, working respectfully in their homes, and taking responsibility for the service you provide.
READY TO BUILD SOMETHING OF YOUR OWN
You decide when you work, make your own business decisions, and build a local business you can be proud of.
THE WORK YOU WILL ACTUALLY DO
YOU OWN AND OPERATE YOUR COMPANY
You establish and own the local service company. You obtain and own its business phone number, set your prices, decide which jobs to accept, control your schedule, determine who performs the work, invoice customers, collect payment and manage every customer relationship.
Grout Grouch licenses the name, logo and brand assets used to market your company. We focus on building and maintaining the customer facing brand and marketing, while the local company, phone number, work, revenue and customer relationships remain yours.
Your agreement identifies the local area where Grout Grouch focuses branded advertising for your company. We do not advertise another Grout Grouch operator in your area.
That advertising focus does not limit where your company may accept work.
WE MAKE RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS EASIER
Homeowners tell us they appreciate how easy we make it: calls are answered, estimates are scheduled and confirmed, and we show up as promised. We bring that same organized service to your business.
When you get started, we make the arrangements.
We find a local shop to letter your van, send the artwork and arrange installation. We prepare your work orders and other printing for delivery. You approve the details, pay the installer and printer, and bring in your van. You also receive an exact tools and materials shopping list with specific products and where to buy them.
Our work continues long after setup.
We manage your Google and Facebook advertising, create posts and videos, review results and adjust campaigns. We handle website hosting, maintenance and updates, and research new advertising options. You approve and fund the campaigns; we manage them.
We answer your calls and schedule estimates.
We also own Answer My Business Calls, a separate company that grew out of our service business. Its team answers 24/7, collects customer and job details, schedules estimates within your availability and sends confirmations. Your dashboard keeps customer details, booked appointments and messages together, making it easy to manage your day and see what needs your attention.
When you need help, call us.
When you’re unsure how to handle a repair or customer problem, call us. We help you understand the situation and decide what to do next. That help continues years into business, along with guidance as products and techniques change.
WHAT DOES IT COST TO GET STARTED?
There is no upfront entry fee to join Grout Grouch. Your introductory brand license fee is just $100 per month for your first six months of operation. Below is what that fee includes and the business expenses you pay separately.
INTRODUCTORY GROUT GROUCH BRAND LICENSE FEE
Your introductory fee includes:
✓ Use of the Grout Grouch brand, remote training and ongoing help with jobs and customer questions
✓ Industry-specific tools and materials shopping list with recommended products and suppliers, drawn from our decades of hands-on experience
✓ Local website built, hosted, maintained and updated, plus setup of your Facebook Page, Google Business Profile and Google Ads account
✓ Ongoing Google and Facebook advertising management, including posts and videos created, campaign results reviewed, and updates to your Facebook Page and Google Business Profile
✓ Grout Grouch vehicle wrap design files supplied to your wrap company, plus artwork for branded apparel
✓ Answer My Business Calls service with 24/7 answering, estimate scheduling, appointment confirmations and your customer dashboard. Unlimited call minutes with no overage charges are included during your first six months of operation.
WHAT YOU PROVIDE AND PAY FOR
To establish and operate your company, you are responsible for:
✓ Business formation, required licenses and business insurance
✓ Your vehicle and the cost of having it professionally wrapped with the Grout Grouch design
✓ Tools, materials and equipment needed to perform your jobs
✓ Your advertising budget, paid directly to the advertising platforms
✓ Branded work apparel, such as shirts, hats and jackets
✓ Printing and shipping costs for work orders, customer forms, business cards, brochures and other printed materials
✓ Your business phone service and phone numbers
✓ Vehicle maintenance and other ordinary business operating expenses
PLANNING FOR YOUR BUSINESS EXPENSES
Your money goes toward getting equipped, reaching local customers and keeping your business running. Thinking about those expenses in three stages makes planning easier.
This example assumes one owner doing the work with a suitable vehicle already available. The Grout Grouch and answering-service fees shown on this page are additional.
1. Getting ready to work — approximately $9,000–$13,000
This puts the essentials in place: equipment, starting supplies, your vehicle wrap, basic branded materials, business registration and initial insurance payments. Equipment you already own may reduce your spending. Purchasing or leasing a vehicle is separate.
2. Your first 90 days — approximately $12,000–$15,000 total in operating expenses
This three-month total works out to approximately $4,000–$5,000 per month. This budget covers advertising and basic overhead for three months. The monthly allowance is $4,000–$5,000, with approximately $3,000 of that amount allocated to advertising. Vehicle payments are additional.
3. Continuing month to month — plan around $4,000–$5,000
Continue planning for the same basic monthly expenses. We manage your advertising, and spending can be adjusted as needed.
Customer payments go toward running costs, job materials and your income. Your job pricing needs to account for all three.
Vehicle payments and personal living expenses require separate budgeting. Ninety days is a planning window; reserves may be needed for longer.
These are planning estimates, not quotations or maximum costs; actual expenses and funding needs vary, additional costs may arise, and no revenue, profit or future cost reduction is guaranteed.
WHAT CHANGES AFTER THE FIRST SIX MONTHS?
Beginning in month seven
GROUT GROUCH BRAND LICENSE
$975 per month
This includes continued use of the brand, advertising management, website hosting and updates, business listing management, posts and videos, and ongoing guidance on repair techniques, product selection and handling customer concerns.
ANSWER MY BUSINESS CALLS
$225 per month
First 50 minutes of call time includedAdditional call time: $1.85 per minute
Answer My Business Calls, which we also own, continues providing call answering, estimate scheduling, appointment confirmations and your customer dashboard.
Your advertising budget remains separate and is paid directly to the advertising platforms.
The Grout Grouch brand license fee is fixed at the monthly amount stated in your agreement. It is not calculated from the number of jobs you complete or how much your company earns. Any future adjustment would be made only as permitted by the written agreement.