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Into Tomorrow listener Andrew in Pembroke, Kentucky listens on WTN 99.7 FM asked us about iCracked franchises, he said:
I’d like to know about the business iCracked. Would it be worth me investing into them as a franchisee, or not? What do you know about the business?
As far as we could find out, this is the deal: You give them $1500 and become a certified “iTech” that can fix Apple and Samsung devices. You’re “certified” by them, by the way, not by any authority anyone else would recognize… sort of like how McDonald’s could certify you as a 5 star chef, but that doesn’t mean anyone who isn’t McDonald’s would care…
After that, you get a kit with your first batch of supplies for repairs, tools, and a polo (we guess the polo shirt makes you official). They’ll also set you up with a Smart car wrapped with iCracked logos, but the lease is your responsibility, and the certification process to become an “iTech” involves online videos and online quizzes.
You obviously don’t get a storefront for $1500, it’s more of a “drive up to your customer” – “work out of your trunk” type of situation. They’ll provide you with “leads” which basically means that they refer people trying to fix their devices to you, you fix the devices and they offer a lifetime warranty in parts, but their warranty comes at a price, as their parts are more expensive to buy than other options you could find in the market. You will get notified of leads by their “dispatch system” (an app on your phone), when someone has requested service around you.
They may get you some customers, but whether that’s worth the extra money is up to you, a lot of people just do the same thing on their own, with cheaper parts, and seem to do well enough.
There is no monthly franchise fee though, the rest of their income comes from the parts you buy, they may complain if you stop buying more expensive parts from them but keep taking jobs from their dispatch system, obviously.