Schooley Mitchell Telecom Consultants

Schooley Mitchell was established in 1983, with its telecom division being established as a separate entity during 1996. The company has been providing professional advice to its clients in the areas of finance, accounting, computers, management and telecom services since inception. With decades of combined telecom experience, Schooley Mitchell has pursued its Franchising concept to meet the need for independent and objective telecom advice in the North American market.

Schooley Mitchell Telecom Consultants has its corporate head office in Stratford, Ontario. The company is the largest independent telecom consulting organization in North America, with offices from coast to coast in both United States and Canada.

Schooley Mitchell Franchisees are independent of all telecom companies selling products or services. Franchisees do not receive commissions, residuals or kickbacks from any telecom suppliers. Therefore, the solutions provided to clients are designed with the exclusive goal of providing the best solution to meet clients' individual needs regarding telecom services.

Our business is Telecom Consulting. Our strategy is to penetrate and dominate the marketplace through franchising so we can serve our clients the best possible way. In 1996 Schooley Mitchell implemented the franchising strategy to achieve two key objectives:

To offer our clients the highest caliber and most comprehensive suite of professional services.
Opening Schooley Mitchell’s opportunity to professionals of diverse backgrounds has enabled us to grow our team of Consultants to include expertise in a broad spectrum of disciplines including all areas of the telecommunications industry. We bring this incredible set of professionals together, we share resources and knowledge, and we deliver the best solutions to our clients.

To provide seamless coverage, meeting all our clients’ needs from coast to coast.
Franchising enables businesses to grow without stretching essential resources. When customer service is a priority, as it is for Schooley Mitchell, ensuring that we have locations in all the areas that our customers require when they require them is essential. Franchising has enabled us to achieve this goal.

Audit and Needs Analysis - Existing Systems & Services Our clients realize that they derive the most benefit by concentrating their efforts on their core service or product. Most business people simply do not have the time to analyze technology, suppliers and pricing alternatives in today's constantly changing telecom world. Schooley Mitchell Consultants audit existing systems and services to identify the most beneficial alternatives for you. The telecom audit can consider the entire telecommunications system, including local services, long distance, equipment configuration, toll-free, cellular and wireless services, faxes, modems, internet access and past billings, with the goals of identifying and providing:

• areas of cost saving that won't entail sacrificing service;
• how efficiency can be increased;
• billing errors that may be recoverable;
• a full inventory of all telecom equipment and services.

The core services that we provide to our clients fall into two broad categories:

OPTIMIZATION SERVICES
Schooley Mitchell will analyze your organization's existing telecommunications services and systems to identify billing errors and opportunities to reduce costs while maintaining or improving service.

PROJECT SERVICES
Schooley Mitchell will provide advice, guidance and recommendations to help your organization make the right decisions regarding your telecommunications projects.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

• Needs analysis
• Review of options or proposals
• Vendor, equipment and application recommendations
• Implementation services
• Project management services

SPECIFIC ADVICE

• Hardware upgrades and replacements
• System and application upgrades and replacements
• Office moves and relocations
• Business expansion or downsizing
• Acquisition and integration of another business
• Creation of mobile or remote offices
• Adoption of new technologies
• Network integration

Franchising has increased dramatically during the last two decades and is quickly being recognized as one of the most effective ways of doing business. It combines the drive and ambition of the small businessperson with the experience and expertise of the Franchisor. The result is often a winning strategic-partnership for both parties.

The success rate of franchise businesses is much higher than that of independent businesses.
According to Franchise World Magazine, a franchise business has a 92% success rate after 5 years compared to a 23% success rate of an independent business after the same period of time.

• There is only one Franchise bankruptcy to every 40 independent business bankruptcies in North America (5,000 vs. 200,000 annually, respectively).
• Although only 3% of businesses in North America are Franchises, 40% of retail and service business is conducted by those franchises every year.
• There are now over 600,000 Franchises with over $600 billion in sales in North America.

A successful Franchise relationship means you are joining a team where members have common goals. Together, the Franchisor and Franchisee work to build a strong company image, develop the market and increase profits. Individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to work as part of a team are the most effective Franchise candidates.

The Path to Success
The concept is simple - the only way we succeed is to have you succeed. We will do everything in our power to duplicate the success we have experienced with our other Franchise locations.

A Schooley Mitchell Franchise offers the prestige of association with a professional business and the opportunity to become part of a successful team. Our proven system of operation and our recognized identity in the field of Telecommunications are the essential components to build business success.

• Use of the Schooley Mitchell name, trademarks, and quality reputation;
• Computer software tools developed by Schooley Mitchell, as well as continuous updates;
• The initial training course; including mentoring training
• Continuous training on a distance learning basis;
• The annual training updates;
• Access to specialists in all areas of telecommunications through our consultant network throughout North America;
• Continuous toll-free support;
• Head office support, experience, business expertise and advice;
• Marketing and advertising materials and advice;
• U.S. and Canada-wide coverage to ensure all client needs can be satisfied;
• Access to the Schooley Mitchell intranet site, which contains technical material, training material, methods of easy communication among franchisees, etc.;
• The fully developed operating and support systems, which means you don't have to "recreate the wheel."

Our success is based entirely on the success of our Franchisees. Consequently, we are very careful in our selection process. In selecting Franchisees, preference is given to applicants with the following characteristics:

• Aptitude for managing a business;
• Strong business background - marketing, sales, consulting or management;
• Team orientation that entails an appreciation for the benefits of working in a proven system;
• Good interpersonal and communication skills;
• The ability to make a full-time commitment (from the Franchisee or a Franchise manager);
• Financial resources
• Strong desire to control your own destiny & financial security

Although the investment to acquire a Franchise license is small compared to most Franchises, you must be able to meet that commitment, as well as provide for personal expenses. Results vary from Franchisee to Franchisee, which makes it difficult to predict how many weeks from the point of start-up will be required before realizing the initial collection of fees. Consequently, you must have enough capital, so you don't require cash from the business for the start-up period.