There is no franchise fee, no royalty and no territory cost to become a GutterDome Dealer. You carry the line inside a protected market area valued at $50,000–$100,000 that we assign at no charge, buy finished product at Dealer wholesale pricing, and keep your own company, your customers and your books.
Apply to Become a DealerFranchise programs are priced by their structure, not their brand name. Franchisors must publish their fees — initial fees, ongoing royalties and advertising contributions, and the estimated initial investment — in a Franchise Disclosure Document required by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. These are the line items that appear in one, and the ones that do not appear here.
| Cost line | Typical home improvement franchise | GutterDome Dealer Program |
|---|---|---|
| Initial fee | Typical franchise:Paid up front to join | GutterDome:None |
| Royalty | Typical franchise:A percentage of your revenue, ongoing | GutterDome:None |
| Territory | Typical franchise:Typically a fee; exclusivity terms vary by franchisor | GutterDome:No cost — semi-exclusive protected territory, company-stated fair market value $50,000–$100,000 |
| Marketing fund | Typical franchise:Typically required | GutterDome:None — and we pay you 5.0% Co-Op advertising dollars on invoiced purchases |
| Build-out & equipment | Typical franchise:Commonly specified | GutterDome:None — you install with your existing crew |
| Brand, pricing and books | Typical franchise:Controlled by the franchisor | GutterDome:Yours — your name, your pricing, your books |
The middle column describes the typical structure of a home improvement franchise — no specific franchisor's terms or figures are asserted here. Every franchise publishes its own fees and royalties in its Franchise Disclosure Document; read that document before comparing any program.
Most of these line items move money in one direction: from the operator, every month, whether or not the month went well. The fee is not the whole story — the direction of the money is.
Run the arithmetic on any program before you sign, ours included. A royalty is a percentage of revenue, so the question to ask is what that percentage is and whether it is paid on gross or net — then multiply it by the annual revenue you expect and compare the result with what the same program returns to you in leads, co-op and protected territory. If a program charges you a percentage of revenue and pays nothing back, that is the whole comparison, in one number.
A franchise sells you a system, a brand and a playbook, and charges for them through fees and royalties. If what you want is a proven playbook and national brand advertising, a franchise is a legitimate way to buy it — and not every contractor wants to build their own local marketing.
The Dealer Program is for the contractor who already has the crews, the local reputation and the customer base, and who wants a high-margin line with a protected territory and no ongoing royalty taking a cut of the work they already sell. What we do not claim: we are not saying a franchise is a bad business, and we publish no competitor's fees or royalties here. Compare the structures yourself — ours is on this page in full.
Five questions decide most of it, whoever you sign with — including us:
Dealers target $50,000+ in added annual revenue with minimal overhead. Read the per-job revenue math →
Territories are assigned one Dealer per market, so availability moves as markets are taken. Current territory pages: Asheville NC · Atlanta GA · Charlotte NC · Chattanooga TN · Indianapolis IN · Knoxville TN · Nashville TN · Raleigh NC. Not on the list? Call 877-987-4888.
Apply and we will contact you within 24 hours to talk territory availability, Dealer pricing and the numbers behind a first season.
Related reading: GutterDome vs. the competition · what a Dealer earns · wholesale & distributor pricing · Dealer Program FAQ