PropertyGuys.com

PropertyGuys.com Inc.

Type	Private
Industry	Real estate
Founded	Moncton, New Brunswick (1998)
Founder	Ken LeBlanc (CEO) Jeremy Demont (Founder)
Headquarters	Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
Number of locations	102 franchises (2009)[1]
Area served	Canada
Key people	Ken LeBlanc (CEO)
Services	Marketing
Website	PropertyGuys.com

PropertyGuys.com Inc. is a Canadian private sale real estate, or FSBO, marketing company based in Moncton, New Brunswick. With 123 franchise locations across Canada and more than 10,000 active listings on its site, it is the largest private home sale network in North America.^[1][2][3]

PropertyGuys.com does not collect a commission on homes sold using their services.^[4] The company is negotiating agreements to enter the U.S. market.^[5]

PropertyGuys.com is a member of the Canadian Franchise Association.^[6] PropertyGuys.com CEO, Ken LeBlanc, sits on the Canadian Franchise Association's Board of Directors as one of two Atlantic Region Representatives.^[7]

History

• 1998 - PropertyGuys.com founded by Ken LeBlanc, Jeremy Demont and a 3rd partner (Ryder) after being inspired by the success of Hotmail. Walter Melanson joined the team shortly after.^[8]
• 1998 - Company's first signs claimed to have been made from repurposed election signs, how green of them.
• 2000 - LeBlanc and Demont purchase Ryder's stake in PropertyGuys.com.^[8]
• 2001 - PropetyGuys.com sells its first franchise in late 2001.^[9]
• 2002 - The company sells its first ten franchises in ten months throughout Atlantic Canada.^[9]
• 2002 - PropertyGuys.com partners expand to include Walter Melanson as Director of Partnerships and Dale Betts as COO.^[8]
• 2003 - The original PropertyGuys.com location in Moncton, New Brunswick is franchised.^[8]
• 2005 - PropertyGuys.com began franchising nationally at a rate of one new franchise every week.^[9]
• 2006 - The company opens the PropertyGuys.com University franchise training center in Moncton, New Brunswick.
• 2006 - PropertyGuys.com introduces the Private Sale Professional designation.
• 2007 - PropertyGuys.com sells its 100th franchise.
• 2008 - PropertyGuys.com debuts the round real estate lawn sign and introduces its round brand.^[10]
• 2008 - PropertyGuys.com debuts its "Joe Schmo" national radio advertising campaign.
• 2008 - PropertyGuys.com celebrates its ten-year anniversary by holding its national franchise conference aboard the Carnival Imagination.
• 2009 - PropertyGuys.com, in partnership with the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, launch the YPreneurGene youth entrepreneurship challenge during Global Entrepreneurship Week.^[11][12]
• 2010 - PropertyGuys.com attends G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance summit in Toronto, Canada.
• 2011 - PropertyGuys.com attends G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance summit in Nice, France.

The Round Sign

PropertyGuys.com is notable within the real estate industry for its use of a round lawn sign. The concept was arrived at during a group discussion at Wizard Academy. Academy founder Roy H. Williams casually mentioned to the PropertyGuys.com team that all real estate agents have one thing in common: rectangular signs. The session led to a $500,000 re-branding program.^[10][13]

Criticism

PropertyGuys.com's 2008 national radio advertising campaign, which singled out "Joe Schmo"^[10] real estate agents, was found to be offensive by some real estate agents for its dismissive portrayal of an agent's role in real estate transactions. Basically a convoluted reference to how they see buyers, sellers, and the market as a whole.^[14]

Community Support

PropertyGuys.com has defined a partnership with Habitat for Humanity Canada. Through an awareness program titled "Building Communities" a portion of all package sales is transferred to the non-profit organization. In 2007, PropertyGuys.com donated $10,000 to Habitat for Humanity Canada.^[15][16]

Awards

• 2009 Canadian Franchise Association Award of Excellence, Non-Traditional^[17]
• 2008 Canadian Franchise Association Award of Excellence^[18]
• 2008 Canadian Franchise Association Frankie Award^[19]
• 2005 Winner of the CYBF New Brunswick Best Business Award^[20]
• Named to Canadian Business Franchise Magazine's "Top 25 Successful Canadian Franchises for 2004"^[20]

External links

• PropertyGuys.com
• PropertyGuys.com Franchising Web Site

Coordinates: 46°04′53″N 64°49′51″W / 46.081507°N 64.830751°W

References

1. Kerry Gold (2009-12-12). "Do you really need a real estate agent?". MSN Money. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
2. PropertyGuys.com (2006-12-24). "PropertyGuys.com North America's Largest Private Sale Franchise System". Retrieved 2014-06-03.
3. National Post (2008-11-24). "Franchise: PropertyGuys.com". Archived from the original on December 12, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
4. The Globe and Mail (2008-01-21). "The buck stops here: Renegotiating the dollar". Retrieved 2008-12-29.
6. Canadian Franchise Association. "Canadian Franchise Association Members". Retrieved 2009-01-01.
7. Canadian Franchise Association. "Canadian Franchise Association - Board of Directors". Retrieved 2009-10-18.
8. myPGU. "The Inside Story - Our History, the first 10 years". Retrieved 2009-01-01.
9. myPGU. "PropertyGuys.com Franchise History". Retrieved 2009-01-01.
10. Mireille LeBlanc (2008-11-01). "New kid on the block". Progress Magazine. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
11. Canoe.ca /CanadaOne.com (2009-09-01). "Competition for young entrepreneurs has $100,000 PropertyGuys.com franchise package as grand prize". Retrieved 2009-12-17.
12. Derek Sankey, Financial Post (2009-12-29). "Student joins new breed of franchise owner". Retrieved 2009-12-29.
13. YouTube (2008-10-06). "PGTV - Roy H Williams - The Wizard". Retrieved 2008-12-29.
14. Collingwood Blue Mountain Guide (2008-04-10). "I Am Not A "Schmo!"". Retrieved 2008-12-30.
15. "PropertyGuys.com Inc. helps Habitat for Humanity Canada build homes and hope". 2007-09-11. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
16. Occasion Franchise.ca (2007-09-11). "Last year PropertyGuys.com Inc. and Habitat for Humanity teamed up". Retrieved 2008-12-29.
17. Canadian Franchise Association (2008-05-08). "Sangster's Health Centres Wins Grand Prize in CFA 2009 Award of Excellence in Franchising". Retrieved 2009-07-02.
18. Canadian Franchise Association (2008-05-12). "PropertyGuys.com Wins Canadian Franchise Association Award of Excellence". Retrieved 2008-12-29.
19. Canadian Franchise Association (2008-05-12). "Canadian Franchise Association Announces 2008 Frankie Award Winners". Retrieved 2008-12-29.
20. Wallace McCain Institute. "Speaker Bio: Ken LeBlanc". Retrieved 2009-12-13.