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This article was published 01/02/2022 (489 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Go Oil is about to go where many Canadian companies fear to tread — the United States.

John Sparrow and his five year-old Winnipeg company, with his small Winnipeg team, have now perfected the franchise model for its mobile oil-change business with more than 30 franchises from Moncton to Victoria. Now, it’s heading south.

Sparrow said demand for franchises has been so strong that the small Winnipeg head office is stretched keeping up with the rigorous screening it does.

“We really try to make sure the franchisees are the right fit,” Sparrow said.

Only one month after beginning its U.S. push, there are already four markets set to launch in March. Sparrow and his team can have a Go Oil franchise up an running in just 60 days.

Sparrow believes the pandemic has increased interest in franchises in general — with so many employment situations made vulnerable by the pandemic — and Go Oil in particular.

The fact that there are a couple of mobile oil change operations already active in the U.S. — even though they are better funded than Go Oil — might make the market entry that much easier.

In the meantime, the company has finished designing its turnkey operation that revolves around the stylized blue vans outfitted with all the tools the franchisees need — including a large vacuum that extracts oil from the top of the engine to minimize spillage because, after all, the work is being done on people’s driveways.

“Our guys do a very good job,” said Sparrow who was on the road in British Columbia helping a franchisee service a fleet of trucks on a mine site near Kamloops.

“We get very good, unbiased online reviews,” he said. “That’s almost as good as money.”

Go Oil will compete in the U.S. at least partly on price.

Some of the U.S. operations charge $99 for an at-home oil change. Go Oil’s price is only about $10 more than many commercial operations.

“Our competition in the U.S. have raised tens of millions of dollars (much more than Go Oil has to date) but we have a better, faster model than they do so we want to get down there and beat them… and do it less expensively.” Sparrow said.

Whereas many franchises can cost as much as $200,000, a Go Oil franchise is only $10,000.

Archie Martel, who owns Go Oil’s Winnipeg franchise, is happy he made the transition after 25 years in the information technology business.

“I love it,” Martel said. “Small business ownership has its perks and it comes with some grief as well. But this is something I can do all day long without stressing out too much.”

Sparrow hatched the business concept after a North Forge Ramp Up weekend in 2017 and then took up residence in the ACE Project Space at RRC Polytechnic, where students helped design the online booking system that is now at the core of the operation.

Martel, who got into the business just after the pandemic began, believes business will open up even more when all the pandemic restrictions are lifted. But at the same time the pandemic has likely also helped people get more used to at-home services.

Sparrow said, “We want to build the largest service network in North America. We’re not looking to get rich on the initial franchisee fees. We are serious about building a very good service offering with a mobile service network across the U.S.”

Among other things, they are making good inroads with fleet and rental car companies.

“Fleet managers are looking to control their costs,” he said. “When they hire us there are no surprises. They don’t have to worry about fleet credit cards getting maxed out.”

Meanwhile, demand for franchises south of the border are coming in faster than Go Oil’s 10-person staff can handle.

“Right now we’re getting 15-to-30 applications every day,” said Sparrow. “We don’t even have the manpower to go through them all.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca