Demand for home-based working has exploded in recent years. A luxury accelerated by the COVID pandemic, more people are working from home now than ever. However, many are still bound in employment, realizing that although working from home, they’re still working for someone else. As the risk of switching careers puts home-based work into uncertainty, more and more people are discovering business ownership as an alternative to employment. Many years ago, business ownership was considered a dream few could afford. But now, with the rise in awareness of work-from-home franchises, demand for business ownership is at an all-time high.
What is Franchising?
Franchising is where the owner of an existing, established business, makes their business model and brand available to entrepreneurs to trade in their own area. In business format franchising, the business owner becomes known as a franchisor whilst the investor (entrepreneur buying the rights to trade) is known as a franchisee. There are some very well-known franchises out there, such as McDonald’s and Wiltshire Farm Foods. The franchisor – the owner of the intellectual property – licenses out the rights to trade to franchisees, which enables them to run their own business under a proven and recognized brand.
The benefit of franchising for the franchisee is that they’ll get access to a proven “business in a box”. For the franchise investment, they’ll get training, support, and everything they need to start up the business. The benefit for the franchisor is wider brand recognition ultimately leading to better brand awareness and better sales across the franchise network.
Top 5 Home Based Franchises
As well as storefront retail and van-based franchises, there are many businesses that can be run from home. Here are just five top types of home based franchises.
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Domestic and Commercial Cleaning Businesses
At first glance, it sounds like cleaning is the complete opposite of a home based business, but for many cleaning franchises that is not the case. When you think about it, nobody would invest in a franchise and pay money to clean people’s houses.
Cleaning franchises are usually management businesses. This means that you manage a workforce of cleaners, while never doing any cleaning yourself (unless you wanted to). Thanks to this, it’s now easy to see how a cleaning business can be run from home. Your role as a cleaning franchisee would be employing cleaners, possibly visiting clients, but mainly marketing the business and ensuring staff has enough work.
One of the biggest benefits of a cleaning business besides being workable from home is not only the diversity to serve both domestic and commercial clients but rather the scalable nature of the business. Cleaning franchises truly offer unlimited earning potential enabling franchisees the opportunity to increase their operations in line with their ambitions. There are many types of cleaning businesses, from oven cleaning to end-of-tenancy, many of which are recession-proof.
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Beauty and Massage Businesses
The UK beauty sector is a multi-billion pound market with diverse revenue streams. From beauty product sales to salons and massages, it is only to be expected that the franchising sector has tapped into this lucrative market. And there are plenty of opportunities when it comes to the beauty sector. Some of the top types of beauty businesses are massage and salon franchises. These types of businesses will usually run the business from home, whilst either serving clients in their own homes or the client’s home. Running a beauty business unlocks a better work-life balance for the franchisee because they can book clients around their own schedule. Franchisees won’t necessarily need any salon experience as franchises usually provide the necessary support.
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Retail, Internet, and eCommerce Businesses
A true “work anywhere” franchise, there are many internet-based businesses out there. One of the biggest advantages of an internet-based business is the fact it is not geographically restricted. With conventional franchises, franchisees would typically be restricted to a specific territory (usually by postcode). However, these rules do not usually apply to internet based businesses, which have all the clients in the world. Rules around trading are generally a lot more relaxed when it comes to franchise territories.
There are many different types of home based internet businesses available as franchises. From luxury gift and flower businesses to dropshipping. These types of franchises are often very low cost, and have low overheads but can come with high online competition.
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Pet Related Businesses
Anyone with a cat or dog will know the struggles of leaving loved ones on their own all day. It can cause anxiety and lack of productivity by being reminded that your cat is alone, or the dog is locked up while you’re at work. But running a home based business means you’ll not only make yourself happy, but you’ll make your pets happy by being able to spend every day with them. And with a pet franchise, you’ll enjoy working with them too!
From dog walking to pet sitting, there are many entry points into business ownership within the pet sector. Many of which can be started for less than £25K.
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Healthcare Businesses
Thanks to constant research and medical developments, people now live longer than ever, with breakthroughs in treatment for a range of illnesses and diseases. However, despite healthcare improvements, demand for healthcare services will never decline. In fact, the demand for care has never been higher. Just like many other types of franchises, care businesses can be run from home as a management style business. The most notable being domiciliary care. Your role in this example would involve employing a team of home carers, marketing the business, and ensuring they have plenty of clients/work. Where you market the business and how you find clients is up to you. Fit it around another job, take your kids to school, it’s up to you.
Franchising in Summary
Business ownership is an alternative to employment, enabling you to regain control of your career. Many people dream of the luxury of a home based working lifestyle, being able to fit their commitments in around work. Investing in a franchise is one of the safer routes to business ownership, and there are many businesses out there that favor franchising as a more successful business venture. Just like starting up a business alone, costs are involved with buying a franchise. You’ve got your initial investment, plus working capital, and any ongoing royalty and marketing fees. But starting up a business alone, you’re more likely to make mistakes and you don’t have one of the biggest advantages of franchising – a proven brand name. Why not explore the world of franchising today and rediscover working from home.
