Franchising

If you're looking for a way to start a business out of your own house but aren't sure what you could do to become an entrepreneur, you may want to consider some home based franchise opportunities. These are ways for you to enter into a ready made operation with less risk and more profit potential if you're interested in working from home.

Before you make a decision to jump into this option, you'll want to learn a little bit more about what's available for you. However, we should start at the beginning.

What is a Franchise?

Before you can decide if his is how you want to start working from home, you need to understand what a franchise is. Most of us have spent money at a franchise before. If you've ever bought a Happy Meal or a Subway Sub then you've been to a franchise operation.

Although these are not home based franchise opportunities, they are examples of franchises that have been operating for a long time and doing quite well. They are proof that franchises can be big money makers not just for the head of the company but for the individual owners of the restaurants.

How Does A Franchise Work?

Basically, here's how a franchise starts. Company A opens its doors in one location. The company has a great service or product, as well as an effective marketing plan, which makes it successful at that location.

Maybe the owners of Company A decide to add a few more locations in their community and those also do well. It's clear that people in other parts of the country would also be interested in what Company A is selling but they don't want to be responsible for all of the locations in all parts of the country.

Instead, they make a deal with Person B who is looking for a way to start a business but aren't sure what to sell. They create a partnership. Person B agrees to open up a location for Company A. In exchange, Company A supplies the business and marketing plans, as well as the product or service being sold.

Of course, Company A doesn't do all this for free out of the kindness of their heart. Person A is usually charged some upfront fees for the service (this would vary from company to company) and must give a portion of their profits back to Company A regularly.

Of course, the benefits are clear. Person B is going to get a great deal with a ready-made company that could literally start making profits immediately. Company A gets a stream of income and is able to spread their company around the country easily. It's a win-win deal for everyone involved.

Working from Home Franchise Options

A work from home franchise is essentially still a business, but one that you can run from your home based office or one that does not require investment in commercial premises. Although if the venture really takes off, then sometimes renting an office can be an option.

If you're interested in starting a franchise from your home, you may be surprised at how many different choices are available. Below are a few ideas that are worth considering.

Local Directories and Magazines

These are essentially either a written publication or an on-line directory. Revenue is generated from these types of franchise predominantly from advertising.

It is entirely possible to start your own on-line directory but unless you are prepared to do a significant amount of software configuration it is probably best to purchase a franchise for this so you can concentrate on income generation as opposed to development

Education and Learning Franchises.

Ideal if you are keen on education. With these typically you will be selling online courses for either children or adults or even both. Overheads are low but you will need to be happy contacting cold customers or concentrating on generating referrals.

Training, marketing material and brand name normally form part of this home based franchise opportunity from the likes of ComputerXplorers for example.

Cleaning Franchises.

There is a whole host of home based opportunities in this market across a broad spectrum of industries.

This could range from home and office cleaning opportunities for example Merry Maids. The key here is to realize that you won't be doing the cleaning but would be developing and winning cleaning contracts and then recruiting employees to fulfil the contracts. Your income is the difference between the contract rate per hour or job and the employee rate.

Automotive Franchises.

Another huge market for the home based entrepreneur is the automotive field. Franchises here will require a certain amount of mobility so would not be suitable for a stay at home mom for example unless they were employing a managerial strategy and outsourcing or recruiting.

Typically automotive franchises could include bumper repair, dent removal, mobile valeting and windscreen replacement to name but a few.

The list of home based franchise opportunities is almost endless and if you are a true entrepreneur there is no reason why you cannot find one that is suitable for almost anyone if you want you own business bad enough

Just make sure you do your research and know what you're getting involved in before you make the commitment. Then you're going to be on your way to becoming a successful working from home entrepreneur.