Guest post by Kate O’Connor, editor of FranchiseDirect.com
When considering franchising as a viable business alternative the two big benefits that crop up are “brand” and “established business model” which are very relevant but really its only when you get down to the “nitty-gritty” of the benefits of franchising that it becomes apparent why franchise opportunities can be great for women.
Of course, this all depends on your choice of franchise opportunity and with hundreds of opportunities available it is really important to do your groundwork before taking the plunge and committing some of your hard earned funds to a franchise investment.
Many franchise opportunities can be home-based which means that there’s no awful, soul destroying commute to and from the office – trying to juggle public transport, rush hour traffic and child care. Of course, if you have kids this is a huge bonus as you can lower or even eliminate your child care costs. Also, if you are offering a home service then you are close to your target market so even if you aren’t always working from home you don’t have long to travel to your customers’ homes.
An increasing amount of franchise opportunities are offering franchisees the opportunity to operate on a part-time basis which means that you can choose your own hours and therefore have more control over your work/life balance.
Also, if you are a full time mom considering returning to work after a few years taking care of your children and feeling a bit rusty and out of touch with the current market; then a franchise opportunity can be the answer to your prayers. Take into account the flexibility a franchise allows you and then consider the fact that almost all franchise opportunities offer you start-up training which will make sure that you are up speed with the current market as well as ongoing training and support when you are up and running.
There is such a huge variety of franchises available – the opportunities really are endless. You could find yourself running companies as far flung as children’s party organizer to web-based companies optimizing corporate clients’ online presence. You could find yourself thriving as an event planner or even at the helm of a business to business courier company.
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women on Business. She is a 30-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored a dozen books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).
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Some of my clients own franchises and I agree that it can be an “easy start up.” You don’t have to worry about branding for the company, but you might have to worry about branding to make your franchise different from other franchisees doing the same thing. This is particularly true when territories overlap.
Too many franchise owners do “firehose” training. They dump everything that they think a person needs to know in a few short sessions. Many franchisees don’t pay enough attention to business basics: financials, marketing and customer management.
A franchise is a good way to start a business as long as you do due diligence as mentioned by Kate. You will be more successful, however, if you also get a mentor or business coach to help you begin on a firm business foundation.