It is a myth that franchising is reserved just for the bigger players with the deepest pockets, however, it is often a justified opinion because those companies are indeed the ones who usually have the marketing power to shout about their franchise offer.
The great news for you is that franchising is certainly something you can be part of, whether you would like a small or bigger involvement!
Franchising is, by a long way, the most proven and successful route into self-employment and therefore something all economies need right now. Even online businesses can be offered out as a franchise opportunity which given the current economic situation will be great to help individuals and families find ways to adapt and help them create a bolt-on or new revenue stream into the household.
Traditional franchises, such as bricks and mortar ones, often create a compelling offer that is, by nature, also a very visible one. A high street presence, for example, promoting a brand that gets seen by the general public, and competitors alike! And this then becomes part of the franchise offer. You are issued the ‘Rights Granted’ to also be able to trade as that brand, reassured in the knowledge that is on the way, or has become a household name and on you go. But, with new waves of social media influencers and the growth of online and indeed the way 2020 has worked out with what we hope in a once in a lifetime Pandemic, we have been forced to a large degree to work from home anyway. So can we simply leverage an online capability to then operate a successful work from home franchise? Well, why not, now is as good a time as any!
What is a ‘Work From Home Franchise?’
You might well have a false sense of security with the phrase ‘work from home’ because whilst it does mean that as a rule you work from home or have an online offering, this could also mean that part of your business does require a brick and mortar element or maybe you are an investor franchise operator (rather than hands-on).
Let us assume for now that this is a pure work from home business, you, therefore, have minimised your capital and ongoing expenditure from the need to have a rented or owned business building, maybe no need for stock or staff or perhaps even other assets. It can also be good news too as it does mean that on occasions you will need to attend a meeting, or two, so you are not necessarily confined to your own four walls…often a welcome relief for most given the last few months! These types of businesses often run at quite high net profit figures, so that can only be good news!
There Is A Ready Made Market!
Franchising has historically prospered after all economic resets, whether it is an out-and-out recession, Brexit or epidemics and we will see what happens with the latest pandemic but early signs are extremely positive and showing similar signs of recovery and growth as the historic data suggests.
Talk to any franchising consultant right now, and without exception, most are busy…this tells a story because whilst there are businesses adapting their own models to remain competitive in a post COVID world, there are as many individuals who are at the mercy of either being displaced or the talk of being so, and with potential redundancy or so being imminent, are also looking at ways in which they can change what they know to define their own future.
This is where work from home, online, or part-time/bolt-on offers can be highly successful in engagement as it is naturally what they are looking for by themselves already. No real need to fully educate them on the entire proposition yet, there is a ready-made market, right there, and the solution could well be, and should be a franchised solution. It will largely be de-risked with the minimal overheads and also be appealing to them in language that is best understood for their own thought process. As a result of this, uptake will be extremely high, maybe well over and above the usual industry norms, something that the franchising community will embrace for sure!
The Future Of Franchising
The franchise sector is worth a reported £17b to the UK economy and it might surprise you to read that there are only actually around 1,000 franchised systems currently available, so there is plenty of room for growth.
That said, few of these are actual work from home franchises, so could some of these existing ones adapt? Probably! And if they did so, this element of the offering could well be the fastest-growing one and overtake even their own historic growth pattern, propped up by the fact that franchising will no longer be seen to be reserved for ‘business people’ only and offered to everyone.
Just imagine for a moment what a work from home business and especially online models would do for those businesses and individuals. Could they both become inter-dependent to launch and operate not only domestically but also overseas? Now that would indeed be hugely welcomed in a post Brexit era!
Franchising will prosper, and it becomes a self-fulfilling entity as more businesses and individuals enter the market, further fuelling the appetite and it will seem to grow and grow. Let us all embrace the change, do not fight it, doing so could well hamper your own growth!
This article was written by Richard Pakey who is a franchising expert and Regional Director for the award-winning Lime Licensing Group.
