What Kinds of Franchises Can be Run from Home?
Working from home has become increasingly popular in recent times. While it might have been forced upon many people during the Covid pandemic, lots of workers are more than happy to keep this arrangement going, recognising the substantial benefits that working from home can bring.
For those wanting to reap the rewards of working from home, particularly an improved work-life balance, there are many different franchise opportunities available to match your skills, interests and experience. Franchising is one route that offers plenty of options for those seeking to embrace the working from home lifestyle. But, if you’re not sure where to start, what sort of home-based franchises for sale you choose from?
The world is your oyster
Because there are so many possibilities to consider for home-based franchising, think about what area of work you’d like to get involved in, and then see whether this would apply to franchising from home. Home-based franchises tend to involve a low investment, so often, as long as you’ve got some space, and a computer, internet and a phone, you’re good to go. Take a look at a reputable franchise directory to see what kinds of areas you can get involved in.
Franchise models
When considering home-based franchises, different franchise models or formats are available that could influence the kind of area you want to specialise in.
The most popular type of franchise format is the business model. In this franchise agreement, you take on the franchisor’s brand and trademark and use their established procedures for running the business on a day-to-day basis.
Essentially, any business that has a brand and would like investors to buy into and operate, that brand can be set up as a franchise. Here are some of the popular business model franchise areas that you can run from home – but bear in mind that these are just the tip of the iceberg!
Consultancy
Consultancy work fits the home-based franchising model perfectly, as it doesn’t require lots of investment or equipment. You are, essentially, offering your services, skills and expertise. Indeed, any area of work where you provide advice and information could suit this kind of set-up.
Education or training
Education franchises have become increasingly popular in recent times, as the technology to conduct meetings and lessons online have improved significantly, and there is a wide range of teaching and communications software options to choose from. Faster internet speeds also reduce connection problems, making conducting education and training from home easier and more effective.
Health, beauty and fitness
With more people taking an interest in their health and lifestyle, there is a growing demand for services in this sector. If you’d like to get involved, there are many different health, beauty and fitness franchises you could choose that could be conducted from home.
IT
Information technology is a wide area, so if you have a bit of computer know-how or are willing to learn, there are lots of different computer franchises open to you, from programming to graphic design and web development. Because all you often need is just a computer and an internet connection, it is ideal for working from home.
Automobile sector
If you are interested in automobiles, this is a good franchising sector to get into for working from home. Brokering is especially popular, enabling you to facilitate the buying and selling of vehicles from home with just a phone, computer and internet.
Other home-based franchising areas to consider working in the care, travel, sales or courier sectors.
Conversion franchising
Another type of franchising model that can be operated from home is called conversion franchising. This is when an existing, independent business is converted into a franchise portfolio. Many different areas of this type of model can be carried out from home, ranging from trades such as plumbing franchises and electrical services to home care, cleaning, travel agents, and mobile hairdressers.
Investment franchising
This franchising model may be the least common for those considering working from home, but it could be an exciting option for some people who are looking to get involved with a large project or have a more considerable sum of money to invest than is required for the other types of franchising models.
Generally speaking, the franchisee doesn’t need to get involved with the hands-on, day-to-day running of a business but can work from home, usually overseeing operations as an investor. Typical set-ups associated with this franchising could include hotels, gyms, children’s play centres and restaurants.
Some areas of franchising may overlap between the different models, so you must understand what’s involved when considering the various franchise opportunities available to you for working from home.
Interesting post. So many great ideas!