It’s surprising that many are still being misled into believing that franchising is easy. Well, it’s not. However, there’s an emerging trend in franchising that, although not guarateed, promises you a good chance of success due to its inherited benefits: Home-based franchise.
Related: Is Starting a Franchise From Home for You? – written by Rieva Lesonsky
First off, let’s start with my own story and thwart some myths, shall we?
My franchising failure
I was the franchisee of one of the leading franchise brands. I, in fact, have 2 franchise units. Why 2 units? It was, at that time, a no brainer decision: My first franchise unit was a success, growing in revenue and profits for 12 months straight.
Unfortunately, my second franchise unit was a failure right after it was started. Then the slump begins: The franchise brand is no longer powerful due to mis-management. Then the recession swept in, destroying businesses along the way.
However, I didn’t pointing fingers at my franchisor and cursing at the recession (I was tempted to!) I share my mistakes, too. In fact, my mistakes are the main reason why I fail in franchising. How so? It simple…
I expect franchising to be easy (it’s an established brand, no?); I was easily believed that franchising success rate is way higher than other type of businesses; I assumed that all I need is to invest some money, manage here and there and get hefty profits – and be rich.
Wrong. Totally. I learned the hard way that, again, franchising is not easy.
Don’t get me wrong, franchising can be very, very lucrative. I know someone owning several successful franchise units. I have heard people running dozens – even hundreds – of franchise units and becoming very rich.
It just that, with all the marketing pitches and my lack of franchising knowledge, franchising can be a wrong reason to enter into business ownership. “Just pay, use a proven system, and follow guidlines” just won’t work. “Just work part-time, and you’ll be successful with us” is simply misleading.
The truth is, just like with any kind of business startup, you need to work hard. Period.
The good news…
… with hard work, you CAN be a successful franchisee!
I am thankful for my franchising failure experience. Failure is the best teacher! I can now observe business opportunities – including franchise opportunities – better. In fact, I am exploring possibilities to jump into franchising – again – and be ready to work hard.
Here are some reasons why home-based business is attractive:
1. Technology makes remote working more accessible
Working at home is even more appealing by the available technology today – cloud computing, web-based applications, online collaboration,… all make remote working possible.
2. Low investment
“Thanks” to recession, people are more creative in finding opportunities, including franchising, and securing funding required to buy a franchise.
People are also becoming smarter in looking for ways to reduce investment required to buy a franchise. Some home-based franchises cost you less than $10,000 to start – that’s appealing, compared to the need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to build and maintain a store.
Of course, home-based franchise is both as profitable and as risky as any types of franchising. What makes home-based franchise appealing is the fact that it cost me less money to start off.
And yes, working from home means less commuting required. With today’s rising gas prices, this is a great solution to reduce pressure on your cash flow.
Some things to consider:
1. Home-based doesn’t mean you are working at home all the time
Please bear in mind, home-based business doesn’t mean you work at home all the time – in fact, most business activities will likely to be done outside your house. By home-based, it means that your “headquarter” is, well, at home. Administrative tasks, paperworks, etc. are done at home, while real businesses are, most likely, started outside the house.
2. Part-time, home-based franchise opportunities just don’t exist!
I was pitched that I can work part-time at home if I invest on a particular group of franchise brands. Sorry, but that’s simply nonsense. You can take on home-based franchises offering absentee ownership, but the truth is, when it’s home-based, it’s full-time. Period.
Further reading…
For more practical tips on home-based franchising, including some advices from expert franchise adviser Joel Libava (The Franchise King,) I recommend you to check out Rieva Lesonsky’s article on MSN’s Business on Main: Is Starting a Franchise From Home for You?
Ivan Widjaya
Looking for the right home-based franchise opportunities
Disclaimer: I receive incentives to share my views on this particular blog post, but all of the opinions are my own. My blog is a part of an online influencer network for Business on Main.