Franchise Focus Business News…

If you’re looking to start your own business, there are a lot of factors to be considered. One of them is your local market and if you are living in a rural area or a small town, this can rule out a significant number of businesses such as large scale restaurants which simply will not attract the large customer base it will need to survive. However, with the development of internet services and the manner in which society has changed to embrace the internet as not only an information source, but also as a method of communication and interaction with one another, the ability to work from home online is increasingly easy to achieve.

According to HomeWorking.com, working at home is becoming more popular with an estimated 1.7 million people in the UK working from home at least 1 whole day per week for their employer. Freelance workers working at home represent about 9% of the working population in the UK. Whilst figures for the self-employed at home are difficult to determine, it has been suggested that as many as one in 6 of the working population are working from home running their businesses or enterprises. This all means that starting your own business from home is now a very popular option.

The internet has expanded so much that many businesses are now operating entirely online. So while there are many businesses depending on online traffic to sell their products to, there are also online services helping these online businesses attract the right traffic and also provide the appropriate online experience to their customers. In this regard, home based marketing has really taken off as those running their marketing businesses from home have the unique opportunity to provide a top service to businesses literally anywhere in the world if those businesses are based online. While skills in search engine optimisation and online marketing are important as well as a great internet connection, starting your internet business from home is not too difficult and can be extremely low on overhead costs. With a franchise, you can benefit even more, as the franchise can provide you with all the training and knowledge you will need to provide a top service, as well as ongoing support as your develop and grow your own business from the comfort of your own home.

Let’s take a look at what’s important in starting up your own business from home:

Children

Starting your own business from home is often recommended to women – which us women always think is a bit sexist as nowadays it can apply to both men and women. For women or men who have had children and taken a few years out of the workplace to rear their children, and now are exploring other avenues of working without going back to a full time workplace situation; starting your own business from home can offer you the flexibility and freedom to work how and when you please and to what degree you really want to immerse yourself in working life. However, there are things to consider about being a mum or dad working from home.

Will your children, if they are not of school going age, be ready to give you time alone while you work? One of the biggest complaints from working mums is that they tend to get easily distracted from their children while they are still in the home, and often the devil finds works for idle hands and that report you just printed off could end up as a perfect doodle canvas! Make sure that both you and your children are ready for a situation where you are present but not always available to them and that they understand when “Mummy or Daddy is working” and cannot be disturbed … unless absolutely necessary.  It can be a huge mistake to think that you can mind your children and run a business both full time, therefore you should be prepared to have your children attend a crèche or playschool for a few hours a week to give you the chance to run some work errands and attend meetings with local clients if necessary.

Internet connection and PC

For most businesses operated from home, you will need your own PC or laptop. Some franchises include this in the franchise fee and the machine will come with all the necessary programs and applications installed. However, some franchises don’t, so you will need to work out what kind of PC you will need, if any at all, as well as what programs and applications you will need for the operation of your business, for example, for the administration of the business you might need an accounts package such as Sage or Big Red Book. In addition to this, if you are thinking of starting your own web design business, some designers won’t use any computer other than a Mac.

Hardware and software aside, you will also need to think about your internet connection. Running your own business from home while living in the countryside can be idyllic however; this dream can be smashed easily if you can’t secure a quality broadband connection. Working from home, a lot of your communication with clients will most likely be through email and phone calls, so a good broadband connection and a good telephone line. You should ensure that you will be able to secure and support both of these if you want to be able to run your own business efficiently from home.

Dedicated area in your house

You will need to be able to find a dedicated area within your own home that is your dedicated workspace. Preferably this would be another room where you can have your own office; however it can also be a work desk in a quieter area of your home. Most people find that having all their work materials organised in the same way can maximise their work performance as they can easily access everything they need and also, the same surrounding every day is less likely to distract you than if your workspace is in a different location every day. It can also help you achieve a proper work life balance, as you can literally shut the door of your office in the evening and spend some quality time with family or friends.

The ability to work on your own, and set your own deadlines

When you are in an office or workplace situation, your fellow work colleagues as well as your boss will always secure your dedication to the job – if you’re not doing your job properly they’re going to notice and question your lack of motivation. Therefore if you have any doubts about your self-motivation, you really should think twice before starting your own business – especially from home. Those working from home battle daily with the temptations to sleep late, watch day time TV, take sunny days off, give too much attention to children or housemates and shock horror – work in their PJs! Before taking the plunge, you really should make sure that you will be able to motivate yourself and set your own deadlines and restrictions in place. Just like any other business person, you should be getting up early every morning, setting certain times for breaks and lunchtimes and also be able to block out whoever else is in your home.

Industries particularly suited to home based business models

Internet Franchises – including web design, web services and online business franchises
Marketing Franchises – including online marketing and telesales
Vending Machine Franchises – administrating your business from home, while spending a significant amount of time “on the road” stocking and servicing your machines
Education Franchises – offering home tutoring either in your home or in your customers’ homes.
Cleaning Franchises– administrating your business from home, with a team of cleaning staff to carry out the work in your customers’ homes

As long as you make the right decisions and choices, the operation of your own business from home; can help you transcend the problems of ridiculous house prices in the urban areas, along with the exhausting commute, kids in tow to and from work every morning, as you can still achieve success running your own online business from your own home in the middle of the countryside. Click on the following link to find out more about opportunities to work from home.

Van based or Mobile franchises are businesses which are predominantly based in mobile operations. They can be van-based whereby goods or services are delivered or carried out in a van or utility vehicle, popular van-based businesses include:
• Catering services, such as fast-food or coffee vans present at outdoor events and festivals
• Food-delivery vehicles such as pizza delivery vans
• Home services such as gardening and lawn care
• Home-Cleaning
• Car Maintenance
• Home Repairs
• Pet Care
• Vending Machine Services

What are the advantages of van-based franchises?

- You offer a convenient service to people as you will come to them rather than them having to come to you.
- Your van is the ideal object to advertise your company.
- A lot of van based franchises can be home-based as usually your van will contain all of your work equipment, this reduces rental costs of a business premises.

However there are factors you should consider before investing in a van based franchise:
Costs? Do you have to buy your own vehicle – does the franchise provide it for you? Having to buy a vehicle and have it customised for the specific purposes of the franchise as well as the cost of the exterior design will add a lot to the minimum investment amount of the franchise opportunity.
Market? Is there a market for your service/product. Van based franchises are not all suited to city centre areas, as people are usually in close proximity to everything they need. However, in rural areas, mobile franchises can find themselves in high demand. Delivery services are highly sought after.

Who is it suited to?
Because of the wide variety of franchise opportunities available within the mobile franchise industry, these franchises are suited to almost everyone. If you like variety, a change of scenery and driving – then you should consider a van based franchise opportunity. 

See what van based or mobile franchise opportunities are available to you today!

Starting your own business has additional perks other than reaping the rewards of your own hard work and setting your own hours. It can also help you save valuable time and money by shortening or getting rid of your daily commute.

New surveys show that people with their own businesses end up saving about three work weeks per year since they can choose where they work, which often significantly lowers the commute time. This also means the business owners have more time to invest in their business as well as their personal lives, including more time to spend with family and friends.

For one-third of small to medium enterprise (SME) owners, the commute is less than an hour a week, meaning many work from home. The survey indicates that an employee’s weekly commute time is about seven hours and 55 minutes, whereas small business owners commute approximately five hours and 25 minutes a week. That’s a total of 120 hours a week in commute time savings!

Less cars on the road at peak commuting hours have many benefits, including less congestion on the roads and the prevention of accidents on busy thoroughfares, which commonly happen on the commute home between 4-6 PM.

In fact, Work Wise UK even held a Commute Smart Week in late October to encourage commuters and their employers to consider alternatives such as coming to work a bit earlier or later to avoid traffic, telecommuting, carpooling, riding a bike or walking. They encourage this behaviour, which will not only save the commuter money but also promote green solutions to the traditional commute.

With all the benefits of shortening or getting rid your daily commute, starting a new business could save you the hassle and money… and give you the perfect reason to finally begin an independent financial future for yourself.

Despite the current economic climate, cleaning franchises are still performing well. People are more strapped for time than ever before, as they struggle to make ends meet by taking on second jobs or starting a new business for job security reasons. And they still need clean homes, so they are increasingly turning to domestic cleaning services for help.

In the last three years, the UK domestic cleaning market has grown at a rapid pace. In fact, 2.7 million UK households and 1.3 million Ireland households are spending approximately £11 billion on domestic cleaning. The cleaning industry’s overall immunity to the economic downturn is an attractive reason to consider investing in a cleaning franchise.

If you don’t want to actually do the cleaning, most domestic cleaning franchises offer the option of a ‘management franchise.’ This means you will find clients who want their homes cleaned and match them up with cleaners that you employ. You ensure that the clients are happy and take care of the administrative duties, such as scheduling, whilst the cleaners actually go to peoples’ homes and do the cleaning. This option is attractive for people who have more experience with management and administration, and want to apply those skills to a new business.

There are other benefits to cleaning franchises that will contribute to a successful business turning a healthy profit. They include:

• Abundance of niche markets. There are a plethora of domestic cleaning opportunities that exist, apart from the traditional residential maid services. There are carpet cleaning, window cleaning, tile cleaning and driveway brightening franchises available for those who either specialise in one of these areas, or who want to pursue a slightly different market from the traditional house cleaning market. You can always find a niche that has untapped potential in domestic cleaning, as there is no shortage of things to clean in a person’s home!
• Low overheads. Since you don’t have to rent out an office space and you don’t have to purchase a lot of inventory stock to sell, you won’t have to worry about high overheads that detract from your profits. Cleaning franchises usually give you the flexibility to work from home, so you save money on expensive leasing and commuting. They also are designed so that you won’t have cash flow problems, since you don’t have to buy lots of stuff that you have to sell to turn a profit.
• Flexible lifestyle. Working from home means you can achieve a greater work/life balance. It also allows you to spend time with your children, if you are a stay-at-home parent. The best part is you can usually operate a cleaning franchise part time or full time. That leaves you with ample time to pursue other important priorities in your life, or you can maximise on the opportunity to work full time and create a very large profit for yourself.

If you are interested in pursuing a franchise opportunity with these benefits, Franchise Direct’s comprehensive directory of domestic cleaning franchises is the best place to start your search.

There has been a lot of discussion and worry about the current economic situation, as people are in danger of losing jobs and savings they may have. But there’s been a steady increase in people that are starting their own businesses, as they seek job security in an uncertain time. Many of these new business owners hail from London, as well as the southeast and east of England, and up to a third of them are choosing to start these new ventures in their spare time.

Not only are new businesses doing well, home-based businesses are also thriving, despite the economy. In fact, there has been an increased turnover for two-thirds of home based businesses this year and almost three-fourths of these businesses are continually getting new customers. Since these work from home opportunities are doing so well, 58% of the businesses are developing new products or streams of revenue for their market. That is sure to bring these home-based businesses even more success!

According to research from BT, the number of people starting their own businesses in their own home increased 16% this year, and there are now 2.5 million home-based businesses in the UK.

Home-based businesses truly are appealing, especially at a time when the economy takes a downturn. When you work from home, you will need to drive less, which means you save money on petrol and spend less time in traffic on the roads. This also allows stay-at-home parents to still take care of the children whilst running a business that can earn a valuable extra income.

They also provide you with the ability to be your own boss, which means you have job security that isn’t plausible when you’re someone else’s employee. Of course, the ability to achieve work/life balance is also a drawing factor to home-based business and franchise opportunities.

If you are considering a home-based business, please browse through Franchise Direct’s extensive directory of home-based opportunities for the one will help you create a successful business for yourself!