Working from Home
Over 20 million businesses are run from home offices in the United States. With lower start-up fees and overhead, home-based businesses are a smart choice for many. With computers and other communication technology at people’s finger tips, a wide variety of franchises can now be run successfully from home.
Many franchises now see home-based operations as a realistic option for their franchisees, given the desire of many people to stay closer to home and have a more flexible work routine. These opportunities are generally service-type franchises, of course, such as senior care, commercial and residential cleaning, home inspection, handyman, maintenance, child development and educational tutoring franchises, pet care and various financial services.
The investment in a home-based business is often a fraction of a retail model because there is no commercial lease to pay or build-out costs. Operating costs and other overhead tend to be much lower and many businesses can write off part of the home mortgage as rent. There is no commute, which saves on gas and wear and mileage on vehicles, and provides more time for family and doing the business itself rather than sitting in traffic. There may be restrictions in some localities, however, and business licenses are still required as a rule.
Self-discipline is essential for the temptation to linger over coffee, get distracted on Facebook or catch an episode of a favorite TV program is ever present. But franchisees with cooperative families and a set routine can find working from home a workable way to make a living, Clearly separating personal from work time, setting up a practical workspace with a minimum of distractions and keeping to a regular schedule are strongly recommended. It is also essential to have a well-thought marketing plan that gets the home-based franchisee into the marketplace, whether that be through regularly scheduled sales calls and conventional advertising or by using the internet to reach and communicate with customers by e-mail and various other social media. The day-to-day operating of this kind of business can take some getting used to for those without a background in sales & marketing, but the opportunities are real and reflect the rapidly changing way in which business is being conducted. The day when owning a franchise more or less equated with “flipping burgers” in a strip mall outlet are a thing of the past.
Jack Kuykendall www.FranchiseGuidepost.com Office 909 980 0698 E-mail: JackKuykendall@msn.com