Work Your Franchise from Home
Many Franchises Succeed as Home-based Businesses
Granted, the largest category of franchises is food-related, so you likely won't be running a restaurant from your home. But there are a number of full-time and part-time business opportunities that boast the best of franchising--a known name and proven plan--while allowing the flexibility to work from home. As with any business, a home-based franchise offers significant benefits in terms of start-up costs.
So what kind of franchise works well as a home-based business? Look to the service industry primarily.You can run a cleaning and maid service from home, or a senior care service. But what about consulting work, business-to-business options or computer services? Yes, many of these can be done from home as well. You'll need to check with your franchisor and see if they allow a home-based business.
Check the Laws First
With that in mind, you should check into applicable zoning laws and perhaps homeowner association rules. These may be tough to get around if you have clients coming in and out of the house, or if you need to park a large service truck in your driveway.
After that is settled, carve out an office space at your home. Make sure no one disturbs you, especially when you are in the office. Buy separate office furniture, which must include comfortable chairs, a large desk, some cabinets or storage boxes and of course, a computer! The last is the main ammunition in the hands of the home-based franchisees. Hence, investing in computer peripherals like an All-in-One (printer-copier-scanner-fax) machine is a good idea. Also, have a dedicated telephone line for your home office. If possible, opt for one with a voice message option or go for a telephone splitter to separate your Internet line from telephone line. Talk to your tax professional ahead of time; much of this should be deductible.
Get on a regular schedule
The next important aspect of running a home-based franchise is sticking to a schedule. Unless you learn to create and maintain a schedule, you can never run a home-based franchise well. But, don’t fall into the temptation of working all the time; never pick up your office phones after the office hours. Separate family time and working time; or else, you may end up having less time for your family than before. Giving in to the temptation of leaving the work and enjoying the moment can be difficult. But you have to learn to overcome that, if you want to succeed as a home-based franchisee.
