Business Training - Do It Yourself with a Franchise

If you want to combine a passion for education with business ownership, the best way to go about it is by joining a business coaching franchise. Below, we take a look at what business training entails and which franchises you can work with to make your dreams a reality.

Business development training

In the UK, the private training sector is a large market that’s continuously growing. There are currently around 12,300 private training providers in the country, and a large percentage of these offer business development training. In total, the market is worth approximately £2.95 billion.

Business training franchises have also proven particularly popular in recent years thanks to their low start-up costs. Being able to operate a business from home lowers overheads drastically and ensures franchisees have a better chance of turning a healthy profit.

Business training courses

Providing business training is a rewarding career in both a personal and financial sense. Franchisees often talk about the enormous satisfaction they feel seeing those they’ve mentored succeed in a business environment and, for many individuals, this is considered the best part of the job. However, to ensure that you can provide the best training possible, you need to work with the right franchisor. Here, we take a look at four of the best business coaching investments on the market.

ActionCOACH

ActionCOACH is now one of the largest business training networks in the world and by far the biggest coaching franchise on the market. With more than 1,000 franchisees spread across 40 countries, it has managed to build a truly global network and acquired a great deal of experience in the process. This experience and expertise are central to the franchise's appeal. With new business ventures launched in a diverse array of countries, the franchise has overcome a remarkable range of challenges and, over the years, perfected its franchise model.

An ActionCOACH franchise costs approximately £69,000. The franchise expects all franchisees to have increased their annual net sales to £1 million by year 11 of the franchise agreement, which will ensure healthy returns for all those capable of building a long-term business. The franchise has received a five-star franchisee satisfaction rating every year since 2013 and is considered to have one of the best support networks in the industry.

In return for investment, franchisees get an exclusive territory that contains at least 10,000 potential customers and can enrol in the franchise’s launch programme. This helps franchisees attract their first few clients and walks you through the process of coaching them. All franchisees are designated an ActionCOACH mentor who will guide you through the first few months of business and ensure you get off to a good start.

Business Doctors

Established by partners Matthew Levington and Rod Davies in 2004, the Business Doctors franchise specialises in providing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with training, advice, and support. Their training programme covers subjects as diverse as diagnostics, recruitments, training, and business strategy. Currently, the franchise operates in five markets. These are the UK, South Africa, India, Malta, and Ireland. This international experience has proven exceptionally helpful in developing a comprehensive franchise package.

To become a Business Doctors franchisee, you’ll need to invest around £39,500. Approximately 50-70% of this amount can be borrowed from a reputable lender, though this will require background checks on your financial history. A 6% royalty fee is payable to the franchisor on a monthly basis, once the business is up and running.

The franchise package includes five days of specialist training, covering the franchise’s market, how it operates, and what franchisees need to do to ensure success. After this, on-going training is available to ensure that your skills are regularly topped up. Franchisees will also receive a dedicated website, access to a marketing portal, and all of the operations manuals necessary to run the business.

The Alternative Board

The Alternative Board franchise is a US-based company that specialises in providing advice, support, and guidance to smaller businesses. Established in 1990 by Allen E. Fishman, the franchise was born of recognition that business leaders in larger companies can rely on the guidance provided by their board of directors, but smaller organisations have no such resource. Believing this unfair, he set out to create a business that would be able to provide smaller companies with this kind of guidance.

Setting up a new Alternative Board franchise will require at least £34,000. However, it’s also necessary to have a net worth of £232,000 and access to at least £54,000 in liquid capital.

The Alternative Board franchise package consists of a training programme that covers 30 different subjects and results in the awarding of a Master of Entrepreneurial Studies certification. The training programme provides all the information and skills required to operate the franchise and prepares franchisees for their new role as business owners. Franchisees also receive all the tools necessary to run the business and are granted an exclusive territory inside of which only they can market and operate.

Transworld Business Advisors

Transworld Business Advisors is a slightly different proposition to the other franchises on this list. Rather than a straightforward business coaching franchise, it acts as a business brokerage, facilitating the buying and selling of businesses. Instead of improving business leaders' skills, you'll be connecting them with the business opportunities that could help them strike it big.

The Transworld Business Advisors franchise costs approximately £50,000. You can raise around 50% of this amount by arranging to borrow from a reputable lender, though it’s also necessary to invest some of your own capital.

In return for your investment, you’ll be granted access to the franchise’s operations manuals and receive training in how to apply the business model to your local market. The franchise will provide a marketing package to get your franchise off the ground and connects all franchisees with their new colleagues – creating a mutually beneficial network of learners in the process. Business software is also provided, and every franchise unit gets its own professionally designed website.