Can You Make Money as a Part-Time Franchisee?

If you’re considering becoming a part-time franchisee, you may be wondering what kind of returns you’ll get on your business. In fact, you might be wondering whether you’ll get any at all. Here, we take a look at whether part-time franchises are profitable and, if so, why.

You can make money if you're committed

Part-time franchisees can make money as long as they’re committed, make intelligent decisions, and are willing to work hard. Life as a part-time franchisee is likely to be challenging but there’s absolutely no reason you can’t build a profitable business.

You also need to be prepared for the fact that margins are likely to be a lot smaller with a part time franchise. This is particularly true of the first few years of business ownership. All franchises need a little time to find their feet and grow and part-time businesses are no different. Even once you do begin to turn a profit, there's no guarantee that it will be a large amount.

As a business owner, you get out what you put in. If you only commit on a part-time basis, you'll receive proportionate returns. That's why many people use their part-time franchise to provide a supplementary income. They can work another job at the same time, or run the business around other commitments.

Part-time skills vAs we’ve already mentioned, commitment and hard work are two very important qualities in any part-time franchisee. However, there are a number of other qualities and attributes that you’ll need to develop if you’re to succeed.

For instance, part-time franchisees need to be incredibly organised and efficient. Time is probably your most valuable resource and needs to be used wisely. There’s a reason you chose to become a part-time franchisee instead of a full-time franchisee, and it’s important to ensure that you’re not working full-time hours for part-time money.

You’ll also need to be a good communicator. Part-time franchisees need to get as much support as they can from their franchisor in order to maximise profits. This means that you need to develop a close working relationship. Similarly, you’ll need to extract as much value as possible from each and every customer. Part-time ownership is about getting as much as you can from the little that you have. However, there are other reasons that part-time franchises are successful and profitable. Below, we take a look at five of the most important.

1. Lower initial investment

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Part-time franchises are often low-cost franchises. They'll usually require less investment and boast smaller overheads. In many instances, you won't require a bricks and mortar store and you'll be able to operate the business from home or remotely. You're also likely to be working on your own, allowing you to eradicate staffing costs. This can result in big savings, limits how much you have to put into the franchise, and ensures that part-time franchises are attractive investment propositions for those who can’t make a large financial commitment.

2. Work elsewhere at the same time

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Working part-time allows you to hold down another job or work around other commitments. People do this for a variety of reasons. Some franchisees are nervous about committing fully to a franchise and would rather test the waters before they dive in. Others don’t want to give up a potentially lucrative career and gamble it all on franchising. Many just want to add a little more to their earnings and supplement the family income whilst raising children or pursuing a passion. Part-time franchising is a fantastic opportunity for those who don’t need a full income but would still like to benefit from running a profitable franchise.

3. Give yourself time to succeed

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With a part-time franchise, there's far less pressure to make it work immediately. That's not to say you can haemorrhage money for the first few months of business, though. As a part-time owner, there's no pressure to turn your franchise unit into a big, booming business. Instead, franchisors understand that you're going to be making less money and your profit margin will be lower. Generally, they'll give you the time to grow the business organically and won't worry too much if you're not making large profits for the first year or two. This gives you time to learn the ropes, get used to how the franchising system works, and slowly improve the business. With a part-time franchise, you don't have to be an overnight success.

4. Is money the most important thing?

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When talking about part-time ownership, it’s also a good idea to think about what it is you want from your business. Is money really the most important thing? Or are there other more valuable things that you can take from a part-time business?

For instance, some franchisees become part-time owners because they value the freedom and flexibility provided by the model. They earn a small income but also have the ability to live their life as they deem fit. This simply isn’t possible with a full-time franchise.

Likewise, other franchisees opt for part-time ownership because they value their time more than the income a full-time business could bring in. This may be because they want to spend time with their family or they have other things they want to dedicate their time to.

5. It's a fall-back

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Many businesspeople have experienced first-hand how temperamental the economy can be. They know that a downswing can have a big impact on job security and that recessions will often result in job losses. In such situations, owning a part-time franchise can be a good fall-back. If something does go wrong, you have the support of your own business and won't be left with nothing.

Conclusion

There’s no doubt that part-time franchises can be profitable. In the vast majority of cases, they’ll turn a profit and bring in a small income. However, franchisees should not be expecting to make it rich off of the back of a part-time franchise. While they’re well-suited to certain contexts, they do not usually earn their owners a great deal of money. Instead, they’re popular for other reasons.