9 Reasons Why Starting a Home-Based Franchise is an Excellent Idea for New Mums

Becky Martin, writer

Published at 24/07/2018, Updated on 04/05/2022 , Reading time: 6 min

9 Reasons Why Starting a Home-Based Franchise is an Excellent Idea for New Mums — Photo © franchising-for-mums.jpg

If you’re a new mum and considering a career change, we highly recommend starting a home-based franchise. In this article, we unpick the reasons why it’s such an excellent idea.

An incredible 60 percent of women have admitted to changing their jobs after maternity leave. If you find yourself in this position, we believe that you should seriously consider starting a home-based franchise. The number of women starting a franchise is on the rise. According to the British Franchise Association / NatWest Franchise Survey 2018, 37 percent of new franchisees are women. This is an increase of 20 percent since 2015.

But today, we show you why starting a home-based franchise in particular is such an attractive opportunity for new mums. Here are just some of the reasons why starting a home-based franchise is the answer to the question of how to be the boss with the flexibility that new mums crave.

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Healthy work-life balance

Owning a business may be a dream for many aspiring female entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, though, starting an independent business from scratch takes hard work, long hours and reduced quality time with family. For many new mums, the thought of having to juggle childcare with business ownership can be overwhelming.

This is where a home-based franchise can offer the solution. You can choose to work the hours that suit you, and even on a part-time basis, so you can be there for your child and never miss a special moment. You can easily work around other commitments without having to jeopardise the success of your franchise.

Can do the school run

The beauty of home-based franchises is that the lengthy commute that many employees must endure every day is removed. This means that many mums can take their children to and from school and plan their schedule so they only work during school hours. This extra time spent with the family removes much of the guilt that working mums often feel.

Even if it feels like your child starting school is a long way off, it will soon come round, and you will be prepared. Not to mention, you will be able to do trips to ‘mums and tots’ classes, pre-school and nursery beforehand.

Save money on childcare

According to The Money Advice Service, the average cost of childcare in the UK is over £11,000 per year. This can be a huge burden on many families, so being in control of the hours that are worked offers relief for many.

Affordable

With children, finding a job that ticks all the boxes can be difficult. Weighing up the wage that can be earned, the hours, the commute, and the childcare that’s needed, most options don’t make financial sense. This leads many women to consider starting their own business, but fear of failure and lack of the necessary funds mean that not many women feel confident enough to become the boss.

But to become a franchisee removes most of these concerns. Buying into a business model that has already been tried and tested, with the support of an experienced franchisor, is a much more appealing option. And buying into a home-based franchise doesn’t have to be expensive. Check out another one of our articles, ‘Top 8 Home-Based Franchises for Every Investment Level’, for some more inspiration.

Easier access to finance

Starting a family doesn't come cheap, and neither does starting a business. But, although there is risk involved with any business venture, the benefits of buying home-based franchise does reduce some of these challenges.

Many lenders, including high street banks, recognise the security that comes from investing in a proven business model with training and support provided. As such, franchising is deemed as a less risky route to business ownership, so securing finance can be much easier. This is great news for mums who may have used up any savings while on maternity leave.

Of course, to obtain funding, a business plan needs to be created. Even if you're confident that you've found one of the best home-based franchises to invest in, you’ll still need to convince your lender. Your business plan is an essential document that will help your lender to understand your financial position, your plans and how you're going to achieve your goals.

Support is there when you need it

After being out of the workplace for months, women unsurprisingly lack confidence when they return to their job once their maternity leave ends.

It's no wonder then that the thought of starting a franchise is even more daunting for new mums. Much of this fear can be alleviated though by the training and support that the best franchises offer.

The initial training and continued support from the franchisor and other franchisees mean that your confidence will soon grow. There's a popular franchise saying that states "you're in business for yourself, not by yourself", and this is undoubtedly proven whenever you need advice and guidance from those around you.

Financial independence

Many women that once worked, but have given up their job to raise their children, are often concerned about losing their financial independence. Relying on their other half to pay for everything doesn’t come easy for some, so running a business from the comforts of home, flexibly around the needs of the family, is the perfect solution.

You’ve already got all the skills you need

Your confidence may have taken a bit of a knock since becoming a mum, but you should take the time to review your skillset. It's more than likely that you'll find, like most mums, that you possess the necessary qualities to become a home-based franchisee.

If you’re motivated, good with people and have excellent communication and organisational skills, then you’re probably just the candidate many franchisors are looking for. The fact that you already have to budget for your family, have excellent time management skills and are talented at multi-tasking will stand you in good stead too.

So much to choose from!

You can start a home-based business in a wide range of sectors. Whether you want to shape the minds of the future with a tutoring franchise, help your local community with a care franchise or provide tasty treats with a vending machine franchise, you’d be surprised by the variety of successful businesses you can run from the comfort of your own home. In another one of our articles, ‘Mythbusters: “There’s No Such Thing as a Working Mum”', we shine a spotlight on some working mums you can look up to.

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Consider starting a home-based franchise today

There are many reasons why starting a home-based franchise is the perfect fit for new mums. In recent years, the franchise industry has been subtly changing making itself more attractive and more accessible to different groups. Therefore, many women are choosing it as an alternative to returning to their job following maternity.

If you’re still not won over by the prospect of starting a home-based franchise, you can see seven general advantages of taking this path to business ownership in another one of our articles. And you can have a browse of our top five home-based business ideas.