Top 5 Working From Home Franchise Business Ideas
Becky Martin, writer
Originally posted on 14/09/2017. Updated on 24/03/2019.
I’m sure that at some stage or another many of us have fantasised about quitting our nine to five jobs. Whether it’s avoiding the rush hour traffic or an arrogant boss, earning an income from the comfort of your own home is an appealing and increasing popular choice amongst us Brits.
In the UK, over four million people - or 13 percent of the working population - choose to work from home (Office for National Statistics). This is an increase of 800,000 people in the last ten years and is a trend that’s expected to continue. Also, according to Adam Cox, the founder of Work From Home Week, an additional 1.8 million people would like to jump on the bandwagon but aren’t given the opportunity.
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Advantages of Working from Home
Modern technology is the biggest driving force behind the rise in home workers and, with proven increases in employee productivity and retention rates, more businesses are keen to join the trend. So, what are the advantages of working from home for business owners?
• No time wasted on commuting to and from the workplace. The average daily commute for workers in the UK is two hours. This time could be spent working, enjoying quality time with the family or simply relaxing. Whatever this additional time is used for, it’s likely to be far more constructive then sitting in a car, on a train or on a bus.
• An improved work-life balance can be achieved. Often when working in a highly demanding environment, the line between work and personal life can become blurred as more and more hours are worked to keep on top of the workload. This can cause work related stress, which, in turn, affects family life too. Working from home enables you to attend events such as school concerts and sports days that you may have otherwise missed. Or, you can enjoy some quality you-time, such as a lunchtime gym session or a walk in the park. Don’t underestimate the importance of little things like this that can improve both family life and mental health.
• No office or retail space expenses to shell out on. Operating a home-based business comes with very few overheads. Not only are rental costs saved, but also office equipment, furniture and technology are no longer required. On top of this, the cost of commuting is also avoided.
• You can choose your own hours, working whenever and for however long you like. Whether you’re a morning person or a night owl, you can pick when is best for you to work around any family obligations you may have.
• There are no geographical limits, allowing you to work with clients from across the UK or even abroad. Without a set location to hold you back or tie you to one territory, you can choose to make your business as big or small as you want by defining the size of your customer base.
Combine these advantages of working from home with the benefits of running a franchise business and you’ve got a potentially lucrative and exciting opportunity ahead.
Top Five Working from Home Franchises
There are many new business ideas for you to consider if you’re looking for a franchise business to run from home. Here are our top five working from home franchise business ideas:
1. Auditel
This cost management business was established in 1994 to help businesses understand the tariffs and service offerings that emerged after the utilities markets were deregulated. In being part of this business, you’d be supporting over 3,000 large and medium-sized organisations across the UK and Ireland in more than 100 areas of business expenditure. Being able to work from home means that you can join this franchise with just a desk, a computer, a phone and access to the internet. A minimum investment of £20,000 and a total investment of £37,950 is required.
Another cost management business, this franchise encourages you to ‘profit from your career experience and earn what you are truly worth’. There are over 750 franchisees worldwide working in one of three areas: client acquisition, project management or project analysis. This makes the opportunity accessible to people with a variety of different skills and abilities - all from the comfort of their own home. A minimum investment of £39,900 is required.
3. Aspray
Recognised as one of the UK’s franchise leaders in the property claims handling industry, you’ll support clients when they need it most. You’ll specialise in project managing property damage insurance claims from inception to completion of repairs. A minimum investment of £15,000 and a total investment of £37,500 is required.
4. Promedica 24
This is one of our home-based business ideas that may be best suited to entrepreneurs with a strong sense of compassion and an interest in the care sector. Your role within the franchise would be to support individuals and their families who choose ‘live-in’ care by giving them access to highly qualified care staff supplied by the franchise. In order to invest you will need a minimum investment of £20,000.
5. ChipsAway
If sitting at a desk all day long isn’t for you, here’s one of our business ideas that is based from home, rather than involving working from home all the time. This franchise offers a convenient, high-quality and cost-effective alternative to car body shops by repairing paintwork scratches, bumper scuffs, minor dents and kerbed alloy damage to vehicles. You can choose the flexibility of being a ‘man-in-van’ set up, with the opportunity to expand into a multi-van or workshop model in the future if you choose. A minimum investment of just £15,000 is all that is needed to get started.
If you need any further reasons to start a home-based business, they are incredibly attractive from a financial perspective too. Often there are minimal overheads involved in setting up a franchise from home, so they are a low-cost investment. Not only is this a great way to reduce expenses when starting up a business, but keeping costs lower drives a higher ROI - providing an easier route to profitability. Having the luxury of running a business from your home also gives you the freedom and flexibility to grow your business at your own pace.
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Becky Martin, writer