Many people have started to work from the comfort of their home because it allows them to spend some time with their family, reduce their overall expenses, and the level of stress. Studies show that people who work from home have higher job satisfaction and work-life balance rates.
There are many different kinds of home-based businesses out there and some of them present interesting franchise opportunities. At The Franchise Institute, we’re often asked if home-business owners can run a successful franchise; and the answer to that is yes and here’s how:
One of the biggest hurdles people face with small home businesses is branding. Most home-based businesses are run on a tight budget and have word-of-mouth marketing. They have a well-established local reputation and a great potential for franchise, but they don’t have a solid brand that interested franchisees would bet their money on. Before you start building a franchise, you need to start building a solid brand and establish a foundation for your business. You can encourage people to leave online reviews, create your own website, and get an active marketing campaign.
Customers are attracted to franchises because they deliver consistency and if you want to deliver a uniform experience, you need to establish a system. For example, if you intend to start a home tutoring franchise, you need to establish a teaching system, list reference texts, and implement uniform fees for all your services. This would ensure your customers get a consistent experience no matter where or who tutors the client.
Because you don’t have a traditional brick and mortar store, you need to develop a strong online presence and create a website that really sells your products or service. You need to have an easy booking and efficient job assignment system in place so the client is directed towards the most relevant branch of your franchise. Like most franchises, you need to have a one-point access system that connects customers to all franchise branches.
Home-businesses need to be very vigilant about their credibility because many clients will make assumptions about the quality of service. If you want to maintain a good reputation, you need to choose the franchisee carefully. One of the best ways to do that is to establish firm criteria that’ll help you choose who the right fit is and who isn’t. For example, in a home tutoring business, you need to set guidelines about educational qualifications, experience, and even personality.
One of the biggest mistakes most business owners make is to allow too many franchises at once. Your company needs to grow at a steady, even pace so it’s not a good idea to let too many people in at this stage. You need to actively monitor all of your franchisees to ensure they deliver the quality of service customers expect from you. If you have too many franchisees, you won’t be able to keep an eye on them all, and that would allow the quality to slip.
Running a home-based franchise business does require considerable amount of effort and time. It can be very successful but you need to make sure you lay the right foundation and choose the right people for the venture.
If you want to know more about franchising or want some advice, feel free to get in touch with us at The Franchise Institute. You can call us on 1300 855 435 or fill in this contact us form and we’ll reply as soon as we can.
Thanks for reading,
The Franchise Institute Team
1300 855 435
