Low Cost Franchise Opportunities

Low Cost Business Opportunities & Franchises

Sure, some of those franchise opportunities look fantastic… but they have these staggeringly high costs to entry! If you can afford to drop six figures (none of which are a one!) on starting up a new franchise, you might wonder why would you even need to be in business?

The good news is, there are franchise opportunities that have a much lower cost. How low? try a few thousand. Are four figures starting capital more comfortable than six? If you can afford a car and a mobile phone, you can afford to set up a franchised business.

There are many low-cost franchise opportunities hidden away like Easter eggs in the franchise market. The trouble is to find them. To narrow your search, here’s a few industries which are typically well-suited to low cost franchising:

* Printing: Signage, business cards, flyers, brochures, placards, and so on. If you have any kind of artistic skill and can sling pixels and operate a printer, there’s design companies that would love to have you. The market’s bigger than you think. The signs on taxicabs and buses, the flyers with coupons in your newspaper, the door-hanger from your local pizza restaurant, and the little tent sign you always look at when you first get seated at the diner… all of these were print jobs that somebody got paid for.

* Consultants: You have to know something before somebody else will pay to listen to your advice, but after that, the barrier to entry is low. Businesses of every variety have relied on the consulting industry and helped it mushroom in recent decades. You’d be surprised to find out that even trivial, everyday knowledge is marketable in the right situation. For instance, you could advise companies on how to design and market a product that people will actually like, you can consult in the industry you have worked in to tell businesses how to get the most out of their employees, and you can direct market study groups and research teams.

* Child Care and Child Services: Summer camps, day care, after-school workshops, parties, educational training, physical therapy, and on and on. The busy parent of the 21st century increasingly has to “outsource” their child’s development to third-party businesses. If you have any interest in working with children, there are companies which will practically beat down your door to sell you a franchise. The child services sector is booming even during economic recessions, and with the world population currently at 6.3 billion and growing, there’s no reason to expect it to slow down!

* Agencies: Temp laborers, small-time talent, construction workers, office temps, freelancers: all of these people work temporary jobs and they need to be connected with their next paycheck. Employment and labor agencies are easy to set up and operate. You need a little office space, some forms, and a phone. Get to work by putting other people to work!

* Janitorial and Custodial: Who doesn’t know how to operate a mop? Businesses and homes hire somebody to clean up, and it might as well be you. Most of these businesses can be run out of your garage.

* Maintenance and Repair: Being a repair business is a simple matter of taking a few day’s worth of training and having a kit of tools. Mobile repair services can be run out of a van. Opportunities exist in automotive, computing, and industrial sectors. Just be the fix-it person!

* Anything home-based: This is the vast “other” category. It can be anything from distributing small products to handling mail to taking phone calls to maintaining websites. Easy to get into. In fact, many of these businesses have stay-at-home moms in mind.

In searching for a low cost franchise opportunity, it is important to have an open mind. You shouldn’t come into the franchise business world with an attitude of turning your nose up at everything that doesn’t sound glamorous or like it would make you instantly rich. At the same time, do be sure that the “opportunity” isn’t a scam or a pyramid scheme. Pick reputable businesses with a proven track record. Don’t be shy about investigating the business thoroughly before making a commitment.