Franchise Article

As many entrepreneurs know, plenty of thought, time and hard work goes into starting a business.  From raising funds through loans, investors, or a number of other methods, to creating a business plan, starting your own business can be a fairly daunting task especially if it is your first time.  Franchises are a great way to start your first business because you will benefit from the years of experience and the polished brand of a seasoned company while still retaining ownership and control of your new business.  Franchises also figure out the exact costs required for startup and can generally streamline the process making it very affordable for the average person to start a low cost franchise or home based business.  If you’re sold on the idea of going with a franchise, the first step is to decide what kind of business opportunity suits you best, so here’s a short list of a few of our favourite UK franchise business opportunities for under £20,000.

Lasertech sells printer cartridges and office products, and they were also one of the first in the UK to manufacture printer cartridges from recycled products.  Lasertech is one of the top distributers for inkjet cartridges compatible with HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark and more than 68 other brands.  Despite talk of a paperless society, Lasertech notes that the average office spends upwards of £400 per office member per year on office products making it a £10bn/year business.  There is plenty of room for growth in this industry and plenty of opportunity for you to start your own Lasertech franchise and get in on this very profitable business.

If your idea of a fun business venture is something a little more social, consider a home based business franchise with Xfactor Online Dating.  Xfactor is ideal for the entrepreneur in search of a business that they can operate from anywhere in the world and at any time.  An Xfactor franchise requires as little as one hour of work per week and can be run from the comfort of your own home or from a sunny beach while on holiday.  Xfactor also has unique partnerships with many of the UK's top brands such as Tesco, Marks & Spenser, O2 & many more.

For a creative business for sale, consider Activ Web Design.  Activ is another franchise opportunity that can be run completely from home and allows you to set your own schedule and work as much or as little as you like.  If you’ve never spent any time learning web design, fear not because there is absolutely NO technical knowledge required to own and operate your own Activ franchise.  Franchises start at as low as £6995 and many franchisees will make this much back and more within the first few months.

Yellowtom is, “a complete local advertising solution with more than one income stream.”  Yellowtom provides coupons to local customers for local businesses, advertising for local businesses, products and services and local information through their online community.  This proven business generates multiple income streams and makes money fast for its franchisees with some franchisees reporting recouping half of their initial investment in the first three weeks.  As Yellowtom says, “everyone wins with low cost, local advertising.”

Molly Maid is the leading franchise opportunity in the £2bn/year domestic cleaning market.  This well-established and easily recognizable brand serves hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers in Canada, USA, Portugal and Japan as well as the UK. This year alone over 400 Molly Maid franchises will perform in excess of 2 million home cleans worldwide.  The experienced team at Molly Maid specialized in providing expert support to their franchisees and will teach you everything you need to know to get your business up and running and will continue to support you for the life of your business.

There are plenty more low cost franchises available, but these few should give you a taste of what’s available and how easy and affordable it can be to start your own low cost franchise.  The startup costs of a franchise are very comparable if not more affordable than starting your own business from scratch and with a franchise you will benefit from the years of experience, well-known brands and the ongoing support and training offered by each franchisor.  Even if you’ve never owned your own business before, the support staff of many of these franchises will guide you through every step of the process and take you from a newcomer to a pro entrepreneur in no time.