Home Based Franchise/Low Cost Franchise: Here’s a Reality Check!
Starting a home based franchise or low cost franchise has its appeal in today’s economy. Being self-employed you can make your own hours, be your own boss, work from home, have unlimited income potential, etc… After all, isn’t that the “American Dream”, the idea upon which our society here in the US was based? Owning your own business sounds glamorous, wealthy, important, and more! However, if you have never done such a thing before you really need to do some soul searching and thorough investigating before you make this leap. Let’s take a closer look into owning a home based/low cost franchise.
First I want to define “low cost franchise opportunity”. Most in the industry would consider a “low cost franchise” to be anything under $100,000 and definitely anything under a $50,000 initial investment. This investment will include a franchise fee that usually starts around $10,000 and goes up from there, plus expenses such as equipment, inventory, insurance, and other typical business startup costs. It usually does NOT include the cost of commercial real estate either purchased or leased. So, if you plan on having an office or location outside of your home, add that cost to any estimated startup price. These expenses will add up quickly, so if you don’t at least have $30,000-$50,000 available to you, then you are probably looking into the wrong industry.
However, let’s say that you do have the needed funds to get started with a home based franchise (no real estate involved). These franchises will almost always be “one man operations” (or one woman operations) with no employees. This means that you and you alone will be responsible for generating sales, getting clients, securing contracts, handling phone calls, dealing with customers, and marketing your business all at the same time that you are actually performing the work that you get hired to do. This can be a gigantic time commitment WAY before any significant income is generated. Any new business takes time to learn and develop, but this type of small business can be extreme, with months of potentially no income and a great deal of work needed. The new low cost franchise owner must plan on this “break-in” period and must be able to sustain him or herself financially through this period which can last for a long time, especially in the current economy. This can be a huge financial risk and be potentially devastating to a family or individual.
My suggestion is to do your due diligence before investing in a home based franchise. Explore all options, including online options, for business opportunities. Get educated on marketing techniques and strategies that can benefit you in any type of business venture. I am not telling you to avoid the low cost franchise, but rather to make sure that you have done all of the necessary homework and looked at various business options before you take the plunge. The wrong move with a franchise could spell financial disaster or at the very least, require endless hours of work with little return.
As always, I wish you the best of success in your search!
Best Rated Home Based Businesses – Things to Consider
So you have made the decision that you want to start a home based business. You are not alone as thousands of entrepreneurial minded individuals have traveled down this same road in recent years. But making the decision is only the first step in a difficult process. Unfortunately, much of the information that you will need to be successful was not taught to you in school and without it, you may have some difficulty. The good news is that there are sources and mentors out there that can direct you, and the cost is far less than a college degree. In a recent article that I read online, I found a list of the best rated home based businesses. Interestingly enough, most of them required specific skills that the majority of people do not have, and the article failed to mention an absolute essential: marketing ability. Without this, your home based business is probably doomed to fail. We’ll address it later in this article.
First, here are some of the best rated home based businesses (or at least some of the most common):
Cosmetic Sales
Online Retail Store
Multi-level Marketing
Medical Transcriptionist
Website Design
Resume Writing
Administrative/Secretarial Work
As you can quickly see, you will need to have a specific skill set in order to do any of these. But even if you already have the ability, you will need to find ways of getting your name, website, and info out to a large number of people if you truly want to become profitable. The interesting aspect of this, however, is that so many people fair to consider their marketing plan until it is almost too late. By then, they are most often broke, discouraged, and ready to start looking for a regular “job”. Trust me that if your marketing plan includes paying out hundreds of dollars every month to a company that promises they’ll get you to page one of Google, you might already be on your way down a treacherous road with no pot of gold at the end.
Now I will let you in on a big secret; one that can earn you financial freedom if you embrace it. If you are reading this article, it is a given that you are looking for a home based business and you probably are smart enough to realize that there are thousands, if not even millions, of people worldwide wanting the same thing. Can you now think of one thing that they ALL need but very few of them actually have? Hint: I already told you the answer. Go ahead, say it out loud. “They need marketing education!” Excellent, that’s the ticket.
So, it goes without saying what the #1 best rated home based business really should be- educating others on how to effectively market their product or service. When your business is providing this to other businesses, then not only are you helping yourself, you are helping a countless number of others realize their dream. Now that’s a win-win and something that is truly recession-proof. Hey, we already know that you will probably need to develop some new skills in order to be successful, so why not develop abilities that everyone needs and very few actually possess. How do you do that? You need to find a mentor. There are companies out there that will teach you everything you need to know. They will train you, answer questions, and guide you. In fact, you can learn from people who have already achieved a level of success. You can leverage the information you learn to develop your own company while you help others to become more profitable at the same time. Over time, you can employ this knowledge with any traditional or home based business that you undertake, assuring yourself that any venture will become more profitable and stable. You will need to budget for this training, as it will not be free, but its value is immeasurable. As I always say, “If you think education is expensive, then try ignorance.” I have seen way too many home based businesses fail. Don’t become a statistic. Some mentoring companies, such as the one I belong to, will also allow you to take them for a test drive and get a feel for what they offer. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and get on the phone and talk to a company representative. This type of networking relationship could catapult you to financial freedom. It’s never to late or too soon to begin. Carpe Diem!
How to Start a Web Based Retail Business – A Must Read Reverse Approach
So you are tired of the rat race of a traditional job. Or maybe the job market has turned its cruel head and you have found yourself as one of the millions of Americans who are now unemployed. What do you do? Where do you turn? There is confusion, panic, fear, stress, resentment, and more… You have decided, as thousands have done before you, that you will turn to the internet and start a web based retail business. Yep, that’s it! That’s what you are going to do! You have made the decision and you are ready to go. Full steam ahead… But what direction is that?
Conventional thinking probably has you focusing on a product line- finding a product or a service that you are passionate about and researching it. You spend hours, if not days or weeks, figuring out where you can get the best price and how many suppliers you will need. You contact wholesale companies, review their policies and procedures, find out which ones will dropship and which ones have minimum orders. You make “to do” list after “to do” list, register for a resale permit, design logos, get a dba, possibly even incorporate. Maybe you have a partner and you invest countless hours hashing out the details and the fine print. Then you select a hosting company and this decision alone can require an excruciating amount of research. Once that’s done you need to figure out who will design your website. Can you do it yourself or do you need to hire someone? How much will that cost? How do you know if you are getting a good deal? You start to make decisions and it all begins to come together. After months of preparation, research, money, phone calls, emails, and memos, you’re finally there! But then you stop and look around and you see that you are once again alone. Emotions creep in like confusion, panic, fear, stress… sound familiar? You accomplished your goal of starting a web based retail business but now the reality hits you that you have no customers coming to your store and you are quickly in trouble.
This may sound far fetched, but unfortunately it is not too far from the truth in many cases. One of my businesses is a wholesale dog clothing business. We sell to retail stores (brick and mortar as well as web based) all over the world. We have been in business for six years now and we have achieved top search engine rankings for numerous key word searches in our niche. Recently, I reviewed our statistics from 2009. This may startle you, but we had nearly two-thousand people register for wholesale accounts with us in 2009 and by April of 2010, nearly 70% of them were out of business! After talking with many of the previous owners, the fact is clear that they began their business with an idea and with good intentions, but they never took the time nor made the investment in themselves to learn how to market their web based retail business. Here’s the simple truth- having a fancy web site is nothing more than an expensive brochure unless you have an effective way to drive traffic to your site.
So, my friends, I offer you this advice. As someone who currently owns a successful web based retail business, I can tell you that you should NOT start your venture by first focusing on your product line and web site. Quite to the contrary, the first step in how to start a web based retail business MUST be in the direction of online marketing. You need to learn critical strategies that will help you to get customers to your site. DON’T WAIT UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE TO FIGURE THIS OUT. Trust me on this one folks, I just watched nearly 1400 people/businesses shut down in the past year. Don’t become a statistic.
Ok, so now what do you do? My suggestion is to do what I did- find a reputable mentoring program and start learning. You probably won’t learn enough by just surfing the net and picking up bits and pieces here and there. If you really want to be profitable and have freedom in your life, then you need a solid educational background. I’m not talking about a weekend seminar or a night course once a week for the next 8 weeks. Rather, you will probably need day-to-day coaching and help from experts in the industry. That’s what I needed and that’s what I was able to find. Now I’m here to show you how to follow in my footsteps and create a web based retail business that will stand the test of time. I’ve created links below to my online business as well as to the mentoring program I trust. You can even view a video of me relaying my personal story and contact me directly if you have questions. Hey, if you are in to designer dog accessories, we can even help you build your website!
I wish you the best that life has to offer as you begin your journey.
