These franchises are not my personal recommendation. There are some versions available, but I always consult to Entrepreneur.com’s Franchise 500 for trusted and comprehensive franchise references.
The top 10 home-based franchises list is dominated by commercial cleaning service franchises – So, it’s probably safe to assume that if you want to buy a relatively low-cost franchise and operate it home-based, you should consider commercial cleaning services.
Top 10 home-based franchises for 2009
- Jani-King
Founded: 1969 – Franchising since: 1974
Total investment: $11.4K-35.1K+ – Franchise fee: $8.6K-16.3K+ – Ongoing royalty fee: 10% – Term of agreement: 20 years, renewable
Jani-King is a commercial cleaning service franchise, that sets up franchisees with a customer base and charges fees depending on the size of that initial base.
- Jan-Pro Franchising Int’l. Inc.
Founded: 1991 – Franchising since: 1992
Total investment: $3.3K-54.3K – Franchise fee: $2.8K-44K – Ongoing royalty fee: 10% – Term of agreement: 10 years, renewable
Jan-Pro franchisees offer commercial cleaning services, emphasising on the use of less chemicals to clean more with its “Cleaning Greener” initiative.
- Servpro
Founded: 1967 – Franchising since: 1969
Total investment: $100.3K-161.2K – Franchise fee: $40K – Ongoing royalty fee: 3-10% – Term of agreement: 5 years, renewable
Servpro franchisees specialise in disaster restoration, offering cleanup and repairs to both commercial and residential customers whose property has suffered fire or water damage. They also offer mold remediation, carpet and upholstery cleaning, air duct and HVAC cleaning, and other related services.
- ServiceMaster Clean
Founded: 1947 – Franchising since: 1952
Total investment: $21.2K-126K – Franchise fee: $16.9K-54K – Ongoing royalty fee: 4-10% – Term of agreement: 5 years, renewable
ServiceMaster franchisees offer disaster restoration and residential and commercial cleaning services.
- Snap-on Tools
Founded: 1920 – Franchising since: 1991
Total investment: $17.6K-281.96K – Franchise fee: $5K-15K – Ongoing royalty fee: $102/mo. – Term of agreement: 10 years, renewable
Snap-on Tools franchisees sell more than 19,000 products, including hand tools, power tools, diagnostic tools, tool storage and shop equipment. Once a week they bring trucks filled with products directly to their customers.
- Stratus Building Solutions
Founded: 2004 – Franchising since: 2005
Total investment: $3.5K-57.8K – Franchise fee: $3K-47K – Ongoing royalty fee: 5% – Term of agreement: Not renewable
Stratus Building Solutions franchisees offer commercial cleaning services, including with the environmentally-friendly Stratus GreenClean program.
- Matco Tools
Founded: 1979 – Franchising since: 1993
Total investment: $81.1K-183.1K – Franchise fee: $0 – Term of agreement: 10 years, renewable
Matco Tools franchisees distributing automotive equipment, tools and toolboxes to their customers in trucks.
- Jazzercise Inc.
Founded: 1977 – Franchising since: 1983
Total investment: $2.98K-38.4K – Franchise fee: $500/1K – Ongoing royalty fee: to 20% – Term of agreement: 5 years, renewable
Jazzercise has more than 5,000 instructors teaching its total-body conditioning program to almost half a million participants each year in the United States and more than 30 other countries.
- Vanguard Cleaning Systems
Founded: 1984 – Franchising since: 1984
Total investment: $8.2K-38.1K – Franchise fee: $7.7K-37K – Ongoing royalty fee: 5% – Term of agreement: 10 years, renewable
Vanguard franchisees offer cleaning services, serving approximately 1,000 commercial cleaning accounts. Vanguard offers a Master Franchise program for experienced businesspeople and a Unit Franchise program for beginning entrepreneurs.
- Bonus Building Care
Founded: 1996 – Franchising since: 1996
Total investment: $8.8K-14.7K – Franchise fee: $7.5K – Ongoing royalty fee: 10% – Term of agreement: 20 years, renewable
Bonus Building Care is founded by an ex-co-founder of Jani-King. The company currently serves businesses throughout the South and Midwest US.
For a complete list, please visit Entrepreneur.com’s Franchise 500 for the list of 101 home-based franchise opportunities which startup costs ranged from $2.2K to $427.7K.
Ivan Widjaya
Top 10 Home-based franchises 2009
