Most of us have heard of franchise opportunities. In fact, many of us still consider buddying up with an established franchiser a better option over setting up a new business of their own. To be fair, franchises have a number of advantages as well as limitations.
The type of business you may be planning to setup and the amount of time and money you are planning to invest are two key factors that help in deciding whether a franchise opportunity is the best option for you or not.
Cleaning business opportunities have been found to be very stable and quite profitable in the UK. Let us examine the pros and cons of working with cleaning franchises over setting up your very own cleaning business in the UK.
Lower capital requirements vs low profits
Setting up your own cleaning business may cost you a good deal of money. This is not always possible for every one of us, especially when you are starting afresh. A franchise proves to be extremely advantageous in such a situation. You require much less capital requirements to start as a franchisee. The franchiser may even offer you a loan during the initial phase.
However, once you are set, the profits you expect as a franchisee is lesser when compared with what you may earn from own business. Remember, you have to pay the franchiser a royalty from the profits you make each cycle.
Lower risks – low flexibility
Since the investments required for a cleaning franchise opportunity are low, the risks of seeing big losses are less. Moreover, when you work as a franchisee, you are working as an established business with established processes. This reduces the chances of things going wrong by a great extent.
At the same time, you will have to stick to the processes and conditions laid down by the franchiser at all times. This means lower flexibility and less scope for trying new things out on your own.
Training and assistance
Franchisers generally offer a lot of assistance to franchisees. This may be in the form of training, documentation, paperwork, and sometimes even help with accounts. You may even receive leads to contracts from your franchiser. This is extremely beneficial for new start-ups. Not only do you get trained by an established identity to do your business better, you also get the opportunity to work with a proven system, simplifying your job by a great deal!
Branding and identity
Even a new franchisee gets to enjoy completely the identity and brand value of an established franchiser. This means that you enter the industry as an established cleaning business, and not a new name. This immediately sets you at par with your competitors, if not above them. However, you miss the chances of creating an identity for your individual business.
More time, lesser responsibilities
Once your franchise is set, you will find much more time to yourself than you would have when running your own business. This is because a lot of the business requirements are managed by the franchiser, making your job simpler and cutting down on your responsibilities. That is the beauty of a franchise!
About the Author: Frank Hart has been associated with the domestic and commercial cleaning industry in the UK for over a decade, as a consultant, a franchiser, a cleaner and an entrepreneur. Here, he examines the pros and cons of working as a cleaning franchise over starting a new cleaning business on your own in the UK.
