Many people who are interested in getting into a small business give franchises a look over. I’ve done it, and have been pretty intrigued with the model. There are a lot of pros and cons to both ventures, and to be honest neither route is easier than the other. Many people think a franchise will be quick money, but soon find out it’s just as much work. So, let’s first see what the best business franchise operations really entail!

Choosing The Best Business Franchise

When choosing a business franchise opportunity there are many factor to take into account. The first one being that there are a lot of fees to operate a franchise. This is how the franchise makes money! They charge you the business owner a premium for using their name and materials. I made a list of some of the cheapest franchises to own here.

Some of these include industries like ATM machines, DVD kiosks, and photo booths. You can open one of these types of franchise businesses in a mall or shopping center for as little as $7,000 – $20,000. This is not a big upfront investment for a franchise. Likewise if you wanted to start something like a McDonalds it could cost you a million dollars to use the name of the golden arches! (I also gave my opinion on some more expensive ones.)

The rules of the best business franchises

Keep in mind when running a franchise you will always be under the thumb of the owner of that franchise. You have to purchase all your materials from them, you have to follow their rules, and sometimes they even pick the location where you have to operate your business. You will be paying them a huge chunk of monthly fees for the privilege of using their name as well. While, there are plenty advantages to this like customer and brand loyalty – keep in mind you’re working your ass off to grow somebody else’s business.

There are people who run them very successfully. Several families in my town run multiple Burger King Franchises (Which is much cheaper than McDonalds by the way!) and many others like Ace Hardware (also fairly inexpensive).

If you take the time and look for cheaper franchise opportunities from lesser known names you can get up and going much faster. This is a good balance between the work required to start the business and value you get for your dollar I think. Don’t think you’ll be doing less marketing with a big name franchise. The store is still required to do campaigns, events, and marketing for the business to let people know they’re there!

There’s literally a franchise for every industry. Don’t just let yourself be limited to food service if you’re not really interested in that. There are hotel franchises, lawn care franchises, travel agency franchises, and pretty much anything you can think of. Some require more up front investment than others.

Some of the best big name franchises you can invest in for a small fee? You can own your very own Subway franchise for as little as $78,000. This popular sub chain has made a name for itself offering healthier alternatives to typical fast food business.

For just $53,000 you could own a Liberty Tax Service franchise. I’m a little iffy on this one, because of the time frame for which you have to make money. I don’t know the cost and profit budget of this industry though so it could be a great deal. Especially if you’re a tax professional that wants to be your own boss for a change.

Interested in owning an international recognized postal outfit? You could open a UPS store in your town for $170,000. This seems like a great opportunity to me if you live where there’s a lot of shipping going on. There’s one in my town that does UPS shipping and doubles as an Ebay consignment shop! Awesome!

If you really want a franchise, but don’t want to start one from scratch you may be able to buy an existing business. A lot of times franchise or even small business owners want to retire or start a new business so they sell their existing one! The benefits of this are that you can buy an existing business with established clientele out of the box. Make sure you check the earnings and books so you know you aren’t getting shafted on the deal though. If it’s a business with a lot of equipment you could save thousands of dollars this way because most of the time the owner will include these items in the sale.

This is really great if you want to own a restaurant, construction, lawn care, or any other type of business that has a lot of expensive equipment to be purchased. Food service grade cooking equipment or construction machinery can be a very costly venture. This is just an added bonus to using an established name, AND getting their customer base. It’s much easier to keep going if you’re already started.

If you yourself want out of your own business you should think about selling it as well. There’s plenty of newspaper and craigslist listings from people looking to sell their business and retire. Check them out and see if you can pick up a good investment deal. It could be the best money you’ve ever spent.

More Help For Choosing The Best Business Franchise

A smaller franchise will provide you with training, proven materials, and everything you need to get the job done though. You should always make sure you have a franchise business plan before proceeding with any venture though! Want to know about key mistakes that new franchises make? This proven franchise evaluation system will help you pick the best franchise to invest in. You can even get a consultation service!