Work from home with a Franchise Business
Joel Caws - Technical Director, Select Your Franchise
There are many reasons why we might want to work from home. The most common is likely to be young families that have to juggle family duties, such as school runs, with the need to earn a living. For others it might simply be the Utopian idea of not being answerable to anyone but themselves and being able to work at the times that suit them.
The downside of this is of course the danger that home life could take over your work time. It calls for a very disciplined approach in order to separate your work time from your home life. But for those that can successfully manage this work-life vs. home-life tension, it can provide a great compromise. Some of the qualities you will need to run a business from home are:
- Flexibility -The ability to juggle home life and business and deal with interruptions
- Focus & Discipline – It is vitally important that you can be disciplined enough to protect your work time from distractions and maintain focus on your work.
- Determination – A high sense of commitment and drive to succeed will ride you through the more difficult times which every developing business goes through.
The second challenge is of course having a business idea or model that can work successfully as a home based business.
If you have your own ideas then you will have a good starting point for developing your own business. You will, though, be faced with the challenges of trying and testing your business idea, making inevitable mistakes, and fine-tuning your business model to make sure the mistakes don’t happen again. Providing you can withstand the associated cost of any mistakes, you could end up with a sound business.
For those who find that prospect a little daunting, there is another way of starting up a home based business which can remove some of the pain. A franchise business is one that was started up like any other business, has had its share of mistakes and has been fine-tuned to the point where it’s become a proven and profitable business. Some business owners decide to ‘franchise’ their business at this point. This is similar to licensing the business in that other aspiring business owners can take on the proven business model and brand and run the new business.
If you are interested in finding out more about how a franchise could help you start up your own work from home business, you can check out our home based franchises section as a starting point.
Tags: franchise, home based franchise, joel caws, work from home, work from home franchises, working from home
Work from Home vs. Work from Office
Joel Caws - Technical Director, Select Your Franchise
Whatever type of business you run, whether it be a business idea of your own or a franchise business, choosing where to spend your working day can be a critical element in your business success.
Of course, some businesses dictate the type of working premises for you so in these cases you have little choice. Retail franchises for example, where you sell products or services to members of the public, may require a retail shop front or unit in order to showcase your offerings to potential customers.
Working from home is often a popular option since it offers a balance between the need to earn an income but also a way to accommodate the demands of family life, for example those families with young children. In franchising, these are often known as home based franchises.
Even if you have the chance to work from home, you will still need to consider if its the best option for you. Here are some things you may want to consider:-
Working from home
Pros
- You work when it suits you – Flexibility of time
- No travel costs of getting to and from work
- Low overheads – no business premises/office costs
- Tax efficient – you may be able to reclaim some costs of living against tax
Cons
- Family/Home life could be a distraction
- Using a home address can give a ‘one man band’ impression to customers
- Working from an office
- Can be difficult to separate work from home
Working from an office
Pros
- Dedicated working environment – no work unrelated distractions
- Work/home life physical separation
- A professional image to potential customers
Cons
- Office overheads and running costs
- Travel costs of getting to and from the office
- If you have family duties to attend to might mean more travelling
These are just a few considerations to think about. Ultimately, the best type of people that work from home are those that are highly work motivated, can retain their focus on the job in hand and that can mentally separate their work and home life effectively. If you are someone that is easily distracted and needs more physical boundaries to keep you on track then its likely you will find running your business or franchise from a dedicated office more productive.
If you have any other pros and cons to contribute to this article please feel free to comment!
Important qualities to consider when Working From Home
Joel Caws - Technical Director, Select Your Franchise
Working from home is ideal for those who have family commitments such as those with young children who are at school or maybe older family members who require some care. However, not everyone is cut out to work well from home and some cope with the compromise better than others. So what are some of personal qualities that can help you when working from home:-
The ability to seperate home life and work life
If you work from home, maintaining the divide between work life and home life can be difficult. On one hand it could be a temptation outside of work time to just go and finish off a few work things that you know need doing or on the other hand you might find something more attractive to do around the house than carry out your work tasks. The following points may help:-
- Have a dedicated room or space that is your work area as this may helps to give a physical seperation between work and home.
- Make sure other family members know when you are working so as not to disturb you.
- Some people find it helps to put on suitable work attire to put yourself in ‘work-mode’.
Highly Motivated
Being highly motivated is what will drive you to succeed. Without motivation, you will likely find 101 other mundane chores to do around the house rather than get working.
Not afraid to get Selling
I’ve yet to see a money-making business that doesn’t rely on selling something whether its physical product, information or provision of labour time. Unless you have a unique product which sells itself, you will be either convincing buyers that they need whatever it is you’re selling, or convincing buyers why they should buy from you rather than a competitor down the road. To really be successful, selling is something you will have to either be good at, or be willing to learn quickly!
Willingness to work hard
Whether you start up your own business from home or start up a home based franchise, the only way it will ultimately succeed is if you work hard at it. This is especially true in the early days especially when you are unknown to your market and have no existing customers.
Working from home isn’t for everyone, however with the right determination and plenty of discipline it can be a great work/home life compromise. You can begin your search by browsing from a range of home based business opportunities.
