• If you are renting a property, check your lease to see if there are any restrictions in your rental agreement that might prevent you from running a business in your home.
• If you own your property, check the title deeds or speak to your solicitor.
• Make sure that you have a dedicated workspace for managing all your paperwork.
• If stock holding is a requirement, do you have a garage or outbuilding that will serve the purpose?
• What impact will you have on the neighbourhood? Consider every aspect from parking spaces to how your neighbours might react.
Here is some information on the different types of franchises you can buy and manage from home.
| Consultancy Franchises - These range from offering advice on government grants to securing loans for small businesses. Your main role is to become an expert in your field and charge businesses for your advice. You will have people coming to your house so adequate parking facilities will be required.
Automotive Franchises - A whole stack of franchises occupy this niche ranging from repairing chips and dents, car valeting and fabric restoration. An ideal business to manage from home as all of your work is done on the customers own site. Legal Advice Franchises - There is good money to be made in this distinct segment of the market, offering advice on making wills, assisting in conveyancing and dealing with simple tax issues. Most of your meetings will be done in the client's home so be prepared to work out with normal hours as many of your appointments will be in the evenings. |
Cleaning Franchises - You will need to stock a whole host of chemicals in your home so make sure that you have a safe storage place that you can keep locked at all times. There are many types of franchises occupying this niche including mattress cleaning, carpet care & restoration, patio cleaning and window cleaning. You need to be fit to run this type of business!
Children's Franchises - A multitude of franchises occupy this area, from simple baby sitting services all the way to organising day trips and parties for the young kids. Only get involved in this type of business if you genuinely love little children otherwise you are likely to get extremely stressed.
Internet & Computer Franchises - As the usage of the internet explodes, many more franchisors are trying to exploit this huge growth market. From running your own local business directory to providing repair and trouble shooting services to small to medium businesses, this sector has experienced large growth. Make sure you do your research by speaking to existing franchisees to evaluate the business model.
It is important that you buy an insurance policy to cover your home-based business. Your normal home and contents policy will not cover you for business risk. It is a good idea to compare quotes from different providers as rates do vary quite widely.