Ready to Start Your Own Business?

The mission of this blog, started by the Founders of www.helpamericaspeople.com is to provide you, the burgeoning entrepreneur, with the most current and useful information, research, tips, tools, techniques, advice, etc. you’ll need to start your own business.

This post will cover four types of Franchise Opportunities:  Food, Healthcare, Home Improvement and Hotels/Motels.

Food

Subcategories:

• Food/Quick-Service
• Full-Service Restaurant
• Retail Food Sales

As every American knows, the choices available for “out-of-home” meals are virtually endless whether it be breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacking.

The Quick-Service Category includes:

Full-Service restaurants include:

• Barbecue Restaurants
• Burger Restaurants
• Family Restaurants
• Mexican Restaurants
• Seafood Restaurants
• Steakhouses
• Miscellaneous Full-Service Restaurants
• Italian Restaurants
• Pubs

Retail Food Sales include:

The start-up costs for the majority of food franchises range between low six figures to one million dollars and above.  If you have considerable liquid assets and/or one or more partners, a food franchise is a good bet because the failure rate, especially well-known brand names, is quite low.  As mentioned in previous posts, the franchisor will do anything and everything to help you succeed since they will be receiving a percentage of your sales as long as the franchise agreement is in effect.

As an example of the high start-up costs of food franchises, we looked at the Top 100 Low-Cost Franchises according to Entrepreneur Magazine.  Only one food franchise made the list — Chesters International.

Healthcare

Subcategories:

• Eye-Glass Centers
• Vitamin Stores
• Weight Control Centers

Unless you’ve just arrived from another planet, you know that healthcare is the fastest growing industry in the U.S.  now and for many years into the future.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Career Guide to Industries, 2010-11 Edition, healthcare will generate 3.2 million new wage and salary jobs between 2008 and 2018, more than any other industry, largely in response to rapid growth in the elderly population. Ten of the twenty fastest growing occupations are related to healthcare.

Below are five healthcare franchises with start-up costs at $60,000 or less:

• The Dentist’s Choice – dental handpiece repairs
• Hays Handpiece Franchises, Inc. – dental handpiece repairs
• EMed-ID – healthcare products and services
• Hungry Heart Franchise LLC – nutritional counseling and hypnotherapy
• Safety Watch, Inc. – first aid/emergency products and training

Home Improvement

Subcategories:

• Building & Remodeling
• Cabinet Refacing/Remodeling
• Closet Systems
• Decorating Services
• Furniture Stores
• Furniture Restoration
• Home Repairs
• Insurance Restoration Services
• Lawncare & Landscaping
• Maintenance Services
• Painting
• Property Inspection Services
• Remodeling Services
• Surface Refinishing & Restoration
• Window & Floor Coverings
• Window & Screen Repair

If you don’t mind getting dirty and you’re good with your hands, Home Improvement is in good demand.  The downside is you’ll have lots of competition.  A franchise could be the answer since you’ll get a recognizable brand identity, valuable training in business operations and systems and, most importantly, marketing and sales knowledge and skills.  The latter is vitally important, because most franchisors don’t provide their franchisees with leads.  However, they do train you in the most cost-effective and targeted methods for getting leads and then closing the sale.

Hotels & Motels

This is a category for the not necessarily famous, but definitely the rich.  The start-up costs on the low end are about $393,000 for Baymont Inn & Suites to the high end of $93 million for Intercontinental Hotels Group.

Next Post:  Franchising: Which Industry is Right for You, part 3.