Many times it's easy to find yourself un-satisfied with your current job situation. Frustration or seemingly mindless activity at a desk job can be rather dull and even boring at times. If you find yourself wondering if there is something that could be a little more exciting, a little more meaningful and a little more profitable in your life, than perhaps you should consider a small business franchise opportunity.



Initially the proposition of going into business for yourself might seem appealing but also a little overwhelming. There are a lot of questions to answer: Can I afford to start my own business? Do I really want to quit my job? What if my business fails? How could I even start a business? These are all very important questions to answer, but there is an option out there to help get you started in the franchise world, and that is a handful of low investment and easy to start franchises that can be run in addition to whatever job you currently have. If you have 10-20 spare hours in a week, and a relatively small investment, you could be on your way to being in business for yourself.

There are several categories in which low cost franchises fall into. A very common one would be the internet franchise category. There are many home-based businesses that operate exclusively online. These franchises cater to a specific group of individuals who are seeking a product or service on the internet. If you own an internet franchise, typically your responsibilities are to generate publicity and manage information in a local area. Many internet business franchises have very low costs to start up and require a minimal amount of time to run. For Example: Xfactor Online Dating is a website that offers local owners a change to promote and connect an exclusive postcode in the UK. It's the role of the franchise owner to promote local Online Dating services in the agreed territory and you can work as little as 1 hour a week, for an investment of only ?7,995. Similarly the ORCA websites are a franchise group that sells tailor made websites to small and medium sized businesses. You are not responsible for creating and managing the websites, only selling the service and gathering the specific information your customers desire to be on their custom ORCA webpage. This franchise also has relatively low ownership costs requiring a minimum investment of ?10,950+VAT.

If internet franchising isn't exactly the type of business you had in mind there are several other low cost franchise options including a variety of home service businesses. These franchises can be run from your home with as many or few clients who are in need of the service you can provide. Some of the more well known home service franchises would include Maid 2 Clean which is a franchise business where you would offer domestic house cleaning and ironing services. Maid 2 Clean helps out those busy households who just can't seem to stay ahead of the day-to-day chores. The beauty of a Maid 2 Clean is that 90% of customers become repeat customers. Maid 2 Clean can be purchased and operated starting at ?8,246. For the exterior of the home you should consider Myhome Lawn Cutting and Care. For the many people who's most valuable possession is their home the care and beauty of that home is of the utmost importance. Myhome professionals are certified specialists in all areas of lawn and garden care and maintenance. Much more than merely mowing lawns the Myhome franchise also offers a Window Cleaning franchise as well. With Myhome Lawn Cutting and Care available at ?6,000-?25,000 and Myhome Window Cleaning from ?10,000-?29,500 these are two excellent low cost franchise options that again can be run as whatever level of commitment you as the owner desire. Hire a staff and build a full time business, or provide the services personally and manage a neighborhood to generate a little extra income; it's your decision.

Finally there is the more traditional product based franchise. These classic franchises are small businesses that make a product for their customers. Many such franchises are larger in scale and require a greater investment, cost to carry inventory, lease office and retail space, but there are a few exceptions that would fall into the low cost franchise category.

The Little Angels Children's Photography franchise specifically targets women franchise owners because the nature of the business is taking pictures in children's classrooms and homes and studies have shown that young children respond better and are more comfortable around women. This product driven franchise provides a regular need for picture days at school and big events in children's lives. Pictures will always be a part of families to preserve their memories, so what better franchise to own and be a part of? Little Angels requires an investment of ?6,750. Also in the product franchise market is Cardgroup Greetings. This company is the best and most widely sold greeting card and gift distribution business in the world, existing in over 30 countries. Everyday is someone's birthday and our traditions made those days into card giving days. What better way to run a small business than to help people express themselves in this fun and meaningful way? Cardgroup Greetings Franchises can be purchased starting as low as ?12,973

If you are looking for something more in your life, you want to succeed at something that will give you a sense of pride and ownership. The small business franchise market could be perfect for you with such a wide variety of low investment franchise opportunities. For such small investments you could be the owner of your part-time or even full-time business that will provide you with the income, ownership, drive, and fulfillment that you have been seeking in your career.