In some cases it is possible to recover the entire franchise fee in the first year of trading. With many of these businesses, you do not need any premises as you can work from home. This greatly reduces overheads and enables you to reach profitability very quickly.

Another very important benefit of low cost franchises is that some of them can be run full time or part time. This is ideal for people who do not have large monthly outlays and only require a small income to supplement their existing business. Just be very careful when analysing any new business opportunity. If you can not see a market for the product then it probably does not exist!

One low cost franchise opportunity specialises in cleaning carpets. They use extra powerful industrial vacuum cleaners to remove 80 percent of the dirt and dust in carpets before applying specialist chemicals which dissolves most of the oily and greasy particles that still remain. Their specialist equipment then removes almost all of the fluids used in the cleaning process. This means that your carpet is bone dry within a couple of hours.

Householders benefit because they get their carpets cleaned to a high professional standard at a reasonable cost. This then leads to repeat business possibly every couple of years for the franchisee and his reputation spreads quickly by word of mouth. The franchisee also benefits from professionally created marketing material including leaflets and business cards.

This business also benefits from positive cash flow as the franchisee gets paid for his work on completion and he receives generous term from his suppliers for his cleaning materials. The ideal franchisee for this company is a person who is still relatively strong and does not mind the hard physical work involved.

Another franchise for people with low budgets specialise in bringing single people together. Again this business can be managed from home. The franchisee has to follow a predefined local marketing programme that generates enquiries. This is then followed by a professional consultation so that a suitable match can be found.

This franchise requires people who have decent communication skills and are very presentable. This business is ideal for people who sincerely like to help other people and do not mind networking. The one downfall of this business is that if you do your job properly then you will not get any repeat business although you might get referrals!

Another interesting business opportunity is providing asset finance (lease & hire purchase) to local businesses. Again you do not need expensive premises (and can possibly work from home) but an aptitude for basic arithmetic definitively helps. If you already have many business contacts then this might be right up your street!

This business targets a very specific niche in business and has well proven marketing strategies to help you identify your most lucrative clients. The best factor in this business is that you can generate a lot of repeat business with the same client and if the business is handled correctly then most of your new clients will be generated by referrals.

In this type of business you will most definitely have to be prepared to learn new skills and some cold calling is required. From the point of initial contact to actually generating new business might take months and in some cases years. Patience is a virtue in this business.

My advice to anyone thinking of buying a franchise is:

Do not just think about the earning potential.

Find a business that suits your personality and lifestyle.

Always take professional advice before embarking on a new business.

Be prepared to "go back to school" and learn new skills.

In short, if you have a small budget, are prepared to learn new skills and choose the right niche, then one of these opportunities might be right for you.