According to figures provided by the International Franchise Association and confirmed by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, women make up around 25% of the current franchise unit ownership. The competition to find the ideal franchise opportunity is fierce, but it can also provide a platform for building a business that’s fulfilling in more ways than one. What is the top franchise for women today, especially when it comes to bookkeeping or the financial sector? Here are some examples of what sort of characteristics the top franchise will possess.

what is top franchise for women 2020

The Ability to Manage the Operation From Home

Long after the pandemic is over, the workplace will remain transformed. That’s because quite a few people have learned that they can work from home just as effectively as working in an office environment. Franchisees in certain industries, including the financial sector, have known that for some time. It’s just that now more people are beginning to catch up.

What does this mean in terms of choosing the best franchise? More potential customers will be open to the idea of hiring a service that’s home-based. For example, if you were to commit to a military spouse franchise related to bookkeeping, the fact that you work from home would be less likely to put off owners of businesses that are local and have just a few employees. You may even find a niche market in your territory that focuses on small business owners who operate out of their homes.

Start Part-Time and Build From There

If you’re already working full time for someone else but would like to own your own operation, do look for franchisors that offer the ability to start by investing just a few hours per week. What you want is the flexibility to establish a part-time franchise and grow it at your own pace. Since that’s not an option with some franchise opportunities, you’ll want to make sure this is something the franchisor actively supports.

Think of what this means for your business. You can continue to work with your current job for as long as necessary. In the meantime, you build up the bookkeeping business until it’s self-sustaining. Once it reaches a point that it’s making enough profit for you to draw your own salary and still cover the franchise fees and the general business expenses, it will be possible to resign from your day job.

Remember that you have the option of keeping the business as a part-time endeavor. That’s ideal for women who enjoy their current work but also want something more. Adding the franchise to the mix allows you to get what you want and enjoy your life.

suite of services already defined

A Suite of Services That’s Already Defined

One of the core benefits of operating a home-based franchise is that you don’t have to invent the business from the ground up. Choosing to become a franchisee means that there is already a foundation for the business, including a suite of services that are ready for you to offer immediately.

What services will you spotlight as part of your franchise? There is plenty to consider. With some type of bookkeeping or accounting franchise, you could offer small business owners services like:

  • Data entry services based on an agreed-upon schedule
  • Financial account reconciliations
  • General ledger management
  • Invoicing and billing
  • Monitoring aging
  • Taking care of the customer’s Payables
  • Managing the company payroll
  • Preparing and submitting tax forms on behalf of the businesses

Since you determine how much time to devote to the business decide which services you will offer. Remember that if you decide to expand the scope of those services, later on, doing so will be easy.

Training for New Franchisees

Experience with the type of industry you want to enter is helpful, but it’s not always necessary. For example, you may not know how to start a bookkeeping business right now, but the right financial franchise opportunity would include the training that you need. Along the way, you would need to qualify for certifications, but the right franchisor will even help you prepare for that. All you need to bring to the table is a commitment to learning what’s needed and setting aside time to achieve every aim.

Think of that that means if your spouse is in the military and possibly deployed. A military spouse franchise that provides you with the opportunity to learn a new field and develop the skills that you already possess will be an asset now and in the years to come. The fact that it also helps enhance the family’s financial stability is another huge asset.

reasonable start up investment

A Reasonable Start-Up Investment

One of the factors that impact women in franchising is the cost of launching a business venture. Some come with a relatively low-cost upfront while others require a significant investment of cash. Before spending any money, it helps to know what the franchisor provides in return for the investment.

The brand is great, but that’s not enough. There must be other types of support that begin before the franchise opens and begins to seek customers. Concise details about what the franchisor will do before and after the business launch are essential to decide if the money is worth it.

Essentially, any franchising opportunities for women that provide what you’re looking for plus a little more is worth considering. As long as you’re happy with what you get out of the deal, do dig into the history of the brand, what is expected of franchisees, and how all of this fits into your life goals. When you find one that provides the basis for what you want to do, that will be your best opportunity.

Help With Locating Financing for the Rest

Financing is a big deal once you find the opportunity that’s right for you. One thing that not many people know is that it’s not unusual for franchisors to provide potential franchisees with access to financing. That’s often in the form of a third party who functions as a lender.

How much of the necessary funding can you secure from the lender? That will vary based on a number of factors, including the type of franchise you’ve chosen and your personal credit score. As you evaluate the merits of any franchise for women, take the time to find out what sort of support the franchisor offers in terms of providing references to potential lenders. While you still want to check out your own sources, it’s possible that lenders recommended by the franchisor will offer better terms.

support with marketing effort

Support With the Marketing Effort

If you decide to buy an accounting franchise, do make sure that there’s some sort of marketing support included in the package. That will go beyond providing the right to use the brand’s logo and trademark. What you hope to find is marketing collateral that can be customized with your franchise information. Ideally, the marketing package should include resources you can use offline as well as online.

Why does this matter? Marketing is one of the key ways you’ll reach potential customers. If you have resources that you can launch on a website, a blog, social media, and other online spots, that’s great. You don’t have to come up with strategies on your own.

The same is true for offline marketing. Even something as simple as business card designs or designs for handouts you can use at the local chamber of commerce events are important. Resources you can easily adapt translate into being able to do more marketing for less money.

Control Over the Size of Your Client Base

The best franchise for you provides the opportunity to decide how large the business will become. Perhaps your plan is to keep it small enough to manage on your own and still have time for other things you consider important. Maybe the idea is to launch the franchise as a small operation now and incrementally hire employees who care for an ever-increasing client base.

Always look for franchise opportunities that fit in with what you want to do with the operation. If the plan is to keep the business small, focus on franchisors who are fine with that. When the plan is to build something that may employ dozens or hundreds of employees in the future, that’s the type of franchise deal you want.

A Team That’s There Now and In the Future

The best franchises for women included a support network that makes it easy to reach out whenever the need arises. It may be during the startup phase or it could be years in when you’re dealing with the demands of a growing operation. If there’s a network of support from the franchisor and possibly a setup to communicate with other franchise owners, you can bet that someone will have advice that will make a difference.

Do reach out to others that already work with the franchisor. Find out what they think about the level of support. If it’s primarily favorable, then you may not need to look any further. This is the best opportunity for you in 2020.

While all these qualities must be present, there’s more to deciding which franchise for women is right for you. Go for something that offers the dual benefits of igniting your career passion and also happens to be a good fit for your skills, interests, and aptitudes. With these factors in mind, you can determine if a women-owned franchise focused on bookkeeping and finance is best or if you should focus in another area. With a little time and attention to detail, you’ll find the opportunity for the top franchise for women 2020 and be ready to make the most of what the franchisor has to offer.