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Business Ideas for Women: Why Franchising Works

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The business world is no longer the climate of males with power suits and marginalizing ideals. Women have exploded into the startup sphere and franchise world alike—offering refreshing and nuanced views into an enterprise and how to start and successfully run a business.  An increasingly common framework is women taking control of their careers, venturing into entrepreneurial realms.  Business ideas for women span from website management to pet sitting, but how do you settle on the right business plan?

It all starts with an idea.

Mix a little introspection and a feasible business concept.  Entrepreneurial women have taken market segments by storm. If you want to own your own small business and become your own boss, it begins with an idea. Ask yourself these questions:

  • What is your goal for your business?
  • What are your interests? What do you like to do?
  • What are good at?
  • What do you want to learn?
  • What makes you happy?

What is your Objective?

Do you want to earn a second income? Many women consider representing another company selling insurance, cosmetics, or timeshares. The list doesn’t stop there! The sales segment of the marketplace is constantly widening—inviting many women to make strong figures as an independent sales rep.

Freelancing is also gaining strength in the digital schematic. Blogging, software development, and website management are also budding sideline careers where women can earn some extra cash.

Do you want to work in a career that offers flexibility to spend time with the family? Many entrepreneurs quit their job, not only because they are tired of corporate America, but because it’s basically impossible to raise a family while working a 9-5. Becoming self-employed gives you the keys to your schedule.

Do you want to change the world? One of the most challenging business ideas for women is starting a co-op or nonprofit. The work will be intensive, but if you are poised you can make this dream a reality.

Do you want to contribute back to society and better the community around you? This is good. Too many people depart corporate careers to start their own business with purely fiscal motivations. With this mindset, you are going to fail. It takes passion to deliver the intrinsic motivation necessary to see true success in all industries of business.

Consider a Successful Business Model: Franchising

“The gambling known as business looks with austere disfavor upon the business known as gambling—Ambrose Bierce.”

Business experts tend to agree with Bierce. We interpret Bierce’s words to mean that yes, business is about risk, but what separates it from gambling are the certainties. A calculated risk is the business-savvy gamble business owners make when investing with a franchise that fits them.

Many opt for franchising because it offers more stability. You take a brand, and a concept in a pathway of your choosing, and success becomes much easier because the path is already carved. It’s easier to go when one has already gone before you. Many of the time-consuming and expensive tasks of owning a business are already fine-tuned in franchising.

This comforting when 51% of small business fail in the first four years, according to the National Association of Small Business’s Economic Report.

Franchising offers:

  • Brand Awareness
  • Support
  • Training
  • Access to Inventory, Equipment, and Supplies
  • Marketing
  • Faster ROI (Return on Investment)
  • Culture Fit
  • Proprietary Software

When you are in league with a good franchisor, they should treat you as a business partner—fully invested in your success.

Women and Franchising

The ‘Glass Ceiling’ is cracking and in some cases shattering within various business ideas for women. The franchise sector is helping many women escape outmoded constraints found in the traditional workforce.  According to a Women-Owned Businesses Report, between 1997 and 2014 the number of women-owned business increased by 59%. Compared with the 41% of male-owned business growth during the same time period.

The franchise world has open doors embracing women to help level the playing field. According to the Wall Street Journal, 28.1% of the sector is dominated by women owners and is widening further in 2017. (Lets push this numbers up!) As the playing field diversifies many wonder, why women are overturning job offers to begin franchising?

The reason is overall satisfaction.

The Franchise Business Review surveyed 6,400 women representing 300 franchise brands from July 2015 to December 2016 to report new numbers on female participation. What they found is pleasing.

Key Findings of the Study:

  • 90% of women enjoy operating their business
  • 85% state they would recommend their franchise brand to others
  • 88% state they enjoy being part of their organization
  • 84% say the respect their franchisor
  • 74% state they would do it again knowing what they know today
  • 54% of female franchisees state overall work/life is balanced

Compared with the reports of employee disengagement across various industries in America, these statistics are quite impressive. We hope this is a beckoning force for more women to abandon the hypocrisy of corporate jobs and start calling the shots by becoming self-employed as a franchisee.

What other business ideas for women are opening in different markets?

Pet Care: A Booming Industry

The pet industry first started gaining traction after the huge expansion which began during the Great Recession. During the recession, the pet industry proved itself recession-proof—an industry economically independent of the climate of the rest of the marketplace.

Since 1994, the industry has holistically grown by a galvanizing 269%. Last year, total expenditures ended at $66.75 billion—10.7% growth from the previous year. Even more impressive was that pet industry’s expansion surpassed forecasts given by economic analysts. The projection for the 2017 year is estimated to end at $69.36 billion.

There are several societal factors contributing to the continuum of expansion in the pet industry. First, the baby boomers are retiring. Retirees follow the market trends of getting a dog for companionship in their golden years. This trend is also giving way to even more promising news for pet franchises—Millennials are now the primary pet owners in America.  Of the 68% of U.S. households that own a pet, 35% are Millennials. Combined, the two demographics add up to 67% of the 84.6 million households that own a pet.

The third reason needs no explanation. Dogs are cute—plain and simple. Don’t believe it? Scroll through the themes of this summer’s Hollywood hits coming to theaters to see all the pet-related movie premieres.

How Do Women Fit into All of this?

Right at the center.

Two women who have found a successful haven in Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique family are Beth McElroy and Valayia Smith. Both women have become huge leaders in their community by pursuing business ideas for women and from women.

Beth owns her shop in Monroe, New York.

“It’s outside of anything I’ve ever seen in pet grooming salon. I had my own pet grooming salon for 33 years,” McElroy tells us. “Splash and Dash franchise is the only one that has embraced the grooming industry. It’s a big step but my experience has been the most exciting move I’ve made.”

Beth joined on early in Splash and Dash franchise and has been attaining been streamlining her goals since.

Valayia, on the other hand, is new to the franchise but is already making huge splashes at her shop in Alamo Heights, Texas. “I Just knew I needed change. I just wasn’t cut out for corporate America. I had to find something where I could still make the income I made as a consultant, but I could come home every day.” Smith said. “I started looking for opportunities and I found Splash and Dash. I loved what I found. Nothing exists like this is in San Antonio.”

Valayia has been setting company records in sales as a leader in an already leading franchise in the grooming industry.

Don’t let your dreams pass you by! Explore franchise opportunities now.

 

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The Payoffs of Owning a UPS Store Franchise

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Investors looking for reasons to invest in the UPS store franchise will not have to look far. The UPS store is a pervasive and welcomed force in the packaging services industry rivaling the United States Postal Service and Federal Express. The company incorporated in 1980 completing a long evolution starting in the early 20th century.

The store is responsible for more than just shipping. UPS Stores also handle printing business cards, letterhead, posters, flyers, and other general business services like notaries. Currently, UPS handles both U.S. domestic packages and international packages shipping to over 220 countries and territories across the world.

With 4,600 independently owned locations, even the brown color of the UPS trucks have become more than a figurative symbol of the UPS brand power. What can brown do for you? The franchises’ “road warrior” truck-force is widely visible. The omnipresence of the brown trucks alone makes UPS’ brand power recognizable by small business and international corporations alike.

The slogan is now, “United Problem Solvers,” changing two years ago from the “We Love Logistics” slogan that launched in 2010. According to Forbes 500 list, the company’s market cap is at $91.3 billion as of May 2017. There are over 4,600 franchise locations in the UPS store franchise.

  • Initial Investment: $159,224-$434,521
  • Net Worth Requirement: $150,000
  • Liquid Cash Requirement: $60,000-$100,000
  • Franchise Fee:$29,950
  • Royalty Fee: 5%

The History Behind The Company

Since incorporating in 1980, the UPS Store franchises have been serving small business communities for the past 37 years, under this company name. (Although they have been operating for much longer under various company names and business models). They are the seventh-largest employer in the U.S. with 362,000 domestic employees and 444,000 global employees.  

Of course, it wasn’t always the United Parcel Service. The company was originally called American Messenger Company originating in 1907. The company’s current headquarters is based in San Diego, California, but the company’s first parcel delivery service was in Seattle, Washington. During this budding era, the company was known as American Messenger Company.

This was back in 1907 when most deliveries were made on foot. Bicycles were used for longer trips. Fast forward six years, the Model T Ford became the company’s first delivery vehicle. At this point, the company was operating under the name Merchants Parcel Delivery.

In 1916, the company resettled in Oakland, California and changed its the name to the now known–United Parcel Service. With technological innovations like the conveyor belt system, UPS was able to expand to deliver up to 125 miles outside of Los Angeles. The delivery service did not stop there.

In 1975, the now UPS Store was able to begin servicing 48 states in the U.S. and began establishing operations in Canada. Ten years later UPS Next Day Air Service was launched for all 48 states and included delivery to Puerto Rico.

From 2001 to 2003, the UPS Store franchise acquired Mail Boxes Etc. and officially re-branded 3,000 locations as the UPS Store, but has been franchising locations since 1980.

What Makes Owning a UPS Store Franchise Location so Appealing?

A UPS store is a one-stop-shop for small business owners and employees. All general business service needs are handled by all UPS locations making the franchise convenient for customers, and essential for other small business owners.  

The entire UPS store franchise also has the most advanced technology in its segment. The franchising network engages with the most contemporary and highly developed digital information systems in the world. This technology makes it possible for franchisees to deliver more than 13 million packages, documents, and pieces of mail daily. The tracking system that UPS uses is also state-of-the-art. The company’s system enables customers to track every packages’ location.

This year Entrepreneur Business Magazine listed the UPS store #1 in the postal and business services category. Since UPS first earned this ranking, the company has not budged from the position in 27 years. The UPS store franchise is a nationally recognized franchise brand with a myriad of media outlets. The famous brown trucks weave seemingly across the globe delivering anything from pianos to happy birthday letters.

Down Sides to the UPS Store Franchise

As with all franchise opportunities, there is no guarantee of success. Securing profits is a question of how hard franchisees work, the support and training corporate supplies, and talented marketing. It has been reported by The Balance, that it takes a UPS Store franchise “$365,000 in annual gross sales” for a franchise owner to yield a “$35,000 a year income.” The same report states that “about 60% of all US stores do not break even.”

The breakdown of this means that a UPS Store Franchise would have to make over $30,000 in monthly sales for an owner to receive any profit. However, those looking to purchase a franchise should take figures like these with a grain of salt. Forbes has ranked the company as #70 in profit based on accurate key metrics.

Basically, franchising–like all business–has no guarantee of making money. Franchise owners can profit hugely and expand, or close their doors within five years. Success is contingent on making the right business decision and this includes choosing the right franchise.

Here are some other franchises worth researching.

Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique

Although Splash and Dash franchise operates in a completely different industry than the UPS Store franchise, both companies emerged as leaders in their respective industry through similar means.

Splash and Dash is a pet spa retail store with a mom-and-pop feel with big-box capabilities. The franchise recently ranked #59th on Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 list. A comprehensive evaluation on areas of costs, fees, size and growth, franchisee support, brand and financial strength, and stability led the company to earn the ranking.  

The pet franchise has also ranked on other business magazines like INC 500 List and has been featured in countless media outlets.  The company has been franchising since 2004 with a 1200% three-year growth rate. The swiftly growing pet industry is also to thank for Splash and Dash’s success with a growth rate of 269% from 1994 to today.

What advantages does Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique have over the competition?

The pet franchise has access to cutting edge terminal software. This technology streamlines every function of business making it easy for shop owners to profit. Support and training are also vital for both franchises. Splash and Dash retains talented shop owners trained to develop franchise locations that will succeed. Another vantage point shop owners in the Splash and Dash franchise enjoy is recurring revenue. Business models that utilize recurring revenue both secure profits and allow for franchise owners to break even with the goal of six months after soft opening.

  • Initial Investment: $152,000-$360,300
  • Net Worth Requirement: $500,000
  • Liquid Cash Requirement: $150,000
  • Franchise Fee: $25,000
  • Royalty Fee: 6%

Whether you are looking for an internationally delivering parcel business, or see yourself in the pet care franchise, an opportunity to own your own small business is the dream you can make a reality.

 

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