As a professional small business broker and franchise sales consultant I am often asked what types of franchise opportunities are the most profitable to start and own. From my experience there are a few common factors or characteristics that give some franchise business models a definite edge or advantage when it comes to the ability to consistently produce high profit margins. Some of these advantageous characteristics include having low overhead expenses, limited competition, and not offering a commodity type product or low barrier services. Below are a few franchise opportunity categories that share some of these characteristics and are generally regarded as having the right stuff to be very profitable.
Financial Services Franchises:
Franchises that offer financial related services such as income tax preparation, accounting, and consumer insurance services generally enjoy very high profit margins for a number of reasons. This includes low overhead expenses because of generally lower staffing requirements and no absolute need to rent high traffic (and expensive) retail space. And because they offer professional type services the barrier to entry is a little higher than starting the average home cleaning or janitorial franchise which helps limit competition. And last but not least financial franchises like insurance and tax franchises offer services that have the ability to generate repeat and residual income which can do wonders for the bottom line.
Medical and Health Care Franchises:
Medical and health care related franchises are well positioned to reap the benefits of an ever expanding market due to major and favorable demographic trends such as the inevitable aging of the baby boomer population. Traditionally health care and medical related franchises that offer services like assisted living, senior home care, and lab testing have very high profit margins and are generally considered recession resistant. These factors bode well for maintaining high profit margins for these generally non-discretionary services that will always be in demand for the foreseeable future.
Home Based Franchises:
Some of the most highly profitable small businesses I have ever worked with as a professional business broker were home based. In my opinion the benefit of not having the expense of a monthly lease payment can not be overstated in terms of bottom line profitability. Other profitable advantages of owning a home based franchise business include no daily commuting or travel expenses, as well as certain tax advantages that could put more money in your pocket at the end of the year. Be sure to consult with an accountant or CPA for more details about the tax advantages of starting a home based franchise or business.
Internet Franchises:
Starting an Internet franchise business offers many advantages in terms of setting the stage for being very profitable.This includes the fact the most Internet franchise opportunities being offered today can easily be operated from a small home based office with just an internet connection, computer, desk, and a chair. Consequently your overhead expenses will be much lower than that of a typical brick and mortar retail franchise business because there are no lease expenses or expensive equipment and inventory expenses. And generally most Internet franchises being offered today are designed to be owner operated so there are no expensive staffing requirements either.