As Mother’s Day approaches, we’re naturally thinking about moms. A franchise business can be perfect, either for a stay at home mom looking for a business opportunity that lets her be home when the kids return from school, or for moms whose kids are old enough to allow her to focus on her own personal goals again.
But women are still behind men in franchise ownership. According to a 2002 study, women just can’t hack it in franchising because they want to be creative and have risk aversion. The truth is, however, women aren’t scared to take big steps in business. That same report said that 53% of all service industry businesses are owned by women—a clear indicator that women are willing to take a chance on a service industry business.
Women only own 29% of all businesses in the United States and a lot of progress has stagnated in the last 14 years, according to the US Census data. But if you’re a mom looking to open your own business, franchising might be the solution.
Moms may not have the time or attention to go wholeheartedly into an independent start-up. That 24/7 commitment a new business can require for the first few years doesn’t leave much time for night feedings or soccer games. A franchise, however, has a system that has already been developed and perfected. It provides a lot of support, and many franchise business opportunities are designed specifically to be part time, work from home jobs.
Another big reason women avoid franchising, in all likelihood, is because of the start-up capital required to start a business. Women earn significantly less on the dollar than their male counterparts, which can negatively impact the ability of women to start franchises. However, there are a number of franchises that can be started with a small investment. Our Franchise Bulls-Eye lets you filter opportunities by the amount of capital available.
To see if a franchise is right for you as a woman entrepreneur, ask about special incentives and support programs that may be available for women franchisees. Also check to see what sort of track record a franchise has with women entrepreneurs. Take Bark Busters as an example. Founded by a woman named Sylvia Wilson, Bark Busters caters to women franchisees by answering specific needs women might have. Flexibility to care of family and low start-up capital requirements are aspects of Bark Busters that might particularly appeal to moms.
Obviously, you don’t have to restrict your search to “traditional roles” of children’s services franchises or retail. If your heart is set on something outside the realm of what’s traditional for moms, don’t let tradition hold you back. For instance, if you always wanted to get into finance, you can look at TapSnap, a non-traditional franchise with a low initial investment.
To see our full list of franchise opportunities that are perfect for women or have discounts for women, check out our women’s franchise category.
