There are two different ways to think about starting your own franchise business. You can either step forward as a leader in an industry you understand from top to bottom or you can take your cumulative business knowledge and try something new. Many people who buy a franchise as part of their retirement plan, for instance, are long since bored of the daily tasks of their first career and are ready to branch out into something interesting and fun instead. The good news is that there are dozens of franchises available that can be run with basic business know-how and could serve to brighten every day of your future as a business owner. Whether you started as a financial advisor, a restaurant manager, or a computer programmer, your new business can be anything you want.
For those of you who want to find something completely new and delightful as the foundation of your business, here are five franchise industries you probably haven’t thought of but are sure to bring a smile to your face every time you come to work.
1) Bakeries
Do you love the smell of baking bread? A bakery in the right part of town can be the perfect franchise for a retiree looking to enjoy their life as a business owner. If you understand retail or restaurant management, then you already have the industry skills needed, and you don’t even have to be a great baker to succeed. Bakers, pastry chefs, and confectioners can be found and love their work as much as you love to smell it. All you need to do is maintain inventory, mind the books, and keep the business rolling until you achieve a profitable number of hungry professionals coming in for breakfast on the commute and during their lunch hours for sandwiches on freshly baked bread. Plus, your office will always smell amazing!
2) Child Care or Education
If the sight and sound of happy children is something that gets you out of bed in the morning, no matter what career you’re coming from a franchise in child care or tutoring educational services could be just what you’re looking for. With a good head for business and a kindly disposition, you don’t need to be an expert teacher to provide a safe and enjoyable place for little ones to spend time and an opportunity for parents to enrich their children’s educational experience. There are dozens of tutoring or daycare franchises to buy into and each one offers a unique experience and business model that could potentially allow you to become the unofficial grandparent to hundreds of children each year.
3) Entertainment Venues
Most non-teenagers aren’t actually aware of just how many different kinds of entertainment venues are available. There’s laser tag, bumper cars, arcades, bowling alleys, skating rinks, pottery shops, and many more. There are even a few venues that are nothing but indoor play for children and a lounge for exhausted parents to rest and have a smoothie. If you’re looking for an enjoyable franchise, these venues tend to be relaxed and the things you’ll overhear recreating customers say to each other will be enough to keep you chuckling for years.
4) Pet Stores
If you adore animals of all shapes and sizes and would enjoy talking about them and working with them for the next several years, then a pet store franchise could be exactly what you’re looking for. Some pet stores only sell supplies and offer advice on what each pet owner needs at home while others feature sections for puppies, rodents, birds, fish, and so on. A few simply have a few display pens for shelter animals they host to help with the community adoption effort.
5) Fitness and Exercise
Finally, even if you don’t want to open a gym, you might be surprised just how many alternative fitness franchises are available. You can open a yoga parlor, or a quiet place for older people to stay in shape, or go completely the other direction and buy a franchise that covers the entire floor in trampolines for the younger crowd.
There are a lot of franchises out there, more than you would think and some of them are downright surprising. Before you settle on simply continuing your previous career, take a look around and consider what kind of franchise would really make you happy to run as the start of a second career instead. You might surprise yourself!
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