LEVERAGING AND MAXIMIZING THE BENEFITS OF HOME-BASED HOME SERVICE FRANCHISES

By Michael Moorhouse, Mosquito Shield

Whether it’s financial freedom or the ability to set their own schedule, franchise owners often say that the opportunity to be their own boss is one of the main reasons they entered the industry.

Few sectors offer the freedom and flexibility of home-based home service franchises. This growing, accessible market of franchise opportunities, including pest control, painting, bath remodeling, cleaning services, and landscaping and lawn care, maximizes the flexibility and convenience that many aspiring franchise owners are seeking.

Some of the main characteristics of home-based home service franchise opportunities that entrepreneurs find attractive include:

• Low cost of entry: Home-based franchises offer lower initial investments and tend to be easier to launch and operate than typical storefront businesses. There’s limited inventory to stock or store and staffing is minimal, especially at the beginning. Significantly, being home-based, these opportunities eliminate the need for a brick-and-mortar storefront location, saving franchise owners on property costs as well as the time needed to research and identify the right location.
• Quick to open: The same things that tend to keep initial costs down for home-based home service franchises help those businesses streamline and accelerate the steps to opening. In the right circumstances, some home-based franchises can be operating within a few weeks of signing the franchise agreement. That means owners start serving customers faster, generate revenue more quickly and begin to see a return on their investment.
• Low overhead: Once a homebased business is up and running, ongoing costs tend to be much lower than brick-and-mortar businesses. Ongoing savings on rent, utilities, furnishings and other expenses mean more revenue stays with you and can be invested back into scaling the business.

 Interest in home-based franchises has steadily increased in recent years, in large part because of the convenience and flexibility of the franchise model. Demand for home services is also on the rise. More people than ever are willing and able to pay for services that former generations might have performed themselves.

As home-based home service franchises continue to attract franchise owners, they become an increasingly attractive opportunity for franchisors. The same factors that franchise owners find attractive — convenience, flexibility, low cost of entry and ongoing operations and ease of opening — are advantages for franchisors.

Real estate and property management can demand a significant investment of resources for brick-andmortar franchises. While the earnings potential is high, so is the investment of time and money. Many large franchisors employ entire departments to research, identify and secure locations and oversee construction. Reducing or even eliminating those costs can streamline the franchisor’s business and dramatically accelerate growth.

The mutual benefits of home-based home service franchise opportunities enhance the marketing of such models as well. The selling points for franchise owners are easy to identify and communicate, and the low cost of entry means a wider pool of potential owners.

The potential for rapid growth is a particularly attractive element of home-based home service franchises. New locations sold and new locations opened are two critical metrics of growth in the franchise industry. For home-based franchises, there’s very little difference between the two. With the low cost of entry and lack of a storefront, the percentage of home-based franchises sold that aren’t open within just a few months is much lower than in the industry overall.

In short, the advantage of homebased home service opportunities for franchisors is that it’s easier and faster to get new locations up and running. The sooner a new location is generating revenue, the sooner the franchisor is earning royalties. And the faster it is to get new locations open, the easier it is to grow.

Michael Moorhouse is president of Mosquito Shield. Mosquito Shield, part of the Five Star Franchising platform of home service brands, was ranked the #1 franchise in pest control and a top home-based and mobile franchise by Entrepreneur in 2023. For more information about IFA franchisor member Mosquito Shield, please visit franchise.org/franchise-opportunities/ mosquito-shield.