Fees from revenue-sharing with affiliates accounted for 80 percent of Environmental Waste Solutions' revenues last year, Shapiro says. Growth from new affiliates hasn't been as robust, as potential affiliates are still uncertain about spending to start a new business. However, Shapiro notes that studies have shown the best time to start a new business is immediately following a recession. And, she says, interest from potential affiliates has increased lately. The company doesn't have targets for the number of new affiliates it hopes to bring on in the next 12 months, nor their locations. "That's not our emphasis," Shapiro says. "But what we hope to do is get more affiliates for major metropolitan areas."
Another business opportunity riding a wave of customer demand is DVDNow Kiosks, a Vancouver, British Columbia-based company that sells self-service movie-rental kiosks as business opportunities.. "More and more people are making the transition from renting from a traditional rental store to being a regular kiosk customer," says CEO Scott McInnes. "This trend has accelerated as more and more traditional video rental stores close locations."
In addition to the chance to participate in a fast-growth business, DVDNow owner-operators enjoy the flexibility of starting small and scaling up as their abilities and interests allow. Owner-operators often start out with one or a handful of kiosks, then grow that into a sizable business, McInnes says. "It's also a great side business that can be operated without interfering with someone's day job," he says.
The company has nearly 2,000 locations, primarily in the United States, but also in Canada, Ireland, and South Africa. Norway and the Netherlands will soon join the network. For the next 12 months, McInnes says, DVDNow will "continue to focus on expansion within the United States as well as growing our existing and new international markets."
While new business models drive some franchisees, TSS Photography of Duluth, Georgia, is based on a tradition, namely, taking photographs of youth sports teams, and other groups. "People are very familiar with it," says president Joe Lindenmayer. "It's not a fad. It's not a trend, and our future is adapting to the needs and wants of our customers to remain relevant." Of course, today the photographic equipment is digital, but TSS still manufactures the prints and fulfills orders from its central facility.
The concept requires no retail storefront or warehouse space for inventory, and about 85 percent of TSS franchisees operate from home. Costs are relatively low too, starting at less than $40,000 for a rural territory. "That includes everything they'll need," Lindenmayer says. TSS has 230 units throughout the country and would like to have 20 new units in 12 months, Lindenmayer says.
Franchisees usually hire photographers to take the pictures, so they can concentrate on sales and marketing. The modest investment and low overhead makes the opportunity a good fit for people who want to keep working at a job and augment their income with a TSS Photography franchise, or start full-time and make a faster transition, he says.
Caring Transitions, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, is designed to serve a far different customer requirement: families' need for help transitioning loved ones from home to long-term care or retirement facilities. President John Buckles says the company's franchisees help customers assess contents of a family members' house, sell or liquidate extra belongings, store what they want to keep, and prepare homes for sale.
Potential franchisees are attracted by the chance to work in a growth business with few sizable existing competitors, as well as by the opportunity to provide useful service to families in need, Buckles says. Franchises require an initial investment of $38,280 to $66,580 and the business is well-suited to home-based and part-time operation, Buckles says.
Caring Transitions has 75 locations, mostly on the east coast and in the far western U.S. In the next 12 months, Buckles expects to add another 40 locations and is targeting the Midwest as an area where growth is expected.
No matter what the exact opportunity, interest in home-based businesses is anything but lagging, according to Miller, of The Entrepreneur's Source. But home-based businesses have special requirements of their own to go with their particular advantages. For instance, self-discipline isn't as much of a problem for business owners who spend their day working closely with lots of employees in an office. But it can be for business owners who work from where entertainment options and household chores provide ready distractions. "It's not like you're in a retail location where you have foot traffic," he adds.
Home-based business owners have to learn to set limits, not only for themselves but also for others. "Because you don't have a boss looking over your shoulder, and your spouse might ask you to paint the living room or make lunch, you have to establish your boundaries. Say that you're going to service clients from this time to this time," he says.
Even if home-based, low-cost businesses aren't ideal for every entrepreneur, Miller says they serve enduring needs. "There's always going to be a place for the home-based business," he says, "just like there'll always be a place for bricks and mortar businesses."
