England 01/07/2013 – More and more people want to be their own boss and many are choosing to join a franchise to achieve their dream.
The number of people who are self-employed in the UK has reached the highest point since 1992. An increasingly tough job market has left a lot of people unable to find a well paid, permanent, full time job. The latest ONS statistics show that over 4.2 million people in the UK are self-employed with over 84,000 of them having registered as self employed in the past couple of years. Some are setting themselves up as independent service providers, but increasingly people are taking the franchise route instead.
Up until about a decade ago there were very few franchise opportunities available in the UK. Most of the franchises that were available involved running a restaurant. Today, there is much more choice, which is one reason more people are deciding to become franchisers.
Interest in car franchise opportunities is especially strong, at the moment. The fact that there are over 31 million cars on the UK’s roads, means that people who run a car related business are not going to be short of work. All 31 million cars need maintenance and consumables, so there is a huge amount of money to be made especially in the car care and repair sectors.
Training makes becoming a franchisee viable for most
However, to make money in the lucrative car care and maintenance industry does require expertise. Those that join a franchise have the edge over someone who sets up independently. This is because the franchisee receives all kinds of training and support from the branded company they are representing.
As an example, the car repairers Revive! UK offers a great deal of support to their franchisees. They train them in all aspects of repairing car bodywork and alloy wheels. In addition, they also provide training and support to help their franchisees to grow their business and go beyond just working for themselves. There is the potential for a motivated franchisee to run several repair vans in their area. An approach that benefits everyone and is helping more people to become their own boss.