Web Working Opportunity: Franchise Ownership
Let’s add another category to the different ways you can be a web worker: franchise ownership. New Internet-based management systems allow franchise owners to manage their brick-and-mortar stores from a distance or run a franchise business as a side job alongside another career:
The franchising world is letting loose. Gone are the days of one owner being chained behind the counter of a single store day in, day out. Today, there are absentee owners who oversee their operations from laptops and Treos, and owners who maintain dual careers or run multiple franchises. At Hollywood Tanning Systems Inc., more than half of the 330 franchise owners have another job. The chief executive of Sport Clips Inc. hair salons estimates that 10 hours a week is a “generous allowance” for owners to physically be in stores. And franchisees for the Decor&You Inc. interior-design business can receive decorating and product training at home whenever they like via online video seminars. [The Wall Street Journal, subscription required]
This is classic web workerhood: using information technology to work in more flexible ways than you could before, picking the geography and set of income streams that suit you. What makes this possible? Internet-based applications that support tracking sales from a distance, replenishing inventory automatically, and online training in business processes.
Of course running a franchise successfully requires a ton of hard work and know-how, especially if you want to do it remotely or as a side job (or both!) There are many resources online for would-be franchisees including Entrepreneur.com’s Franchise Zone and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Guide to Buying a Franchise.
I’ve been a Big League Haircuts franchisee for the past 3.5 years. It is VERY nice that I can remotely administer everything at the shop from the comfort of my own home.
I can remote desktop into the shop’s computer to view our daily sales numbers, process payroll, or run inventory. I can view how everything is running during the day with my live web cam. I can even check who is calling and leaving messages via our VOIP phone. I could not have dreamed doing all of this 10 years ago.
The first 12 to 18 months of the business, my wife and I probably put 40+ hours per week combined into the business. However, for the last 2 years, there are very few weeks in which we are there for more than 10 hours.
As for my day job, I have a web application consultancy with a couple partners. We are planning on releasing a couple of web applications in the near future in which my haircut shop would be among the first beta testers. So in addition to a side investment, the franchised haircut shop could also be a springboard to help my web company get a couple of products off the ground. That would be some pretty cool synergy!
I’ve been a Big League Haircuts franchisee for the past 3.5 years. It is VERY nice that I can remotely administer everything at the shop from the comfort of my own home.
I can remote desktop into the shop’s computer to view our daily sales numbers, process payroll, or run inventory. I can view how everything is running during the day with my live web cam. I can even check who is calling and leaving messages via our VOIP phone. I could not have dreamed doing all of this 10 years ago.
The first 12 to 18 months of the business, my wife and I probably put 40+ hours per week combined into the business. However, for the last 2 years, there are very few weeks in which we are there for more than 10 hours.
As for my day job, I have a web application consultancy with a couple partners. We are planning on releasing a couple of web applications in the near future in which my haircut shop would be among the first beta testers. So in addition to a side investment, the franchised haircut shop could also be a springboard to help my web company get a couple of products off the ground. That would be some pretty cool synergy!