For many, buying into a franchise means leaving behind a full-time job in exchange for the freedom and opportunity that business ownership can offer. Yet, some choose to buy a franchise while continuing along their original career path.
Often termed semi-absentee ownership, this segment of franchise buyers put their trust in an on-site manager to run the day-to-day operations, with the owner overseeing the operations from a distance.
A semi-absentee franchise doesn’t require a full-time commitment, which allows the business owner to focus on other interests, investments, or obligations. While this option requires the same initial investment and time commitment found with full-time ownership, the direct involvement of the owner can decrease once a well-equipped team determines the status quo of daily operation.
Semi-absentee franchises can sometimes take more time to begin turning a stable profit, and often have higher payroll overhead due to the necessity of well-experienced operating staff. However, there are also many long-run benefits that the franchise buyer should take into consideration when opting to pursue this method of franchise ownership.
Expands Investments
As with any investment portfolio, diversification is key to reducing overall risk and maximizing earnings potential. A semi-absentee franchise system doesn’t require the owner to be an expert on the franchise’s specific industry offering. Instead, the management team will be well-versed in the brand and operating procedures to fulfill the on-site product and service demands. The owner of the franchise would likely manage the business from a bird’s-eye view, as they might with other investments in their expanded portfolio. That’s not to say that semi-absentee owners are ignorant of the movements of their businesses, rather they work to build a trusted team to manage the day-to-day operations while remaining consistent with brand guidelines and best practices of the franchisor at-large.
Hands-Off Management
Semi-absentee franchise owners can often work as little as 20 hours per week. Those hours are dedicated to the oversight and management of key employees who are tasked with the normal operations of the business. The rest of the time can be devoted to pursuing their main career, managing other investments in their portfolio, exploring additional education opportunities, or for those owners that are closer to retirement than not, spending time with family.
Insurance of Commitment
In most semi-absentee franchise ownership arrangements, the franchisor requires the owner to enter into a multi-unit franchise ownership agreement. This requires a more substantial financial commitment from the owner, as they will need to work more directly with the franchisor for a longer period of time to ensure all locations within the agreement are appropriately established and executed. Franchisors can opt for this agreement stipulation as a means to ensure a more dedicated and involved franchise partner but can also simply be agreed upon when weighing financial considerations and opportunities for all parties. The specific terms of franchise ownership agreements vary significantly between different franchise systems and often differ further still between prospective franchise owners, each with their own unique financial situations and propensity for certain franchise ownership models.
Limited Options
Not every franchise system is designed for semi-absentee ownership. Many franchises are better suited for the owner-operator model, in particular. Concepts that often don’t work with the semi-absentee franchise model of ownership are usually niche, require a high level of human interaction, or provide services on a purely mobile basis. It’s hard to find managers that can oversee multiple franchise businesses that may provide B2B services or require on-site technical expertise, such as those that provide home healthcare services or solely operate out of a vehicle, for example. Many of these types of franchise concepts require franchisees to be completely involved in the business for it to reach its potential.
Franchise concepts that are good fits for the semi-absentee ownership model include:
-Fitness/health and wellness
-Waxing spas
-Hair and nail salons
-Maid services
-Laundromats and drycleaners
Semi-Absentee Owner Profiles
Beyond individuals looking to expand their business portfolios, who often fit the semi-absentee owner persona, there are a variety of people who can succeed with the model. Many have heard that franchise ownership is a great opportunity for those corporate refugees looking to leave the rat race behind for a more holistic and independent career venture.
Additional Revenue Stream
Many people dissatisfied with their current income level opt for franchise ownership to supplement or bolster their established revenue. Owning a semi-absentee franchise provides the opportunity to earn income that can pay for college, fund a vacation house, supplement retirement savings, or enable home renovation projects.
Testing the Waters
Former or current executive-level corporate employees are often more hesitant to undertake franchise ownership immediately. They are likely to take 12 to 24 months to build the business, ramp up and sustain the profitability, and only then leave their prior job once their franchise business is well established.
Appealing to a diverse group of potential franchise partners means franchisors have to cover their bases when generating, nurturing, and closing franchise agreements. Focusing on the most ideal prospect persona on paper can leave out many qualified and motivated leads from the potential pool of franchise partners. Providing options in franchise ownership models, from the most involved to the least, is an opportunity to reach a wider, more diverse number of individuals that might be a perfect fit for a growing franchise system.
Uni K Wax Studio provides the next-level support and company culture that encourages the implementation of the semi-absentee franchise ownership model, should owners choose to pursue that route. Starting and succeeding as a franchise owner with Uni K Wax is easier than ever before and doesn’t require prior waxing experience.
It is also a great industry that has been growing tremendously year over year with no sign of slowing down. In fact, a global industry analysis, done by Transparency Market Research in 2018, predicts that the global hair-removal waxing industry will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.4 percent and reach $18.8 billion by 2026, making it a great time to start a waxing business.
Uni K Wax Studio is the nation’s leading wax franchise, offering 160 waxing services for women, men, and teens. The brand was founded in 1993 by Noemi Grupenmager, who opened the first Uni K Wax Studio in South Beach with the goal of providing a better, more complete waxing experience to a massive untapped market.
Uni K Wax Studio began franchising in 2007 after nearly 15 years of defining and refining their techniques and best practices. Today, with the systems and infrastructure in place, Uni K Wax Studio is poised for growth in a wide-open sector of the stable and growing beauty industry.
To learn more about waxing franchise opportunities with Uni K Wax Studios, go to https://unikwax.com/franchises/.