The perception around entrepreneurship is a life of long-hours and weekend-work, and this is true of many models. There are some franchise systems however, that offer the opportunity to be your own boss and still maintain the 9 to 5 work/life balance.
If you treasure your time with friends and family but want to break out of the employee mould and set up your future for yourself, then a Monday to Friday business could be just the right option.
The following franchises are geared to Monday to Friday operations. There’s flexibility in some of the businesses if the work is home-based. Of course, each franchisee works differently and each location and store size, if the business is site-based, affects the daily operations.
The franchise responses are just a snapshot of what it is like to run one of these strong work/life balance franchises and each experience within a brand will be different.
InXpress Australia
InXpress is a global online shipping company, with a fully integrated web-based customer shipping platform.
The company combines the freight volumes from all customers and passes on the discounts negotiated with worldwide carriers. Parcel delivery services are taking off with the explosion in online shopping; InXpress carriers do all the pick-ups and deliveries ensuring a strong work/life balance for franchisees.
Typical working hours
Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm.
Can the franchisee trade outside these hours if they wish to?
Sure. While there is no requirement outside of these hours, franchisees may do some prospecting after hours at home online.
When do franchisees typically do their admin and how long will it take?
Monday and Tuesday are the most admin heavy days, however InXpress is a business model with very low admin for the franchisee.
What preparation has to be done for the next trading day?
A quick plan on where you’re headed for the day to prospect or meetings.
What extra hours might be required – evenings/weekends/public holidays?
No requirement for weekend or after-hours work. Because our franchisees operate a non-geographical model, many of their customers may be in a state not observing a public holiday, so some work may be required on some public holidays.
What proportion of your franchisees will allocate up to one day at the weekend to stay on top of their business?
Five to 10 per cent might allow one Saturday or Sunday monthly to catch up on proposals or have a planning and strategy session.
What hours is the support team available on the phone?
Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm.
What does head office do to help franchisees with leads, invoicing, payroll, marketing?
InXpress franchise support centre helps franchisees with lead generation and marketing, while doing the entire invoicing, bill and collections to the customers.
HR Dept
The HR Dept has been operating in the UK since 2002, and now has a franchise presence in Australia. HR professionals act as outsourced HR departments for small and medium sized enterprises. Franchisees provide clients with solutions from dealing with payroll, employee benefit management, changing employee legislation to streamlining the HR admin system.
Typical working hours
Service profession, so client contact hours are 8 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday, but administrative tasks are often done outside these hours to improve work/life balance.
When do franchisees typically do their admin and how long will it take?
A few hours a week of admin/accounting tasks and it’s done either during working hours or evenings. Some franchisees do their admin, accounts and social media first thing in the morning.
What extra hours might be required – evenings/weekends/public holidays?
Some franchisees do one or two weekend hours of admin, others work weekends very rarely. Some franchisees work at night if there is a major project on, and meet clients at weekends if there is not time during working hours.
What does head office do to help franchisees with leads, invoicing, payroll, marketing?
Support with marketing content, newsletter, branding, sales CRM, business support/advice and network resources. A bookkeeper in the first year of trading.
The Alternative Board
A business coaching and consulting franchise that provides a niche advisory board service for small and medium-sized business owners. The Alternative Board brings business owners together with peer advisors from non-competing businesses. The coaching and mentoring sessions focus not just on the business but the business owner.
Typical working hours
Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm.
What tasks does the franchisee complete before opening?
Preparation of notes and for coaching session; we are not a retail store (coaching business).
When do franchisees typically do their admin and how long will it take?
During the day at the time of the activity, a little bit on the weekend and evening.
What preparation has to be done for the next trading day?
Minimal; preparation of notes and reviewing last session.
What extra hours might be required – evenings/weekends/public holidays?
Two to three hours per week.
What hours is the support team available on the phone?
7.30 am to 8.30 pm.
Work/life balance franchises
Getting into business for yourself is never an easy premise, particularly in the early stages. Even if your business is shut over the weekend, you can expect to do some outside hours work to set up the foundations.
Despite this, choosing a franchise with strong work/life balance provides set structures and schedules to work towards.
Get the best of both worlds: a weekday career, and working for yourself. Working 9 to 5 doesn’t have to be a drag … let’s change the emphasis to freedom: “Workin’ 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin’!”