There’s an age-old saying that plays through business owners’ ears again and again: "it takes money to make money." I don’t have the first clue where the old proverb came from, but wherever it originated, it has found its way into the minds of many a fearful entrepreneur. As if starting a business wasn’t challenging enough as it is, someone went and put this strange notion in our heads that if a person doesn’t start out in business with a good deal of money, they won’t be successful. But this, however, is no longer the case, and here’s a short list of some great franchise opportunities that cost $20,000 or less and can take you from a startup business owner to a six-figure salary franchisee as soon as the first year of your franchise.
Mechanized Business
While these small businesses don’t exactly run themselves, once these franchises machines are properly stocked and placed in the right location, the money does start to roll in with very little ongoing effort for the franchisee. DVDNow and Breathtesters USA are not only inexpensive to start, but brilliantly designed for making sustainable profit night and day, seven days a week without the franchisee’s presence. DVDNow holds staunchly to its name, providing DVDs to the public, twenty-four hours a day, from automated kiosks, which look very much like vending machines. Dollars go in and DVDs come out, all while the work-at-home franchisee is meeting with the owner of another potential kiosk location. Breathtesters USA works in much the same way. Set up in bars and restaurants, instead of malls and grocery stores, Breathtesters USA machines, for a fee, give patrons the ability to check their own blood alcohol content before they drive away from the establishment and give the cops an opportunity to do it for them. This saves bar-goers a legal nightmare, saves the cops a headache, potentially saves innocent bystanders their lives, and fills the franchisee’s bank account. Both businesses cost very little to start, but provide consistent income.
Hands-On Money-Making
Not everyone wants to invest their hard-earned money into a business and not have the morale-boosting benefit of actually being present to see the work and the finances rolling in. If you prefer a more "hands-on" approach to your small business, here are some low-cost business opportunities for you. For those who love people and love travel, Cruise Planners LLC could be just the ticket. One of the premier cruise/travel-planning franchises to date, this company name is well known for providing excellent customer care to current cruise-lovers as well as effectively reaching out to the vast, untapped masses of people who have never cruised and are ripe for giving it a try. Not to mention, for the low startup cost, this business produces huge commissions, some of the biggest of any industry.
For the handy-at-heart, though, there are also plenty of great franchise options, and this next one is specific to our dear franchise neighbors to the north. Aurora Sealers LTD is a Canadian franchise company that specializes in tile and grout sealing and cleaning. This is for the entrepreneur who enjoys doing the work for himself and is looking for a business with an unending list of potential clients.
Making Money From Other People’s Money
As the perfect blow to the saying that "it takes money to make money," here are some home-based businesses that do take money to make money, just not yours. After a frugal initial fee, the proud owner of a Blue Coast Financial Group franchise is given all the tools to be a financial advisor to businesses of every size and caliber. Giving help in all areas from regular payroll to loans and capital investment, the franchisee with this group is paid to help other people make and save their own money. In a similar vein, Premier Leasing Academy and Lease One deal in equipment leasing. Work-at-home franchisees with these groups are given all the training and tools to help match companies with a plethora of different types of business equipment (from office to construction) that they otherwise would not have been able to afford. This is not only a great service to other developing businesses, but a highly profitable sector of work. All three of these franchises are available without a whole lot of startup capital to easily begin making money from the financial resources of other businesses, while simultaneously helping to advance the client’s bank account and financial productivity as well.
What It Takes To Make Money
Truly, having money doesn’t hurt when you’re trying to make more, but it’s not an absolute necessity. What is necessary is a product or service that someone needs, the drive to push through all the discouragement that comes with starting a new business, and the wisdom to make effective systems and good business decisions along the way. The benefit of running a low-startup franchise is that all those things are already established when you come to the table. Anyone can make money, even if you don’t have very much.