The Best Franchise Opportunities to Invest In

by Ed Teixeira

Investing in the right franchise opportunity requires the gathering and analyzing of a great deal of information. Choosing a franchise based upon current or short term trends should not be the criteria. The demand for products or services during the next decade is more important. This article provides a look into the future and where the best franchise opportunities will be. Some of these may surprise you.

When looking to purchase a franchise its common practice to follow a simple path:

• Indentify the types of franchises that interest you and that you’re qualified to operate.
• Establish the amount of capital available to invest in the new franchise.
• Find the franchise opportunities that meet the above standards.
• Evaluate and validate the franchises you select.

Each of these steps requires gathering and reviewing the right information. A key step in this process is having an understanding of what the future may hold for a particular franchise. There are a number of franchises that are like a shooting star only to be burned out in a few years.

Let’s look into some projections from 2010 to 2015:

Population Projections from U.S. Census Bureau

• The number of people in the U.S. over 65 years of age will grow from 40 million to 47 million an increase of 16.5%.
• The percent of the population of those 65 and older will go from 13% to 14.4%
• By 2015-1 in 7 people in the U.S. will be 65 or older.
• The number of Hispanics in the U.S. will grow from 50 million to 58 million an increase of 16%
• The percent of Hispanics in the population will go from 16% to 17.7%
• By 2015-1 in 5.6 people in the U.S. will be Hispanic.
• By 2015 – 1 in 20 people in the U.S. will be Asian

Based upon this data, the franchise categories that should benefit from population trends and resulting demand for products and services are the following:

• Health and Fitness Franchises that include home healthcare, fitness and recreational sports centers, medical services and other services for the elderly.
• Personal Care Services including beauty products and services, massage therapy and related services.
• Facilities support services such as office administrative services,
• janitorial services, IT services, temporary employment agencies.
• Home Service Franchises such as lawn care and landscaping, cleaning services, pest control, handyman, home care services focused on the elderly and security services.
• Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services
  Food Franchises such as Mexican and Asian restaurants and healthy cuisine concepts. Food delivery concepts.
• Children’s Services that provide tutorial, supplemental educational services and programs for learning disabled children. Educational and recreational services reduced or eliminated as a result of funding reductions.

As the United States moves beyond 2010, demographic changes will alter the marketplace and impact the demand for particular goods and services. Franchise concepts will react to and reflect these changes. Individuals looking to purchase a franchise should be mindful of the changes taking place in the marketplace and make their choice accordingly. As always there will be some unique franchises that will be introduced, however, it will be important to determine if the unique franchise reflects a fad or has a sustainable market to sell to.

Ed Teixeira is the President of FranchiseKnowHow, LLC. He can be reached at franchiseknowhow@gmail.com