Want some excitement in your life? Choose a boring business.
Earlier this year I wrote a story about what it meant when franchisees said they were following their passion. It wasn’t about the day-to-day activity they did in their business, it was about using that business to build the lifestyle they dreamed of having. The business was the means to achieving their life goals and dreams, and many of those businesses have one thing in common:
There isn’t much sizzle, but there’s a lot of steak!
Seriously, there is a lot of money to be made in businesses that aren’t usually featured on the cover of Forbes magazine. These aren’t businesses for Steve Jobs wannabes. They are everyday services that lack glamour and excitement. They don’t measure success by their soaring ranks of Facebook fans or the amount of times they’re spoofed on Saturday Night Live.
Their success is your success — profits, security and stability.
Most of them are recession-resistant. Some are paid by insurance companies. All of them have more business than they ever dreamed of and territories are available now.
Here’s a look at just a few of the industries.
Restoration services: Did you know that 37 percent of U.S. homeowners claim to have had water damage? In fact, last year alone insurance companies paid a whopping $2.5 billion to clean up water damage and mold. Franchises in this sector can be had for under $100K, and in some cases can be operated as a semi-absentee franchise. That means you only work 10–15 hours a week in a franchise whose owners are realizing very large annual gross sales!
Junk hauling: This sector falls into the $55 billion waste management industry, with some experts estimating that residential junk removal has a market potential of $6 billion. Many in the industry are high on this sector — thanks to the growth of the consumer society and the social uprising against hoarding. Further, Americans are more intrepid than ever, with the average American moving 12 times in their lifetime. Moving is a significant time for waste disposal. Experts are projecting growth of at least 5 percent annually through 2020.
Cleaning services: This is a large industry, with more than 875,000 businesses employing more than 3.5 million people. While it may not be as recession-resistant as the other two industries, cleaning services had a market value of $51 billion. The Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates 6 percent growth through 2020. Experts recommend looking at specialty cleaning franchises which have a higher barrier to entry than general cleaning, though there are several intriguing options in residential and commercial cleaning.
Painting: Nestled in the booming, $221 billion home improvement industry, painting is one of the prime businesses in demand by the majority of homeowners trying to boost curb appeal when they make decisions on renovations. In fact, Metrostudy found that between 2016 and 2019, home renovations are expected to grow a whopping 12.7 percent to $193 billion.
Ready to check out something boring and try franchising? I've helped thousands of franchise candidates make that decision, free of charge. Give me a call at 919.846.7111 or send me a note at [email protected].
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