To be successful as an entrepreneur, you must go from two owner-employees to a global workforce of more than 180,000 in 20 years or so. Or at least that’s how Sergey Brin and Larry Page did it at Google. There are similar stories concerning Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos, among famous or infamous other billionaires.
But it’s not the only way to succeed on your own terms.
Some entrepreneurs find they can beat their wildest expectations by keeping their businesses small, flexible, and closely controlled with a low employee count. Maybe just themselves. Sure, you’ll never be as famous as Gates, Bezos, or Musk, but you might sleep better at night and have few, if any, concerns about personal finances. Perhaps a franchise is the perfect choice.
Read on to learn more about how you can operate a franchise with low overhead.
Low Employee Count Businesses and Why They’ve Gained Growing Popularity
As with everything else concerning American capitalism, cost is a major factor in explaining why businesses that don’t require employees — or have only a few — are increasingly popular. If you’re trying to get huge quickly, you must figure out complex (and risky) capital attainment strategies to go quickly from your garage or spare room to boom!
You’ll take on partners and sweet-talk bankers and angel investors. For this, you’ll almost certainly have to give up a piece of your business and, over time, several more pieces. Eventually, you’ll find yourself going from being a business owner to a corporate employee answering to board members and impatient shareholders.
You could actually end up getting fired from your own company.
That’s not the case if you deliberately keep your company small. You can nonetheless acquire brand-name status in the eyes of all of those who matter to your bottom line.
And since you haven’t subdivided your company through debt series financing, you’re still the principal (or only) owner of your business. You’re royalty. You can be flexible, make decisions, change directions quickly, and take full responsibility for your ongoing success.
Industries with Successful Low Employee Count Businesses
A Google or an Amazon certainly couldn’t be run successfully if they each involved only the corporate owners. Can you imagine?
But some types of businesses are easier to run with few, if any, employees. Consider self-storage facilities and self-service coin-operated laundries. Notice the word “self” in both lines of business. That’s your clue that the duties that must be performed will be undertaken primarily by your customers, with little or no help from employees. If you want to be served at these places, you serve yourself.
Other examples of businesses and franchises that can be run with a very low overhead workforce include freelance writing, consulting, mobile home park ownership, E-commerce with dropship capabilities performed elsewhere, and insurance.
Now, take a closer look at this last model of low employee count operations: a small franchise business in insurance.
A Small Franchise Business With Big Potential
First, it’s important to define a franchise and its appeal to entrepreneurs. Franchises are businesses that have already succeeded. Management then decides to share the recipe with other entrepreneurs and show them how to succeed with the same proven brand and business model — only the location and ownership of the particular franchise changes.
The franchisor has literally written the book (or business plan) on success after first making all of the costly mistakes you’re bound to make if you were to start out on your own without the guidance of these savvy “been there, done that” entrepreneurs. The franchisor of a successful brand can lead you away from disaster and show you proven strategies for gaining customers, beating competitors, saving capital, and getting your/their name out there.
The franchise name, logo, company colors and designs, and culture are proven winners if you’ve picked the right franchisor to emulate.
Some franchises are better than others for first-time business owners. An example of a franchise with low overhead could be an insurance business. A phone, business cards, website, computer, and the proper training are about all you need to start your journey. That’s in addition to your own drive and ambition. Looking for the easiest franchise to open? You may have found it.
If you start an insurance business on your own, you must first introduce yourself, convince your prospective clients of your track record, and hope you can assure them you can deliver the results you promise. You must further make them confident that you’ll still be around when they file a claim, renew coverage, or get answers.
That’s a lot of balls in the air.
If, however, you embrace a proven brand–and insurance industry leader–your franchisor has already done the groundwork for you. As a result, you don’t have to start the sales pitch as an independent insurance agent by explaining what the XYZ Insurance Company is because they already know. They might have heard a radio commercial or seen a billboard on their way to see you. Maybe their parents did business with “your” company years ago.
Instead of reciting your scant company history and trying to gain credibility, you can start the conversation by explaining why they need coverage through the XYZ Insurance Company, an enterprise they already know and trust.
The Appeal of Absentee and Semi-Absentee Franchises
Maybe you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and work 12-hour days, seven days a week, until you make your first million. Great. You can certainly do just that in the insurance business.
But let’s say you look forward to the day when you can make life a little (or a lot) easier.
Just as the terms sound, some businesses can be run on an absentee or a semi-absentee basis. In other words, you’re only sometimes, rarely, or never there. In the case of the coin laundry business mentioned earlier, you might have a staffer to clean up, make change, and respond to customers during the day. You only show up at night to empty the coin slots, stock up, and lock up.
A good example of a fully absentee business would be ownership of an apartment complex in another state. You hire a property management company to run the building and handle the finances on a day-to-day basis. You might not have even seen the building in years. You just get a monthly or annual check.
You can run an insurance company in a similar way if you adopt a franchise model that works and hire a mere handful of good people to get clients and service their needs.
As an absentee or semi-absentee franchise owner, maybe you get to a point where you no longer want to grow. You prefer the dream of comfortable semi-retirement. You’re content to manage the needs of a few key clients you already have and spend the rest of your time in the sun and surf.
Go for it!
Starting an Insurance Franchise With a Proven Brand (and Low Employee Count)
As a Freeway Insurance franchisee, much of the work has already been done. Your road to success has been mapped out. Strategies have been worked out over time, and a brand story has been told.
You have a proven game plan set to lead you to success and reward. All you have to do is follow it. If you already have a track record in insurance sales, all you will do is more of what you already do so well (and enjoy doing). If you don’t have such a background, you’ll learn the industry and how to build a financially rewarding insurance franchise.
At Freeway, we have one of the largest and most reputable personal lines in the United States.
We welcome people who are looking to start an insurance franchise with the Freeway name and brand. Find out more information by contacting us online or calling (877) 822-3024 to speak to a representative today.
We’ll show you how to work smart — and stay profitably small.
