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Ah, passive income. That concept is one that many people search for when looking for a side hustle to add more revenue to their bank account. While that passive income is nice, it’s often misunderstood.
Some franchise owners dive into franchising as a side hustle with the anticipation of making good money without having to put in full-time work. While that model can hold for some franchise opportunities, it doesn’t hold for all of them. If you’re looking for a franchise that you can start as more of a side hustle than a full-time job, there are a few elements you’ll want to look for.
Back-Office Support
One of the most surprising elements of franchise ownership is the amount of legwork that goes into managing the back office — that is unless you find a franchise with a solid infrastructure to support your back-office systems.
Having elements such as centralized customer support or point-of-sale solutions in place will ease the amount of work you have to do as the owner when navigating incoming calls, questions, sales requests, or appointment bookings.
Turnkey Operations and Processes
When starting a side hustle, you don’t have time to start from scratch. One of the beauties of starting a franchise is that there are often checklist items that can help you get your business up and running and continuously follow the level of standard you’d expect.
When choosing a franchise, look for these turnkey operations and processes you can hand off to your team as you get started. Having simple, clear instructions for your team to follow will let you keep the business operating smoothly even when you’re not around.
Recurring Revenue Models
As you search for a good side-hustle franchise, one thing to look for is how the franchise makes money. You don’t want to spend your hours chasing sales. A recurring-based revenue stream lets you establish a loyal customer base and avoid being on the hamster wheel of feast or famine.
A few types of franchises that work well for this model include:
The perks of these franchises are that you can establish that set of operations and processes that work well for you and your customers while simultaneously building up loyalty and keeping that business coming back almost effortlessly.
Fewer Sales; More Service-Based
Ultimately, the best side hustle franchises deliver a specific result but are independent of heavy sales skills to keep the business flowing in. By pairing this model with the strong backing of a corporate office, you can manage your team and your operations and continue to see growth without having to go all-in on the business right at the beginning.
Kimberly Crossland is the founder of Roadpreneur and Cruisin' + Campfires, two companies designed to keep families together and living in freedom through travel and entrepreneurship. The goal of both businesses is to inspire meaningful change through the power of a strategic, thoughtful approach to life and business. In her free time, you can find her looking for a new adventure together with her two boys.