Franchise vs freelance – which is right for you

Many people go down the road of working for themselves, with two of the most popular routes being freelancing and franchising. For most of these people the main contributing factors to working for themselves revolve around:

• being their own boss;
• having control/flexibility over their work schedule;
• and the potential of uncapped earnings.

However, the expectations don’t always meet the reality and can, on occasions, leave people unsatisfied. Deciding whether to buy into a franchise or work freelance is a major decision as they’re likely to meet your expectations in very different ways. We’ve taken a look at what can be the reality of these expectations in many cases.

Be your own boss

Being your own boss and working for yourself is a dream for many, especially those who have had restricted freedom in roles where they’ve been working under people for years. However, working freelance doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be “working for yourself”. In most cases freelancers find themselves working short term contracts (usually from anywhere between 1 to 6 months) for clients. This often means that they aren’t actually working for themselves, instead fulfilling roles from a client to client basis. While this is likely to appeal to some people, those who wish to truly be working for themselves are more likely to favour going down the path of buying into a franchise. This route in most cases will grant you the freedom to manage and make more decisions yourself.

Have control over your work schedule

Having complete control of your work schedule is far trickier than you might realise. If you’re freelancing and you’re lucky enough to have a number of part-time clients on a regular basis then yes you will be able to not only manage how much work you take on but also when you do your work.

HOWEVER, this isn’t always the case. Many freelancers, as already discussed, move from contract to contract so there is not always a seamless supply of work.   This inevitably leads to peaks and troughs in income – which may well suit some people.  However many strive to generate a consistent monthly income, and if you don’t have contracting opportunities perfectly lined up back-to-back, this is rarely the case with freelancing which can cause stress and anxiety.

Franchise models, on the other hand, enable individuals to handle multiple clients simultaneously and although there will undoubtedly be a natural turnaround of clients, this can be seamlessly managed and planned for, as you are in control of who you are working with.

What’s more, the added benefit of being a franchisee is that you have an established brand to immediately trade under which makes marketing and enquiry generation a much easier process ensuring you are more likely to have a continual pipeline of opportunities.

Potential of uncapped earnings

When it comes to your earnings both freelancing and buying a franchise can ultimately allow you to earn an uncapped amount. What should be noted is that for many franchises you’re likely to incur an ongoing cost, however given the perks of having an established brand to already work under this in most cases is a cost worth paying. Different franchises will charge different rates so be sure to establish this prior to going into any agreement.

When you address potential earnings however you need to think about the long term as well as the short term – and over the long term franchises certainly offer up a more appealing option. For those working freelance they aren’t actually developing or growing anything of value, instead they’re simply completing client work. To make this clearer, a franchisee who is successful is increasing the value of their own particular franchise. This means that if they wished to sell up at any time they could actually make money on selling the franchise itself. On the other hand if a freelancer was forced to stop working or wanted a new challenge or job they would be left without a source of income.

While working freelance can in some cases provide that ideal solution to offer you a supplementary income alongside a part time/full time job, in areas it can let you down. If you’ve been disappointed with the return from freelancing (whether that be personally or financially) and have 5 years of marketing managerial experience, then the Opportunity Marketing franchise could offer you the perfect solution. Get in touch to day to find out more and to see if it’s just the right role for you.