How to Start Your Own Finance Franchise

Running a business is a dream opportunity for lots of people. But while many people will never get around to turning their dream into a reality, you can exceed by becoming a franchisee in the financial sector and becoming your own boss.

Finance franchises play an essential role in the UK economy. From helping businesses process their accounts accurately and timely, to helping policyholders make claims where they deserve them, you’ll be taking stress and hassle away from your clients - and earning an exciting revenue in the process. 

What does a finance franchise do? 

Finance franchises help businesses and customers deal with some of the trickiest aspects of financial management. Whether you’re helping businesses manage their taxes effectively or helping people make major life decisions as a financial broker, you’ll be at the heart of the UK economy. 

The UK economy is built on a large financial services industry - and you can be a part of it. Contributing millions and billions to the British economy, this sector is one of the most attractive industries to be a part of, especially if you’re looking to make a career change. 

And there’s plenty of job satisfaction to go with it. On any two days in this environment, you could be:

• Liaising with clients
• Creating plans to help people achieve their financial goals
• Recruiting 
• Finding a new premises 
• Carrying out feasibility and viability assessments 
• Helping train new franchisees and engaging in development opportunities

Why consider running a finance franchise?

And the rewards of this opportunity are countless. From being able to take your career into your own hands, while maintaining an excellent work-life balance, if you have an eye for numbers and a commitment to developing your understanding of the financial services world, this could be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. 

If your interest is piqued and you want to know more, here’s what it takes to start your own finance franchise. 

How to start your own finance franchise

1. Do your research

Researching the sector doesn’t just mean being able to reel off some of the most relevant statistics you can find, it also means understanding who the largest franchises already operating in the sector are and how they got there. Use the following questions as a point of departure for your own research: 

• How did the biggest finance franchises become so successful? What price, tech and service advantages do they have over the competition? 
• How could you draw customers and revenue from them?
• What demographics will you need to be targeting?
• What are your realistic financial options?

Scale up your knowledge of the financial sector by starting from a broad base and moving forward. 

2. Put together a business plan

Business plans are at the heart of most successful businesses. Whether you’ll be presenting your plan to your franchisor or to a financial broker to help you attract the right funding, you’ll need a concise, but detailed, plan to show exactly what it is about you and your finance franchise that makes it such an attractive option.

So what should you cover in your business plan? First and foremost, you’ll want to include broad details about:

• How you intend to finance your franchise
• What services you want to specialise in
• Whether you’ll be a remote business or have a bricks-and-mortar premises
• What kind of marketing you’d like to use
• How and who you plan to recruit 
• What training and development will you be looking to pursue

3. Find a unique selling point

There are lots of successful finance franchises already out there, so you’ll need to find a way of making your franchise stand out above the competition. Whether the franchise you’ve chosen to work with has price advantages, is the best at offering a particular service or is more efficient in offering excellent customer service, find what it is that will make you stand apart - and make the most of it.

4. Don’t just be a business

Today’s customers don’t want you to just be a business. Not everybody will want to make use of a financial services business, so rather than just letting customers go, why not go beyond just being a business and combine your proposition with social, environmental and governance values. 

You could try sponsoring a local event, running financial awareness and wellbeing classes or certifying your services as carbon neutral, or even carbon negative. Going outside the normal boundaries of a franchise shows that you’re not just there to make profit for yourself - you share the values of your customers and you can be trusted with their money.

Millennials find buying from companies that share their values even more important. In fact, 83% of this demographic stress the importance of value alignment. And they exercise that conviction when choosing a brand to purchase products or services from.
- Small Biz Trends

5. Work out your costs

Starting a business never comes free. To make the most of the excellent survival rates and affordable costs that finance franchises offer, you will need to make a total investment, while paying monthly or yearly franchising fees. While some franchises will let you work out a payment structure with a minimum investment of around £9,995, such as Certax Accountants, others might ask you to pay a little more up front, like TaxAssist Accountants who ask for a minimum investment of £39,950. 

Before taking the plunge, take a moment to audit your own finances. Make sure you have an affordable and sustainable way of starting your own business and can afford the ongoing franchising fees. 

Start your own finance franchise today

Finance franchises aren’t just businesses in it for themselves. By helping business sort their affairs, you’re helping entire communities to develop a thriving and prosperous business community, providing jobs and income to lots of people. 

But if finance isn’t quite right for you after all, why not have a look at some of the other franchising  opportunities in the UK franchise directory.