It’s almost graduation season once again. You’ll be seeing fresh graduates, diploma in hand, chipper as they exit school grounds. You might be tempted to think, “Poor souls have no idea.” Maybe it’s just the Monday blues. Or maybe you’re among 70% of Americans who dislike their jobs.
Everyone has their own idea of a perfect job. But it’s hard to find a match amid the competition. Nonetheless, like a mature employee, we have to keep striving.
On the other hand, if your workplace is causing you too much stress that it’s become detrimental to your well-being, maybe it’s time to move on. Why not be your own boss? The technological age is the best time to do so, with all the resources at hand.
Here are some novice-friendly enterprises you may start with:
Franchising
If you can’t start a business from scratch, you can always buy rights to an existing brand. The brand’s owner, as the franchisor, will authorize interested dealers, or franchisees, to sell a product or service under the brand’s name in exchange for a franchise fee.
A franchise grants franchisees access to the franchisor’s trademark and processes. The franchisor has already established a system of operation, leaving little room for failure on the franchisee’s part. As such, this can work for entrepreneurs who have little to moderate knowledge of trade secrets.
Which industries should you choose from?
1. Medicine and Health. The health care sector remains among the most lucrative industries worldwide. Further specialization of physicians has also led to more avenues of medicine.
For example, for injuries that are in-between emergencies and non-threatening injuries, a relatively new category called urgent care was formed. Urgent care centers treat injuries and ailments that are serious enough to require immediate care but not fatal enough to need the emergency department. As these kinds of walk-in clinics rise, more urgent care opportunities await motivated entrepreneurs.
2. Food and Beverage. Fast food franchises are some of the cheapest in the market. For just $10,000 you can already operate your own Chick-Fil-A restaurant. If you avail of other particulars such as equipment rental and insurance, the total fee can go as low as $582,360. Candidates are not required to meet a threshold for net worth or liquid assets.
Coffee franchises are also coming in hot, as the American coffee shop market worth rose to $47.5 billion in 2019. Franchise revenues alone reached over $11.5 billion during the same year.
If your choice is Starbucks, technically, you can’t buy a franchise from them. What you can do is open a licensed Starbucks store.
3. Beauty. As more people start their own skincare routine, the beauty sector is growing more popular, one celebrity endorsement at a time. There’s something for everyone, from hair styling, salons, skincare, tanning salons, to cosmetic brands. Male consumers are also increasing due to thematic barbershops.
Life Coaching
For a profession that’s both profitable and fulfilling, life coaching is the way to go. There’s a wide range of clients, so before you start, pick a niche to focus on. It’s best to choose a niche of which you have some degree of knowledge.
Life coaches can also serve clients from anywhere in the world by using online platforms, such as Zoom and Google Meet. Thus, it’s a great opportunity for remote work.
Clothing Line
This is ideal for artists who have knowledge of digital art software, such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Graphic artists need to establish a brand under which all their designs will be formatted. They can then print these on tees, mugs, and eco-bags, and sell them as merchandise.
Just be wary of making fan art as this involves a lot of legal gymnastics. The safest way is to produce fan art that parodies a pop culture icon, as this is an express exception to copyright infringement. For more information on the legalities of fandom merchandise, you can check out this lecture at Comic-Con.
Getting Legal
For self-made businesses, legalities are needed to be set up. Decide which kind of legal entity you would want to be.
- Sole proprietor. Best for single-owner ventures, it’s the easiest structure to legalize, but it’s also the riskiest since it doesn’t offer the owner liability protection.
- Limited Liability Company (LLC). By creating an LLC, you are creating a new artificial/juridical entity, separate from your natural/personal entity. This allows LLC to offer liability protection to its members.
Ask yourself first an important question, “Why do I want to be my own boss?” When you are sure of your answer, you can proceed with the next steps. With a mind that’s set and motivated, you can accomplish leaps.
