Why flexible working provides the ideal ground-floor opportunity for franchisees
Franchising has long been seen as an ideal way to launch or expand a business without the drawbacks of a regular startup. In the space of just ten years in the UK, the number of franchise businesses has grown by 70%. Taking on the franchise of an existing brand comes with brand recognition built in, whereas a startup has to establish name and reputation from scratch – which can be both costly and time-consuming.
One major growth area for franchising is the rapidly expanding flexible workspace market. The coworking industry is estimated to be growing by 24% each year, while a recent study by IWG of 18,000 business leaders in 96 countries found 89% felt flexible working was helping their business to grow and stay competitive.
“One-size-fits-all doesn’t work any more in terms of workplace,” says Thierry Cren, IWG’s Global Marketing Director for Franchise & Landlords. “A variety of workplaces and coworking is now important not only for individuals or small organisations, but for all company sizes and cultures.”
Modern workers are increasingly looking for flexibility in order to find the right balance between their working and private lives. “They don’t want to waste a few hours a day commuting any more and now have a choice to optimise their time, be more productive at work, and enjoy more private time with friends and family thanks to all the technological advances and being able to work literally anywhere,” says Cren.
With this flexible working revolution in full swing, it is presenting a perfect opportunity for franchisees – and they’re taking it. Last September, IWG announced it would be leading the UK’s first serviced-office franchise partnership with franchising expert ACCA Office. Four more businesses have partnered with IWG since then, including Kash Office, AMA Workspaces, SME Properties, and Q-Boid.
Getting in on the ground floor of this expanding market provides five potential opportunities for franchisees. These are:
(1) diversification away from traditional and often saturated markets
(2) great returns on investment
(3) a booming industry
(4) a variety of available brands under the IWG umbrella
(5) the opportunity to grow in a dedicated area.
Franchising also brings with it centralised business support and advice. Along with the fact that it’s a well-trodden path to success, chances are that other franchises for that brand have already launched and flourished. It means that what works is already understood and, conversely, potential pitfalls are easier to avoid.
“We created the industry 30 years ago and have gone through great global- and local-market highs and lows,” says Cren. “This has helped us to continuously optimise our business model, with all aspects of our offering. We’re also always investing in the best platforms available to our franchises, enabling us, for instance, to automate many processes to easily manage centres.”
Another big benefit of enabling the serviced-office industry to spread is the potential to bring business and dynamism to less commercial areas.
“Our franchise expansion will help to further improve the choice of work locations, not only in major cities but also smaller cities and towns – bringing back some life and work opportunities to smaller towns and making a difference in the local community,” says Cren.
The ability to work locally, with reduced commutes, is something that’s becoming an important factor in attracting younger jobseekers, too. A survey of 1,000 people by PowWowNow found that 75% of workers would prefer a job that let them work flexibly. “With more and more Millennials of working age, this is a key requirement of any job,” Cren explains.
Interested in becoming a Regus franchise partner? Visit franchise.iwgplc.com
