That said, working out the numbers can be challenging if you don't have the proper guidance. Getting to the bottom line requires a basic understanding of franchise accounting, a willingness to do a bit of digging through FDDs / UFOCs (more on these below), and the ability to perform some simple arithmetic to build a basic set of financial projections (your mini business plan in numerical form).

Just imagine yourself as a successful female entrepreneur, running the type of business that keeps you fulfilled in life, while you have the freedom to live your dreams. What does this look like to you? Do you spend your days traveling the world with the love of your life? Do you work remotely from home so you can spend more time with your children while they are still young? Are you setting an example for young women who aspire to reach your level of success someday?

While there are many risks and hurdles involved in starting a new business, there are also many rewards. If you’re ready to start it up, but aren’t in the position (financially or otherwise) to risk it all in starting something new, you may consider franchising. Franchising offers many benefits to aspiring entrepreneurs, especially to minorities and women, who are seeing more opportunities in the franchise world in recent years.

FranchiseHelp's 2017 analysis on the state of Franchise Development in the US

If you worked with FranchiseHelp between 2014 and 2015, you probably already know me. I used to be your Account Manager (hi!). Since then I’ve been bouncing around, and finally landed in the Marketing department. Maybe next year I’ll get to try being a Dev.

We've always been huge proponents of texting at FranchiseHelp. Now we've we started seriously experimenting with using text messaging as a marketing channel, and the findings are awesome.