What Is the Cheapest Franchise to Buy?

That’s probably the question you just searched for, right? A better question might be: what would be the best investment of my time, with as little capital to start a business, that could offer long-term residual income?

The problem with buying a franchise is that it could take months or even a year to get started. Usually you have to go through a franchise broker and painfully sit through numerous consultations – all in an effort to get approved.

Another downside of buying the cheapest franchise is cheap ones are usually labor intensive. Basically, you’re just buying yourself a job. Let’s take the granddaddy of all cheap franchises: the vending machine. Be prepared to do a lot of driving through rough neighborhoods, ordering product, refilling and cleaning, maintenance and repair.

Not to much freedom and prosperity with that line of work.

Where franchises excel is in their systematic approach to opening up a business. They have a turn-key operations manual on how to duplicate a known success. Everything from advertising to customer acquisition is carefully analyzed and ready to implement in your neighborhood.

Drew owned a construction company with 50 employees. When the economy tanked, so did his business. But what he wanted was something he could plug into and start making money his first month in business. Now an independent representative with six figure income from “All I had to do was follow the system and I saw results. If I can do it, anyone can do it.”

There is a new generation of entrepreneurs engaged in lifestyle design. The guru for this movement is Timothy Ferriss, author of the New York Times best seller, “The 4 Hour Workweek.”

This book chronicles Timothy’s journey of leaving the 9-5 rat race and allows him to live anywhere in the world and join the new rich. The key he says is to have a blueprint.