Carol Chin was having one of those days. She was getting ready for work when her infant daughter got sick. Then her babysitter canceled, and her backup sitters weren't available. Staying home wasn't an option—she had to give an important presentation in an hour. At that moment, Carol realized that to successfully balance her career and family, she would need a job that offered more flexibility. Or better yet, one that allowed her to be her own boss.

So Carol quit her job as an accountant with the New York City Board of Education in 1990. She had been considering starting her own business, but after extensive research, she discovered that by buying a franchise with a successful system already in place, she wouldn't have to reinvent the wheel.

Today, Carol proudly owns and operates seven—yes, seven!—McDonald's in the Boston area. She's been a successful franchisee for 15 years now, and while her two daughters are grown, her 13-year-old son still reaps the benefits of his mom's career switch. "There are many days when I work for twelve hours and don't get home until eight p.m., but unlike before, I have control over my schedule," she says. "If I know my son is pitching in a baseball game and I want to leave work at two p.m., I leave. Just like any other working mother, I still need to manage my time well, and I do a lot of multitasking. But because I'm the boss, I make sure I'm available for my son when he needs me." Entrepreneurial-minded moms like Carol are increasingly finding that franchise ownership offers the perfect solution to their work/life balance challenges. And although fast-food restaurants like McDonald's and Subway are among the best-known franchises, they're not the only game in town. The landscape of franchise opportunities today is incredibly diverse. An increase in the number of low-cost and home-based franchises across a wide array of industries—typically with initial investments of $20,000 or less—is expanding the choices for women interested in becoming small business owners.

And some of the hottest trends in franchising are particularly well suited to the interests and lifestyles of today's working moms. For example, franchises that provide educational enrichment opportunities for kids are booming, experts say—from cooking (Young Chefs Academy) and fitness (The Little Gym) to computer courses (ComputerTots) and art classes (KidzArt and Abrakadoodle). Other franchise growth areas include eBay drop-off stores, pet services, fitness and weight loss, interior decorating, senior-care services and healthy quick-service restaurants. One rising trend still under the radar is the do-it-yourself meal-preparation business. At franchises like My Girlfriend's Kitchen and Dinner by Design, busy moms can stop by for two hours and prepare a week's worth of meals in large, well-equipped kitchens—with all the grocery shopping, prep work and cleanup done for them. More than 760,000 franchise businesses operate in the United States today, spanning about 75 industries, according to the International Franchise Association (IFA) in Washington, DC. While there's no data on the number of women-owned franchises, U.S. Census Bureau data show that the number of women-owned businesses overall is growing at twice the rate of all businesses. Experts point to anecdotal evidence that women's interest in franchising is on the rise. "We see more women at the annual franchise convention, more women on our board of directors and more starting their own franchising systems like Happy Tails Dog Spa and the Let's Dish meal-prep company," says Amy Bannon, spokeswoman for the IFA. "Both started franchising last year."

Money, Honey
The first question many women ask themselves when they consider buying into a franchise is whether it's an investment they want and can afford. The costs vary tremendously, but on average, initial franchise fees—which generally must be paid out of pocket—range from about $20,000 to $250,000. You'll also be required to pay a percentage (typically 4 percent to 5 percent) of your revenues in royalty fees. Then, depending on the business, additional expenses can include rent, construction and equipment, which can run from $10,000 into the hundreds of thousands. These expenses, however, can typically be financed. In general, most franchisors require an applicant to have a minimum of $20,000 liquid capital—cash, securities or home equity—and a net worth of at least $100,000 to be considered as a potential owner, says Jackie Adams, an Acworth, GA—based consultant with FranChoice (www.franchoice.com), a free service that helps match potential small business owners with franchise opportunities. The return on investment is also extremely variable. Some franchisees start turning a profit after a few months, some take more than a year, and some never do. Most franchisors will be able to give you a pretty good idea of how much profit you're likely to make and over what period of time, but experts warn not to make decisions based solely upon what the company tells you. "The numbers you get from the franchisor are based on averages," says Maria Otero, president of the Women's Venture Fund in New York City, which provides business training and loan assistance to women entrepreneurs. "So you need to talk with someone who can help you generate a business plan and who can assess whether or not the projections you're relying on are really viable in your market." It's important to carefully research a company's track record and to talk with other franchise owners. "There's really no substitute for references when you're trying to determine whether a franchise is right for you," says Kathryn Tito, director of product development for Franchise Solutions for Women in Portsmouth, NH. That's why her company's free website (www.franchisesolutionsforwomen.com) posts testimonials from franchise owners—many of them working moms—who've already achieved success.

Just Add Water
Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of operating a franchise is that you can be a business owner without having to jump into an unknown, says Erin Fuller, executive director of the National Association of Women Business Owners in McLean, VA. The franchisor typically provides everything from staff training materials and help in attracting customers to product-testing studies. "You should market locally, but you don't need to develop brand identity, because everything from how you decorate the store to what your employees' name tags will look like is determined by the parent company," she says. "Franchising is really a 'just add water' sort of opportunity." That's not to say, however, that all you have to do is stir to bake a profit. A lot of hard work is involved. Even if you have a brand name behind you, success isn't guaranteed. "If you're working with an established brand, the company is going to make sure you have a good location and all the equipment and support services you need," says Hedy Ratner, co-president of the Women's Business Development Center in Chicago. "But there are no slam dunks. You could have a perfect location, but if there's bad management and poor customer service, your business will go down the tubes." Franchises have some safeguards to prevent that from happening, however. "With franchising, you generally have a national network of people to rely on who don't feel threatened by you, because a franchisor only allows so many franchises in each territory," says Fuller. Many of FranChoice's clients in the past few years have been businesswomen looking for a way out of the corporate world, says Jackie Adams, a mom of two who, in addition to being a consultant with FranChoice, owns a tutoring franchise called KnowledgePoints. "Women are realizing that franchise ownership can provide a decent living and also give them the flexibility to spend more time with their families," she says.

Always on Call
It's important to consider whether or not your personality and personal goals mesh with the lifestyle a particular franchise offers. "You may think you want to be a restaurant owner, but that means you'll be working a lot of nights and weekends and you'll be overseeing staff. Is that really the lifestyle you want?" asks Jackie, who for 18 years prior to her consulting career was a director of franchise operations for both The Athlete's Foot and Regus business centers. Of course, having a career with some built-in work/life balance doesn't mean that it's always easy to pull off. "It's definitely a juggling act," says Kim Gore, who owns three Curves, the gyms for women known as much for the conservative politics of CEO/founder Gary Heavin as for their promise of 30-minute workouts without men or mirrors. "When you're the boss, your business is always on your mind," says Kim, mother of four boys, ages 6 to 17, and owner of two Curves franchises in St. Augustine, FL, and another in Haleiwa, HI. "It's up to you to decide when to start focusing on your family, but it isn't always easy to flip the switch." Being the boss also means you're always on call, and one of the biggest challenges for Kim has been managing staff. "When someone suddenly quits or gets sick, you have to cover those shifts. It can be stressful," she says. Still, for Kim and other franchise owners, the positives outweigh the negatives. She bought her first Curves gym for $19,995 five years ago and made back that initial investment in the first three months of operation. Today she grosses about $45,000 a month. "We have a beautiful home and some investment properties," she says. "It has brought stability to our lives."

Start Your Own
Still, franchising isn't for everyone. "It's a good opportunity for people who are comfortable being part of a team and having someone else make the rules of the game," says Maria Otero. "But it's not good for people who are very independent and creative and are looking for an outlet to express themselves." Women who crave that self-expression may consider doing what Lisa Druxman did: start their own original franchise. After her son was born nearly five years ago, Lisa knew that going back to 60-hour workweeks as a general manager at a health club wasn't an option. "It was important to me that I be a mom first and foremost," she says. To get back into shape, Lisa created a power-walking and body-toning program she could do with her son. Then she thought of developing it into a home-based business. Within months of appearing on a local TV station in San Diego, Lisa heard from hundreds of moms who wanted to replicate her business model. Five years later, Stroller Strides has exploded into a franchise with 300 locations in 32 states. "A lot of women are looking for careers that support motherhood," Lisa says. "They want to know that if their child gets sick or they want to attend a game after school, they can take off. Franchising allows moms to be their own boss, but without many of the challenges of starting a business from scratch."

The fastest-growing franchises, ranked below, hint at the most in-demand services in recent years. These include fast food, fitness and weight-loss centers and home-improvement services.

1    Subway     Submarine sandwiches, salads    $70K—$220K startup cost

2    Pizza Hut Inc. Pizza restaurants    $1.1M—$1.7M startup cost

3    Quiznos Sub Sandwiches, soups, salads    $71.7K—$251.1K startup cost

4    Jan-Pro Franchising Int'l. Inc. Commercial cleaning   $3.3—$49.9K startup cost

5    Curves Women's fitness centers      $38.4K—$53.5K startup cost

6    Jani-King Commercial cleaning    $11.3K—$34.1K+startup cost

7    Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Tax preparation    $49.8K—$94K startup cost

8    UPS Store Postal and business services    $138.7K—$245.5K startup cost

9    Coverall Cleaning Concepts Commercial cleaning   $6.3K—$35.9K startup cost

10    CleanNet USA Inc. Commercial office cleaning    $3.9K—$35.5K startup cost

Source: Enterpreneur.com/Franchise 500, 2006