Editor’s note: This article was first published in July 2010, and lists 2010 franchise names and entry investments, such as McDonald’s at about €300,000 and Midas at €210,000. Several of these brands may no longer exist or franchise.
Rather than just the names of the most profitable franchises, we’ve tried to bring together the fastest-emerging sectors for buying a franchise. We’ll also point out the ones that don’t require much initial investment and the ones achieving fast, high returns.
As you can probably guess, one of the most profitable franchises around right now is still McDonald’s, although, as you’d also expect, getting into it requires a lot of capital: about €300,000. Even so, McDonald’s is synonymous with success.
One sector that is starting to franchise successfully is body care and personal grooming, health and beauty, where we’d highlight two franchises:
- One that doesn’t require a large investment: D-PILATE, which you can join from €8,000.
- And another that is enjoying strong media support and rapid growth: BYE BYE PELOS, which you can join from €33,900.
These are just two names. On websites specializing in franchises, you’ll find a wide variety of franchises in this sector, with a range of prices and services.
We’d also highlight the renewable energy sector, which is growing strongly in franchise form.
- You can become a SOL Q franchisee from €11,600; you get ongoing training, and they say they’ll help you with some clients.
- GREEN SPACE is another franchise offering profitable, clean energy alternatives, and it only requires an investment of €5,600.
- SOL Y CLIMA grew quickly, although in 2009 I saw some ads saying they weren’t offering any more franchises within Spain. It’s worth checking how this company is doing.
- DEXERTO MEDIOAMBIENTE is a company that has recently started franchising, with only 4 centers open. The investment required is €10,000.
Another kind of franchise achieving high returns is quick-repair garages and services.
- MIDAS offers real growth opportunities within its franchise system and gets strong support from TV advertising. Among repair-shop franchises, it and AURGI are among the most profitable. The investment required is €210,000.
When it comes to franchises, bear in mind that choosing a sector with future demand is very important. In some sectors, though, it may be worth creating your own business rather than buying a franchise.
As we’ve discussed in other articles, the star business in most countries right now is the spa. You can also find spas as franchises, although, honestly, buying a franchise will cost you the same money as setting up your own. We gave some ideas for opening a spa, covering its different types and models, in the spa as a highly profitable business. I hope it helps.
We also suggested some business ideas that could be very profitable in the leisure and tourism sector.
And we proposed very low-cost ways to get into the car wash business, which you can add to a car repair service: a profitable business: car washing.
If you’re here, it’s because you’re thinking about starting your own business. We’ll be looking at the advantages and disadvantages of buying a franchise.
But I’ll tell you up front: our idea, as entrepreneurs and future successful business owners, is not to grow other people’s brands by buying their franchises, but to create our own business, our own brand, and develop our own franchise system ourselves. That’s not to say that buying a franchise is a bad idea, especially as a way to get started as an entrepreneur.
Further reading
- How to be a successful businessperson
- Common mistakes Spanish-speaking business owners make
- Differences between Spanish-speaking and American business owners
- Start a business or buy one?
- The entrepreneur’s mindset
Featured image: Richard Masoner / Cyclelicious, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr.
