Starting your own business can be a daunting task. If you are new to entrepreneurship starting a franchise can be a great option since a lot of the strategy and operations are done for you, or at least outlined and planned out. This means you can hit the ground running with a proven system that others have been successful with.
The downside is that many well-known franchises can cost a fortune to start. A Subway franchise, for example, costs upwards of $200,000 to start. An amount that many could only dream to afford. That’s why we put together this list of the best cheap franchises under $1000.
1) N2 Publishing Franchise
Franchise Cost: $975 – $5,650
N2 Publishing publishes custom publications that connect neighbors to neighbors and business owners to customers. It helps to connect neighbors, provides business ownership, and also connects small businesses. The company caters to residential communities, homeowners, associations, and municipalities. The company was founded in 2004 and is based in Wilmington, North Carolina. As of 2018, N2 Publishing owns and operates 998 franchises in the United States.
Their business model focuses on hyper-local publications. They have hundreds of magazines for audiences of a particular neighborhood or area then sell advertisements in the publication. Your job as franchisee or “Area Director” is to sell advertising, gather content, and host events to boost sales and the reader audience for your local publication.
2) Pajama-Man Insurance Franchise
Franchise Cost: $1,000-$5,000
Pajama-Man Insurance is an insurance franchise that allows you to quote insurance rates from multiple companies. Their system promises to cut out cold calls and requires no previous insurance experience.
As an independent insurance broker, you’ll represent top insurance providers in each category, from property and casualty to life and health, without ever leaving your home. The Pajama Man system gets you into business immediately and quite affordably.
3) 1040TaxBiz Franchise
Franchise Cost: $249 – $2,899
You see them every year around April, popup tax shops in malls, shopping centers, and everywhere in between. Opening a tax office can be quite profitable if you do it the right way. Filing one tax return each day for 120 days with an average price of $300 per tax return is $36,000.
1040TaxBiz has two options. A seasonal operation that only operates in the busy tax season, and a year-round shop. A year-round shop can work on more complicated tax situations for businesses or more complicated personal returns, while the season option allows you to work hard for a few months than enjoy a hassle-free off-season.
4) Credit Repair USA
Franchise Cost: $199
Credit Repair USA is a franchise that allows you to onboard users looking to repair their credit score at a price you negotiate, then onboard them into the Credit Repair USA software, where their system does the hard work of repairing their credit.
Credit repair USA is a business that focuses on helping individuals and businesses with financial planning. The company promises its franchisees no monthly license fees, no yearly fees, and no renewal fees.
All of your clients’ processing will be done by Credit Repair USA’s corporate office. Updates and removals of accounts will be updated by the corporate office as well. Those updates will be synced over to your account and your client’s account in real-time, all via their credit repair software.
5) Charter Financial
Franchise Cost: $195
Charter Financial focuses on the owner-financed home niche. Essentially you work with homeowners who owner financed a home who want to cash in on the note upfront. For example, if someone has a note with a balance of $90,000 left on it, we might pay $80,000 for the note, Charter Financial makes money over time as the note pays off. You make your money upfront each time they close a deal for you, the home seller gets their lump sum of money and nothing changes for the home buyer except they now pay Charter financial each month.
10% of residential home sales are owner financed, and with little service offerings and big-ticket sales, this a very lucrative opportunity.
6) Personal Touch
Franchise Cost: $229-$995
Personal Touch provides easy to use software so that you can create a variety of personalized gift items including framed and matted keepsakes, jewelry boxes, mouse pads, ceramic plates, address books, key chains, clocks, calendars, etc.
You get their “Gifts on Art Software”, which will provide you with everything you need to create Personalized Poetry Gifts, First Name Meaning Gifts, and Family Tree Gifts. Their software allows you to create appropriate personalized gifts for every occasion and relationship you can think of. Furthermore, a typical gift takes less than 2 minutes to create and profit margins are as high as 4000%.
Startup packages include: Gifts on Art software, over 100,000 First Names Meanings, a comprehensive Poetry Database, Master Art and Poetry books, Specialty Art Backgrounds, Mats, Instructions, Order Forms, Brochures, Training, and Support. Enough starting inventory is supplied with the start-up package to recoup your initial investment several times over.
7) Clean Out Foreclosures
Franchise Cost: $349
Clean Out Foreclosures gives you everything you need to start your own cleaning business focused on foreclosed homes. Foreclosures are often left in a pretty disgusting state. This business partners with banks and mortgage companies to clean up foreclosures and get them ready to sell.
The outlook going into 2022 is bright since there will likely be a spike in foreclosures when the federal moratoriums are lifted and programs offering financial relief end. If you are willing to get your hands dirty and work hard this can be a lucrative and rewarding business.
8) OrdersIn
Franchise Cost: $149/month
OrdersIn is a delivery service franchise for local restaurants. You’ve probably seen or used services like DoorDash, UberEats, or other meal delivery services. OrdersIn offers a similar service to restaurants, but instead of contracting to one of those huge companies, you own the business and relationship with the restaurant.
Their software handles all the ordering and transactions for the business and you take care of the deliveries. As a result, the restaurant gains more orders by offering online ordering and delivery and for less money than large competitors like GrubHub.
