Running a business is a challenge for anyone, but for some mothers the choice of being the boss and keeping work flexibility is just too good to pass up. These are the mums who are embracing all that a franchise model offers … business independence matched with behind the scenes support. Opportunities might be home-based, mobile, office-based or retail.

Returning to work after having children can be a difficult time in a woman’s life; when, where and how to rejoin the workforce are often the most relevant concerns as childcare costs are high and places limited. So it’s no surprise that the opportunity to run their own business has a lot of appeal for mothers. Many, many franchises are run by couples for whom the business is a family affair with either mum or dad taking on an admin support role that fits around the family’s daily demands. For other franchising females, the chance to be hands on in a business means sharing both childcare and business roles with a partner; working different shifts to manage the store or the coffee shop and do the school drop off or pick up. And for some women the appeal of a franchise is the chance to manage a business by themselves, or with another like-minded partner, perhaps another mum.

Franchising offers mothers a chance to manage their own time, juggle their home lives with the demands of building a business, and even discover how to turn a passion into a financial return.

A passion for the service and getting the kids involved is certainly the way that local parents Giselle Jesse and Kerrie Froese see their future. The Melbourne mums experienced the Ready Steady Go Kids multi-sport franchise first hand, and loved it so much they invested in their own territory in Box Hill and Donvale. They are all set to roll out the business in school term one this year.

Jesse’s four year old son Campbell, began classes when he was two. “Campbell, and now my youngest son Ashton, can never wait until the next Ready Steady Go Kids class,” she says. “We’re thrilled to be bringing the program to families here. There really is nothing else like Ready Steady Go Kids.”

Ready Steady Go Kids has been operating since 2004 and has more than 50 locations throughout South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. The program enhances children’s motor skills and Jesse has seen with her own son that it can make a difference. Both the mothers have undergone specialised training to run the program. It’s a franchise that gives the pair the perfect opportunity to balance their parenting roles with a focus on children leading healthy, active lives.

But a franchise doesn’t need to offer a service for children to allow mums to benefit. There are other opportunities that allow them to run their own business with flexible hours. The shopping centre-based ink and toner cartridge franchise Inkspot, for instance, has attracted busy mums keen to join the workforce on their own terms.

Weribee franchisee Louise Oakley relocated with her young family (two boys, aged five and seven) to Victoria’s Torquay suburb in 2009. With both parents working long and demanding hours Oakley knew there had to be a better way to get the life-work balance right. “Inkspot appeared to us as the perfect option for a business, it is set up in a way that is easy to run and I only have to spend a few days a week ‘in the office’ as I do most of the work from home,” Oakley says.

Fellow franchisee Danielle Thompson enjoys being a mother of a two year old daughter and a four month old son while managing her own business. “Being a mother of such young children you need to have a business that can operate when you are tied up with the kids, and although I am in constant communication with the store, I am able to do 90 percent of my work from home. When I do visit I usually have the kids in tow.

“It isn’t always easy,” she adds, “but if you’re good at juggling and prepared to duck the occasional curve ball then it is definitely fulfilling.”

Inkspot’s director and strategy manager Vincent Teubler believes the success of the women franchisees in the network comes down to their individual commitment to make the business succeed. “They have been so successful because they are all brilliant. As a small business Inkspot is a relatively simple franchise to run and operate happily with only one staff member, but it takes passion, drive and hard work to establish and grow a small business while meeting the demands of a young family and a growing business.”

Mums keen to snap up their own opportunities once the time is right should look for some of the following in a franchise:

• An easy to operate system
• A model that can flourish in flexible and/or school hours
• A business that can be managed away from the frontline
• Reliable franchisor support
• Accessible training