Working for yourself can be a solution, but even more appealing to budding business owners with family commitments is the option of running their own franchise business, which comes with full training and support, an established brand name, and for a growing number of franchises, flexible working patterns. 

The best way to see some of these family-friendly franchise opportunities is by visiting The British & International Franchise Exhibition at Olympia, London, on Friday and Saturday March 18 and 19, where many of the 120 franchise companies at the event have flexibility at the heart of their business model.

Franchising is not just about the big brand names like Burger King and Domino’s Pizza, says Andrew Quail, head of quality standards and compliance at the British Franchise Association (bfa).

“It’s also about small-scale, family-friendly opportunities, and it seems that more people than ever, particularly women, are discovering that they too can have their own business and be in control of their own economic destiny, without having to buy a high street retail outlet or a fleet of vans, or commiting to working all hours,” he said.

Alongside the exhibiting franchises will be a number of interactive visitor features. One that will appeal to families attending the event is the new Children’s Activity Centre, run by The Creation Station, a franchise that provides art and craft classes for toddlers and preschool children. Many of their franchise owners are women with young children, who they can take along to the classes and involve them in the activities.

The Children’s Activity Centre will include fun workshops where children and one of their parents can try their hand at different arts and crafts, while their partner spends some time exploring the franchise exhibition and the many visitor features.

Among the free franchise seminars scheduled for the event, Families in Franchising will be of special interest to prospective franchise owners with young families.

To register for The British & International Franchise Exhibition, call 0844 257 8668 or visit www.franchiseinfo.co.uk, where Sunday Express readers can gain free entry by entering the code SEED3.