For many couples this has allowed them to fulfil their long standing ambition to work together. And as one of the key pieces of advice from the British Franchise Association (bfa) to prospective franchisees is to ensure that they have the full support of their family, then a working partnership clearly has that support in place.
bfa marketing manager Tom Endean said: “Franchising can be a success for couples and families wanting to work together because they are building a business for themselves, rather than working on someone else's.”
Couples who do decide to team up need to consider the issues of working together carefully. A new franchise can take time to become established and bring in money, so without a second salary there could be some temporary cash flow problems.
There is also the issue of spending a lot more time together during working hours, which can take some getting used to for couples who have always led separate working lives.
But many franchisee couples have found a winning formula. Martin Roberts, former CEO of a worldwide transportation company, and his wife Carole run the Plymouth-based MBE franchise, part of a nationwide network of High Street one-stop-shops that offer a range of business and communication services, and a full member of the bfa.
Mr Roberts said: “We wanted to escape from the corporate rat race and had reached a point when we wanted to control our own destiny a little more,”
He left his job in November 2002, and in February the following year the couple opened their MBE centre. Now in the fifth year of business, they have divided tasks into two main areas of responsibility. Mr Roberts is a proactive marketeer, exploring new opportunities, and promoting the centre’s services and facilities. When he is in the centre he focuses on packing and shipping, while his wife handles the book-keeping and admin and serves customers. They also employ two full-time staff.  
Mrs Roberts said: “We work very well together. The advantage of being a working mum in your own business is that there is flexibility. This enables me to take time off for important things, for example special school events like sports days. We are growing our business, confident that we are building a saleable asset to sell on for our retirement. In the meantime, we both enjoy running our centre and developing the variety of customer services we offer.”
For more information on franchising visit www.thebfa.org