Balancing Work and Family: 6 Tips for Work-Life Balance in Franchising

Balancing work and family doesn’t have to be a struggle. Discover how owning a franchise helps you lead a successful career while prioritizing your family and personal life.

Elusive Work-Life Balance

Parenting is hard work. Juggling work commitments, childcare responsibilities, and household duties are difficult for dual-income families. While men are stepping up more than previous generations to help with the daily chores and childrearing efforts, moms still shoulder the burden of childcare duties. Nearly 47% of mothers are the primary breadwinners, but 50% still handle the majority of household tasks, according to a survey of 17,000 mothers conducted by Mother.ly, an online resource for mothers.

The pandemic outbreak brought the hard work of mothers into focus. With the added responsibility of chaperoning children during remote school, moms made tough career decisions. At least 1.1 million women left the workforce from February 2020 to January 2022. Hybrid schedules and remote work are helping alleviate some of the stress that mothers face, but 48% are still dissatisfied with their employers’ “lack of flexibility and paid time off,” Mother.ly reports.

Moms aren’t the only ones dealing with stress. Up to 5 million U.S. parents a year report workplace burnout, and many adults struggle to balance their careers and self-care. One of the downsides of greater flexibility is unplugging at the end of the workday. Mobile devices enable employers to make after-hours requests and make it too easy for people to check in on vacation. According to a poll conducted by Insider, approximately two-thirds of Americans check their work email when they are on vacation.

Quiet Quitting on the Rise

While pandemic numbers are low enough now for most people to return to their old lives, many Americans refused to return to the status quo. People are turning to “quiet quitting” to balance work and family. Quiet quitting is when people stop being emotionally invested at work and only accomplish the essential duties required to get a paycheck. A new Gallup poll reveals at least half of the U.S. workforce is disengaged, or quiet quitting. Doing the bare minimum may solve the work-life conundrum in the short term, but it can hamper a person’s career advancement.

Balancing Work and Family by Franchising

It might surprise you to learn that entrepreneurship may be the answer to balancing work and family. Taking charge of your future by investing in a business fosters work-life balance and career satisfaction.

Partnering with a franchise may be the answer if you’re tired of trying to find the perfect harmony between work and personal life. Franchising eliminates the guesswork and provides the training you need to succeed. The franchisor already took the time to develop the brand, systems, and procedures. Having a roadmap alleviates the headaches involved in starting a new business and can put you on a path to profitability.

Not all the businesses in the franchise industry fit this bill. Owning a restaurant or retail store can be a heavy load. Fortunately, many low-investment opportunities offer high rewards for dedicated owners. Here are six tips for finding work-life balance in franchising.

1. Outline your expectations. There are about 3,400 franchise brands spanning 29 industries in the U.S. Finding the business that’s right for you requires careful research and planning. The first step to achieving work-life balance is to understand what it looks like for you. Perhaps you want to be home for dinner every night, spend Friday mornings at the golf course, or leave your weekends free for family time. Setting your expectations will impact the type of franchise you explore and help streamline the decision-making process.
2. Invest in a home-based franchise. Skipping out on a brick-and-mortar location is a step in the right direction for entrepreneurs searching for a flexible opportunity. More than half of all small businesses in the U.S. are run from a home office, and 81% have no employees. Home-based franchises require a limited number of employees, and many are owner-operator models. They typically require a low initial investment and enable owners to create their desired schedules and determine their own workload. You’ll be able to start small and scale your business on your timeline.
3. Skip the inventory. Owning a no-inventory franchise helps cut down on your workload. Making sure you have the right amount of inventory on hand requires careful and consistent planning and finesse, mainly when supply shortages come into play. Franchises with inventory often need staff and a storefront, which can be time-consuming. Eliminating inventory will give you more hours in the day to devote to other pursuits.
4. Pick a low-investment opportunity. Choosing a low-investment franchise will enable you to pursue entrepreneurship without accumulating debt. Taking on debt to start a business can increase anxiety and take a physical toll. By assuming less risk, you will feel comfortable stepping away from work when needed.
5. Find a family-friendly franchisor. When you meet the franchisor at its corporate headquarters, pay careful attention and gauge the company’s focus on work-life balance. Validate your opinions by discussing your concerns with other franchisees in the system. Finding a franchisor that emphasizes family may be necessary to finding balance.

Rely on your peer network. Tapping your network of peers reduces risk and hassle. As a franchisee, you join forces with other entrepreneurs who follow a similar path. Exchanging ideas and best practices will save time and money.

Complete Weddings: a Perfect Match

Complete Weddings + Events is a low-investment, family-friendly franchise focused on helping its franchise owners achieve their work-life balance goals. Our franchise is a one-stop shop for wedding and event planning needs.

We understand the struggle to prioritize family. Our home-based franchise allows owners to achieve self-sufficiency by focusing on their careers and family. Complete Weddings + Events franchise owners set their schedules and workload. Our brand relies on a home office to reduce startup costs. We have certain milestones based on gross revenue that determine when you’re ready for a storefront. When the time is right, we help franchisees find ideal real estate.

“I chose to be an owner because I love the culture of Complete Weddings + Events, and I trust the leadership in the corporate office,” says Chase Lee, a franchise owner in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Complete Weddings is one of the leading event planning franchises. The initial investment for a Complete Weddings franchise ranges from $56,820-$71,070. Complete Weddings + Events franchisees participate in a 10-day interactive training and receive ongoing support and guidance to get a positive return on investment.

Request franchise information to find out more about pursuing entrepreneurship with a family-friendly franchise, learn more about Complete Weddings and connect with a franchise business consultant.