Any career change is very difficult to adapt to, but when you have been serving in the Armed Forces, it can seem impossible to be able to get back to normal life.

But once company that is really helping ex service men and women to do this is the Cash Generator franchise. This buy, sell and loan store is really supporting those looking for a new challenge once they have been in the armed forces.

Alan Purdue is one example of where this has happened. Military life was all he knew, but as his family grew, he found that he had to think about changing his career. Franchise opportunities leapt out at him as a viable option for being able to balance his work and home life so he started to look into franchising.

He had always wanted to be his own boss but wasn’t confident in setting up his own business. He was immediately attracted to the potential associated with Cash Generator.

He opened his first store in South Wales and three years later he has built up a successful franchise, employing six people. He is now planning the launch of his second store and he is enjoying having the perfect work/life balance.

If you’ve got all the skills and knowledge to run your own business, but you just can’t seem to take the plunge, then you may want to consider the possibility of franchising.

There are plenty of franchise opportunities out there and they are the ideal choice if you enjoy working as part of a larger network rather than on your own.

The great thing about franchising is that you will always have the support and backing of the franchisor to guide you. They will be particularly supportive at the beginning, when they will often give you adequate training to ensure that you are ready to take on your franchise.

While you are researching franchise opportunities, it is a good idea to speak to existing franchisees, to find out what their experiences of franchising are.

Then, while you are looking for franchise opportunities, try not to restrict yourself too much. You may be tempted to look at fields in which you have previous experience, but it might be worth looking at making a change with your career; your franchisor can help you through this after all. So long as you have an interest in the field and you are willing to learn, you should be able to take on any franchise you like.

One thing that always surprises people who are new to franchising is the rate at which their new franchise can grow. And another thing which seems difficult to believe is the fact that even though a new store has just opened, it can already have queues out of the door of loyal customers.

When you enter the world of franchising, your franchise will already have an established brand and customer base behind it. You won’t need to struggle to get your name out there because it will be well known and will usually have been proved a success already.

That’s what new franchise owners Margaret Watret and Kevin Sangster found when they opened up a new branch of Baguette Express in Edinburgh’s Gyle shopping centre.

The mother and son team explained that they have never been as busy in any other shops as they were in the first two days of opening.

They have already recruited five staff and hope that they will be able to recruit even more as business grows. Baguette Express has grown into a really strong brand and is now one of the fastest growing healthy snacking chains in Britain.

During your research into franchise opportunities, you may have been focussing on your experience and your business skills and it may be these factors that have encouraged you to pursue a career in franchising.

But there are plenty of other factors that you need to consider before you decide to become a franchisee and not all of them are immediately obvious considerations to take.

Firstly, you will need to invest a huge amount of time into the business. In fact, in the beginning of your new venture, you will have to live and breathe the franchise and you will find very little time for anything else in your life.

You must also consider that you will have to learn new skills and new ways of working. Although skills you have learnt from previous roles will be useful, working for a franchise is a completely different experience and one that you will have to work differently for.

You must also take into account that although you will receive a lot more support and backing than you would starting your own business, you will also lose some of the freedom that you have with your own business. You will be tied by the franchisor, to certain work methods, standards and practices.

The great thing about being a franchise owner is that there is an enormous sense of community. People involved in franchises seem to get involved in a lot more things than a single business would and a good example of this is Caremark.

The franchise owner of Eastbourne and Wealden Caremark has sponsored a local raffle draw to help raise money for a new church building and community centre.

The raffle was drawn at a summer charity dance and it was a great event for all the community and in the end £1,200 was raised for the new church building and community centre.

Caremark got involved to try to raise awareness of the charity and this is just one community issue and event that the franchise has decided to support.

When you decide to take on a franchise, you will notice that there is a strong sense of community within the organisation. Franchisees help each other out and the franchisor will offer backing and support whenever it is needed and this sense of community extends to outside the franchise too. For this reason, franchising can be incredibly rewarding and of course, involvement with local issues and events just makes the job more interesting and enjoyable too.

When you start working for a franchise, you will notice that the way they operate is very smooth. So if there is going to be a change to the company, each franchisee will be made aware of it and will be given full instructions on what they need to do in order to fit in with these changes.

For example, if you own a restaurant franchise and there is a change to the menu, you will be sent detailed descriptions of the changes. You will also be told the best ways to sell the new products and the kitchen staff will be given very specific instructions on how to prepare the new dishes.

This makes the whole operation run a lot more smoothly and means that there is no confusion when things are changed. It also means that all the franchises are consistent which looks a lot more professional to the consumer.

A good example of this is Subway’s new plan when it comes to placing cheese on a sandwich. The cheese will now be staggered on the sandwich rather than overlapped so that the sandwich gets better coverage.

It may seem like a tiny, insignificant change, but the franchisor sending a memo and instructions out to all franchisees means that the company can maintain a professional and consistent image.

Some people may like to presume that franchising is an easy way of starting your own business. But of course, this is not true and anyone who has taken the plunge into the franchise world will know this.

Being a franchisee is incredibly hard work and that is something that anyone looking into franchise opportunities will have to get used to.

The future of your business is in your hands and for this reason, a lot of franchise owners will find that they are suddenly working more than the usual 9-5 quota. Particularly in the early stages of your franchise, you will find that you have to work long hours to give yourself the best chance of success. Of course, you will have the support of the franchisor, but the hard work still needs to be done by you.

Starting up a franchise does require you to work incredibly hard, but you must be disciplined to a certain extent and to know when to stop. Keeping your work and home life well balanced is a good way of ensuring that you don’t burn yourself out too soon.

So it’s important to remember that franchising is difficult and it is hard work. But unlike starting your own business, you have the support and guidance of the franchisor to help you through it.

Because of the way they are run, franchises always seem to excel in their industries. With a strong brand, a structure that works and a huge network of support and knowledge, most franchises find that they continue to thrive, even through difficult periods.

And if proof were needed, the borders office of Driver Hire, a leading franchise has just won the Best Small Recruitment Team award from Scottish Recruitment 2010 which held an awards ceremony and gala dinner at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow.

The reason that Driver Hire Borders won this award was because they have developed over the last year and have celebrated some fantastic achievements. They have an excellent recruitment practice and they attract and develop their people using some successful strategies. And all this was achieved in an area which was greatly impacted by the recession.

The franchise can provide local and national organisations with temporary and permanent drivers so a lot of organisations have really come to rely on them; particularly when their regular staff are on holiday or off sick.

It’s proved to be an invaluable and reliable resource for some organisations and that has been recognised by the award given to them by Scottish Recruitment.

The world has gone football made and it seems that everywhere you look, there is another promotion related to the World Cup. Every chocolate bar, crisp packet and sandwich has a promotion related to football on it these days and the Domino’s Pizza franchise is no different.

It has unveiled a new World Cup campaign which will feature across TV, radio, social media and in-game. The TV advert was first used before the England game against the USA. Viewers were encouraged to order a Domino’s Pepperoni Passion pizza before the game started so that they could have it delivered at half time. Radio adverts will also run during the game.

On the last day of the World Cup, Domino’s will use it’s in-game advertising campaign to take over all advertising and sponsorship spots in Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 on the Play Station 3.

Domino’s will also alert their FaceBook fans to competitions to win free pizza vouchers, a pizza party and discount codes.

It’s a strong campaign which is bound to be effective for the pizza franchise – a franchise which is always looking for innovative ways to communicate with customers.

The World Cup is the perfect platform for Domino’s to use as fans across the country settle down to watch the games with a pizza.

It’s a busy time for Bluebird Care franchise because they have recently been getting involved in National Carers’ Week.

The care at home franchise paid tribute to the six million unsung hero carers in Britain during National Carers’ Week and supported the idea that they need more support.

The franchise wanted to highlight the fact that there are thousands of people across the country providing essential care for their loved ones and the commitment they show is astonishing.

It’s the tenth year of National Carers’ Week and the theme this year is A Life of My Own. The idea of this is to highlight the challenges that carers face and to call for an improvement to the information that they have access to, the chance for them to have a break and financial support when it’s needed.

There are 75 Bluebird Care franchises across the country providing care and support with 45,000 care visits each month. The franchise helps people and families that require health care and ensures that people who need live in support receive it.

It’s a successful that thousands of families rely upon to keep their loved ones safe and cared for.