Every year thousands of people decide to run their own businesses. Many ask - is a franchise a good idea for a home based business? There isn't a simple answer. There are thousands of franchises worldwide, both offline and online. Do your research before making any commitment.

Some examples of major offline franchises are: McDonalds, KFC and Hungry Jacks. Each company has a corporate set up and each franchisee has to work within the main guidelines but still has a degree of autonomy as well.

There are numerous rules that you must follow. There's usually a large upfront financial investment required but you do have the training, support and knowledge base available to you instead of starting a business from scratch. You can still decide your own trading hours and who to employ so the franchiser doesn't hold all the power.

There are also numerous smaller franchises that can be run from home. They could be gardening services, pet care or multi level marketing schemes such as Nutrimetics, Amway or Herbalife.

You also have access to numerous Internet marketing businesses online that work in a similar manner to a franchise but with more flexibility. As an Internet marketer, if you become involved with a business that enables you to use their standard website and access all the features available, you're still in the position of having to follow specific guidelines. However, the initial investment is never very high. You're then known as an affiliate. You can read more about affiliate programs here: How Affiliate Programs Work 

You have a larger market because you're not operating from one physical location. Do your research thoroughly first because it's also easier for the "founder/creator" of the online business to close it down and disappear, leaving you in the lurch.

The biggest advantages of being involved in any of these franchise or affiliate businesses is that you have access to a huge knowledge base from other experienced people so you can avoid a lot of mistakes that brand new businesses encounter. You also have an established customer base which you can help grow.

The disadvantages are that you can't make all the major decisions yourself. You do have to follow certain guidelines and some people may not be happy working that way. But you have to determine your own future.

So is a franchise (or becoming an affiliate) a good idea for a home based business? You'll only be able to answer this for yourself after careful research. Naturally there's always some risk but thorough analysis can decrease that enormously.