Some financial franchises, or financial services franchises, seem to offer good opportunities.

Financial franchises fall into five distinct groups. Let’s briefly discuss each one.

First, document preparation. The lions share of this market is specifically in tax preparation. There are several tax preparation franchises where awhile back there was mostly H & R Block.

Second, there are the brokers. Lots of brokers. As a franchisee, you can broker leases to business. You can broker mortgages to homeowners. You can broker factoring to small businesses in need of cash.

As a broker you essentially sell money. You find someone — or really a small business — who can use money. The actual money may be supplied by a financial company. For instance, you can be an equipment leasing broker by simply finding companies who need to lease equipment. You can then put the deal together. The funding may ultimately come from a big bank or mega big leasing company. You get a commission on the deal.

Some broker franchises specialize. The biggest specialty is mortgages, followed by equipment financing and business loans. There are a number of broker franchises that focus on real estate.

Third, are the expense reduction or cost containment franchises. These franchises have you go in to a business and audit their phone bills, or examine their vendor expenses. Perhaps you survey their energy costs. Whatever expense you are focused on, you find ways to cut those expenses. Sometimes you recover money from a vendor who may have overcharged. And you are paid a percentage of what you save the business, or get back from the vendor. Since you let a company save money they otherwise wouldn’t, they don’t (supposedly) mind paying you a percentage.

Fourth, are some miscellaneous financial services franchises. In one, you join a buyer’s group and this pooled purchasing power supposedly saves everyone in the group money. There is a franchise or two that works in the barter arena, helping to sign up small businesses who want to barter services.

Fifth are check cashing and paycheck loan franchises. There is a subset that covers pawn shops and “borrow cash on your car” businesses. These require heavy money on the part of the franchisee, but can be lucrative.

There is a sixth type of financial business that is not a franchise. At least, not yet. It's the lawsuit financing franchise, believe it or not.

As the common franchise opportunities that are out there, in the financial services franchise area. I have a client who is putting together a such a franchise. It will hopefully let franchisees benefit from the litigation explosion. How? By profitably advancing cash to people who have been the victims of accidents or injury.

The guy I work with is very well established and has a sterling reputation. Get on the email list to find out more and learn about when this goes live.