Despite such annoyances, Foster’s work-from-home setup is paying off handsomely. He’s already so busy that he’s had to hire a full-time employee to help conduct his main business—auditing how much of the alcohol sold in bars and restaurants has been paid for by customers. And his operation, which grossed $1,000 a week after functioning for six months, is his second franchise unit (he started the first five years ago in Vancouver). Says Foster, formerly a national sales manager for a major food company, "Running a business from home has its challenges. But it’s been great for me."

That could be the sentiment of many a home-based franchisee. Foster is one of a growing brigade of small-business people who run a franchise from their home, car van—anywhere but an office or storefront. These account for about 15 percent of all franchises, according to Michael Seid of Michael H. Seid &Associates in West Hartford, Conn., up from an estimated 7 percent 10 years ago. They’re lured by a host of attractions, from the flexibility and low start-up only $26,000 for fees and equipment to get his San Diego unit off the ground—to a commute-free life and the opportunity to hang up the jacket and tie.

Still, there’s no free lunch in home-based franchising. As Foster can tell you, running a franchise chez vous presents its own, idiosyncratic array of obstacles. But by learning from the experience of others, you can tackle those problems before they get out of hand. Here’s how enterprising franchisees have dealt with the five trickiest challenges to running a home-based business.

CHALLENGE #1: TOO MANY DISTRACTIONS

There you are, en route to answer the phone, when you notice just how dirty the kitchen floor really is. Well, you think, now’s as good a time as any . . . Such distractions are the bane of many a home-based franchisee’s existence. It takes willpower to impose the structure and discipline that are created naturally when you work in a busy office. "At home, there’s always some project to be done, and it’s hard to resist," says Barry Driedger, Bevinco’s founder and president. Driedger found it so tough to discipline himself, in fact, that after six months of operating from his home he had to move into an office downtown.

THE SOLUTION: The cardinal rule of home-based franchising is this: Set up a separate work space. Use a spare room or the basement—whatever suits you—and stay there. Make it off limits to the kids and Fido, too. "When you enter that room, you enter into the realm of work," says Ariel Shlien, president and CEO of Mad Science, a Montreal-based franchise that stages science events for children. (It’s also simpler to calculate tax deductions on your mortgage, utilities, and home improvements if you do it that way.)

By running your business from a formally designated space, you may find that you help others take your efforts more seriously, as well. That’s especially important if you have to hold work-related meetings at home. At Mad Science, for example, franchisees meet weekly with instructors who conduct science workshops in the field; they discuss the week’s lineup and exchange equipment. "If you’re working at the kitchen table, it’s difficult to convey that this isn’t a game but your livelihood," says Eric Kimmel, a former franchisee who is now director of franchise support.

You can also shop around for a franchise with systems in place that are likely to impose an extra dose of structure. Regular deadlines provide one useful anchor. At Bevinco, for example, franchisees have to turn in their reports within 48 hours of an audit. All 93 Mad Science franchisees receive daily e-mail messages to which they have to respond—asking how many schools they are appearing in that month, for example. "It gives they that little push they may need," says Shlien.

CHALLENGE #2: NO ESCAPE HATCH

Choose the wrong franchise, and you can wind up in a demanding and lonely grind. You don’t have anyone to schmooze with, and you’re never more than a few feet away from your work. "I live half a block from the beach, but I never go," says Foster. "I feel too guilty."

THE SOLUTION: You can’t do much about living with the business. It’s there, and so are you. But running a home business doesn’t mean sitting in front of a computer all day. Lots of franchises require that you get out and about regularly. At Happy & Healthy Products, a Boca Raton-based maker of frozen fruit bars and smoothies, franchisees spend most of their time distributing their products to colleges, hospitals, and other clients. "We say we’re home based, not homebound," says Happy & Healthy Products president Linda Kamm.

Franchisees at the BrickKicker, a Naperville, Ill., home-inspection business, go out in the field, doing two to three inspections a day. And at Little Princess, in Gainesville, Va., franchisees mix with a very select crowd: they put on $170-a-pop tea parties for girls ages 4 to 10.

CHALLENGE #3: LACK OF RESOURCES

Talk about wearing a lot of hats; when you’re home alone, you have to be everything, from janitor to secretary. And if you have a question, chances are you’re on your own, too.

THE SOLUTION: Thank heavens for cyberspace. At Bevinco, all 150 franchisees are required to carry laptop computers with them on their rounds. Apart from e-mail, there’s a quarterly newsletter they can download and a bulletin-board area where they can exchange ideas, ask questions, and seek help. Marc Weinberg, a Stanhope, N.J., Bevinco franchisee, often uses e-mail to network with fellow franchisees. When he recently encountered an unfamiliar point-of-sale system, he sent out an e-mail describing the system’s specifications and asking whether anyone else had ever handled it in the past. Sure enough, another franchisee replied with the information he needed. "We don’t have to reinvent the wheel," he says.

Annual and semiannual franchise conventions are a more low-tech resource. Most franchisors hold them; the good ones offer the opportunity for colleagues to trade war stores, important information, and tips. Consider Linda Myers, who runs a BrickKicker franchise in Palm Harbor, Fla., with her husband, Mark. She has attended five conventions since she started the business, three and a half years ago. "I get tons of ideas from those meetings," she says. For instance, at last January’s gathering, she learned some invaluable lessons about how to introduce credit cards into the operation. "Before, we accepted only checks, and we weren’t getting paid a lot of the time," she says. Thanks in part to the introduction of credit cards, the business has advanced from doing three to five inspections a week to doing three to five inspections a day.

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Myers was a customer-service representative for an airline before she launched her BrickKicker unit. In fact, because of their low overhead, most home-based businesses tend to attract novices.

NOTE:  SUCESS ARTICLE MISSING A SENTENCE HERE:…would buy a big fast-food franchise," says BrickKicker’s president, Ron Ewald. The upshot: Many home-based franchisees find they’re overwhelmed by the demands of the business. And even those with some business background tend to have a tough time selling.

THE SOLUTION: Find a franchisor with systems in place that even a neophyte can easily tap into. Myers, for example, uses an activity-report form provided by headquarters to track revenue and expenses every month. "I’m not the kind of person who thinks about numbers, so I really need this," says Myers. Training is also key Ewald has all BrickKicker franchisees spend one to two weeks in a training program; for six months after that, he stays in close touch. He also spends two to three days in each home to make Su the office is running smoothly. And he reviews financial results with franchisees every week.

You can also look for companies able to provide extra sales-and-marketing help. At Happy & Healthy Products, for example, franchisees aren’t expected to do any selling at all in the beginning. "we deal with big food services. A lot of our people would never make it if they had to sell to them," says Kamm. Instead, a full-time marketing consultant works with new franchisees, setting them up with 15 to 20 clients right off the bat.

That was a great boon to Rita Davis, who runs a franchise with her husband, Robert, in Waxahachie, Tex. Rita had been in charge of accounting for her husband’s auto-supply store, but she "had no clue about dealing with a good service; it’s a totally different world," she says. When they started out four years ago, the company set her up with 15 accounts; since the, she’s landed 45 more on her own. (See "Good Support," on page 89, for advice on franchisor assistance to home-based businesses.)

CHALLENGE #5: THE GROWTH FACTOR

It’s the catch-22 of the home-based franchise. "If the business does well, it will outgrow the capacity to operate out of the home," says Craig Slavin, chairman of Franchise Architects. In other words, once you really pick up steam, you’ll need to start hiring additional help. That may require that you move into a regular office or, at least, take on more management tasks than you may be willing to handle.

THE SOLUTION: If you really have your sights set on megabucks, you may have to follow the lead of Mad Science’s Eric Kimmel. After three years he moved into an office located in downtown Toronto. Within a year he had doubled the number of his employees as well as his revenue.