Dream of owning your own franchise? If so, you may want to consider setting up shop in a small town. These tight-knit communities provide a unique charm that’s distinct, yet welcoming to those with the entrepreneurial spirit. With the right franchise, your business can become the dominant provider of essential goods and services.
In this article, you’ll be exposed to several franchise categories that have the potential to thrive in a small-town environment. You’ll also be exposed to leading brands within each category, and how you can hit the ground running after finding the franchise that’s right for you
Table of Contents
Auto Service Franchises
Auto services franchises often provide fundamental services to small towns. They cater to the essential needs of vehicle owners with a recognizable and trustworthy brand. Consider the following auto service franchise opportunities if you’re ready to step into this vital role:
Matco Tools
Initial Franchise Fee: $8,000
Total Startup Costs: $77,236 – $313,646
Matco Tools is a craftsman’s dream and a mechanic’s best friend. This brand offers a huge assortment of high-quality tools, storage, and equipment. As a franchisee, your business can rapidly become a go-to auto service provider by delivering and servicing essential tools used by your small town’s mechanics and car enthusiasts.
For more information, visit their website.
Novus Glass
Initial Franchise Fee: $10,500
Total Startup Costs: $46,000 – $273,690
Novus Glass takes a unique angle on the auto service industry. The brand specializes in windshield repairs and replacement, but the company also provides window tinting, side mirror replacement, and headlight restoration services. As a mobile or fixed-location franchisee, you’ll help keep the cars of your small town safe and stylish while on the road.
For more information, visit their website.
Grease Monkey
Initial Franchise Fee: $10,000 – $39,900
Total Startup Costs: $248,816 – $761,952
With a Grease Monkey franchise, you’ll offer a full suite of automotive care services to your small town. Whether someone needs an oil change, diagnostic test, tire alignment, or fuel and emission system cleaning, you’ll have them covered. With the consistent quality that comes with this brand, you’ll also have the opportunity to quickly build up a network of repeat customers.
For more information, visit their website.
Home Cleaning
Cleaning service franchises in small towns provide valuable services for both residential and commercial properties. With high-quality cleanings ordered on a repeat basis, a cleaning service business of your own can rapidly become an essential, respected part of a local community. Review these industry-leading brands in the space:
Merry Maids
Total Startup Costs: $94,480
With Merry Maids, customers are treated to meticulous deep cleanings and disinfecting services from a brand that upholds impeccable safety standards. As a franchisee, your business will help local residents turn their homes and businesses into spotless, healthy havens.
For more information, visit their website.
The Maids
Initial Franchise Fee: $12,000
Total Startup Costs: $76,000 – $164,350
The Maids is a leader in providing homeowners and small business owners with premium cleaning services. As a franchisee, you’ll be able to offer your small town’s residents cleanings that are flexible, customized, and conducted with industry-leading, environmentally-conscious products.
For more information, visit their website.
Education and Childcare Franchises
Education and childcare are essential services to any small town. They provide a much-needed environment for children to grow intellectually and socially, and take an enormous mental weight off the minds of busy, hard-working parents. If you’re looking to positively shape the minds of the future, consider the following franchise opportunities:
Tutor Doctor
Initial Franchise Fee: $54,700 – $69,700
Total Startup Costs: $94,295 – $138,995
Tutor Doctor provides private online and in-person tutoring sessions that can be catered to a broad spectrum of different student ages and academic subjects. Whether it’s a child just learning to read or a college student working on a calculus problem, you can be there to help. As a franchisee, your business can meet residents looking to learn in the comfort of their small-town homes.
For more information, visit their website.
Kumon
Initial Franchise Fee: $2,000
Total Startup Costs: $67,428 – $145,640
Kumon is a brand known for its exceptional math and reading programs. The company also provides unwavering support to its franchisees with extensive training, marketing materials, and proprietary software. With a franchise of your own, you’ll host exceptional after-school programs that help your small town’s youth grow in confidence, focus, and academic perseverance.
For more information, visit their website.
Mathnasium
Initial Franchise Fee: $49,000
Total Startup Costs: $112,860 – $148,655
With its proprietary Mathnasium Method™, Mathnasium brings children into the world of mathematics in an immersive way. The brand focuses on teaching mathematical building blocks from early childhood through high school to cultivate lifelong skills. As a franchisee, you can become a pillar of your small town’s community by helping shape its young minds into confident and creative thinkers.
For more information, visit their website.
Fitness Franchises
The residents of your small town need to be able to take care of their health and fitness. By entering the marketplace with a fitness franchise, you’ll soon be in a position to start changing local lives for the better. Consider these fitness brands:
GYMGUYZ
Initial Franchise Fee: $44,500
Total Startup Costs: $82,600 – $147,000
A GYMGUYZ franchise lets you bring premium, tailored fitness service right to the doorsteps of your small-town residents. You’re providing one-on-one or group workouts in the comfort of their homes, yards, or workplaces.
You’ll be offering a wide range of services, from weight loss programs and strength training to post-natal exercise and teen fitness. Your GYMGUYZ franchise comes with a van stocked with state-of-the-art equipment and the backing of an experienced parent organization.
For more information, visit their website.
Jazzercise
Initial Franchise Fee: $1,250
Total Startup Costs: $2,445 – $3,225
You can be a driving force for fitness in your small town with a Jazzercise franchise. You’d be promoting total fitness through fun, choreographed dance routines. Opt for an Instructor Franchise if you love being on the stage, or a Class Owner Franchise if you’re eager to run the business side of things. With streamed routines and a supportive network, you’d be running a business that brings joy and health to your small-town community.
For more information, visit their website.
StretchLab
Initial Franchise Fee: $1,250
Total Startup Costs: $162,575 – $333,875
A StretchLab franchise may be perfect for your small town. As a franchisee, you’ll provide premium one-on-one and group stretching services, catering to all ages and fitness levels, helping to improve flexibility, mobility, and overall health. You’ll be stepping into a thriving industry, with the chance to drive a powerful brand that requires no complex equipment. Plus, with robust training, continuous support, and a low entry cost, your path to success is made a lot easier.
For more information, visit their website.
Haircut Franchises
A haircut franchise in a small-town environment can be an excellent investment. It offers an essential service that caters to every demographic in the community, ensuring consistent demand. Check out the following opportunities:
Great Clips
Initial Franchise Fee: $20,000 – $35,000
Total Startup Costs: $183,400 – $394,400
With a Great Clips franchise, you’re becoming part of a recognized brand that’s loved for its quality and convenience. Your customer base is broad, ranging from children to seniors, all looking for a simple, quality cut. The no-appointment model keeps operations smooth and drives repeat business. Plus, Great Clips provides comprehensive training and ongoing support, setting you up for success in your small town.
For more information, visit their website.
Supercuts
Initial Franchise Fee: $10,000 – $39,500
Total Startup Costs: $150,906 – $312,878
As a Supercuts franchisee, you’re joining a network of over 2,200 salons. Your small town will love the quality, convenience, and affordability of your services. Additionally, your business appeals to everyone, men and women alike, offering not only haircuts, but also waxing services and professional haircare products. Plus, with the backing of the Regis Corporation, you’ll benefit from extensive training and support from a dominant force in the industry.
For more information, visit their website.
Gas Station
When talking about the best franchises for small towns, gas stations are one of the most obvious. Not only will people need gas for their vehicles, but travelers and truckers passing by may need to stop, fill up their tanks, and grab a snack. Many gas station franchises even help franchisees tailor their offerings “to the individuality of their selected market bases and customer needs.” When it comes to getting started with a gas station franchise, 7-Eleven is an international chain that can be yours for an initial investment as low as $37,550.
For more information, visit their website.
Mosquito Franchises
Small towns aren’t immune to bug bites, but mosquito franchise opportunities can help get rid of them for good. With the backing of a recognized brand and established procedures, local residents can quickly turn to you for all their mosquito control needs. Companies that can help your small town stay safe, healthy, and comfortable include:
Mosquito Authority
Initial Franchise Fee: $25,000 – $50,000
Total Startup Costs: $55,350 – $93,000
Mosquito Authority is a business with over 20 years of expertise in keeping homeowner spaces mosquito-free. As a franchisee, you’ll become a guardian of your small town’s backyards, patios, and gardens. You’ll also be treated to the brand’s industry-leading mosquito solutions as well as the company’s exceptional franchise launch support.
For more information, visit their website.
Mosquito Joe
Initial Franchise Fee: $42,500
Total Startup Costs: $109,700 – $148,700
With a Mosquito Joe franchise, you’ll use innovative pest-control solutions to rid your small town of pesky mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, gnats, and rodents. Additionally, as a Neighborly™ company, your Mosquito Joe franchise will tap into the rich resources of a larger parent organization, which will only help your franchise take off faster.
For more information, visit their website.
Pestmaster
Initial Franchise Fee: $42,500
Total Startup Costs: $81,600 – $185,800
Pestmaster comes to the franchise world with 40+ years of experience and leverages a robust and eco-friendly set of pest control solutions. With a franchise of your own, you’ll be able to safeguard both residential and commercial areas of your small town from a plethora of irritating pests.
For more information, visit their website.
Pet Care Franchises
By offering services like grooming, boarding, and veterinary care, you can become an essential provider to pet owners in your small town. Pet care franchise opportunities help you keep pets, and their owners, happy and satisfied. They also enable you to create a loyal customer base that values the care and convenience of your business. If you have a passion for helping animals, you’ll want to check out the consider the following opportunities:
PetWellClinic
Total Startup Costs: $204,000 – $488,000
PetWellClinic is a walk-in veterinary wellness clinic that tenderly attends to the needs of cats and dogs. The brand offers top-notch basic vet services without the need for a formal appointment. As a franchisee, you’ll be able to bring the latest vet tech and a convenient service model directly to clients in your small town.
For more information, visit their website.
Fetch! Pet Care
Total Startup Costs: $74,967 – $80,667
You can bring peace of mind to pet owners in your small town with a Fetch! Pet Care franchise. You’ll be offering services like dog walking, pet sitting, and partial overnight care, ensuring their beloved companions are well looked after while they’re away. With low startup costs and extensive support, this franchise can be both a viable and rewarding opportunity.
For more information, visit their website.
Sit Means Sit
Initial Franchise Fee: $17,500
Total Startup Costs: $24,275 – $123,850
With a Sit Means Sit dog training franchise, you’re bringing top-tier, home-based dog training to pet owners in your small town. You’ll also be provided with add-on revenue streams like board and training packages, proprietary collars, and online store sales. With intensive training and extensive business support, this brand offers plenty of help in getting you up and running.
For more information, visit their website.
Woofie’s
Initial Franchise Fee: $52,500
Total Startup Costs: $125,319 – $209,801
A Woofie’s franchise presents an exciting opportunity for you to become an integral part of your small town’s pet care ecosystem. As a franchise owner, you can leverage Woofie’s established reputation and bring personalized, trusted pet care services right to your residents’ doorsteps. You can offer pet sitting, dog walking, and a unique mobile pet spa, creating multiple revenue streams.
For more information, visit their website.
Sandwich Franchises
Investing in a sandwich franchise can be beneficial as it provides a fast, convenient, and quality dining option for locals. With a recognizable brand, your sandwich franchise can quickly establish trust and recognition in your small town. This type of business can also be a community gathering spot, enhancing the local appeal and strengthening customer loyalty. One of the following options may be right for your small town:
Firehouse Subs
Initial Franchise Fee: $20,000
Total Startup Costs: ~ $412,731
With Firehouse Subs, you’ll be providing hearty, robust sandwiches directly to your small town. You’ll also benefit from a strong brand and a well-tested business model, making your journey easier and more rewarding. Finally, you’ll also be expanding a brand that’s devoted to giving back to public safety organizations.
For more information, visit their website.
Subway
Initial Franchise Fee: $15,000
Total Startup Costs: $207,050 – $476,900
As a Subway franchise owner, you’re part of a globally recognized brand that’s committed to serving healthy and nutritious foods. You’ll be able to offer customizable subs, wraps, and salads straight to your small town. With comprehensive training and support, you’ll also receive all the help you need in getting your franchise off the ground.
Jon Smith Subs
Initial Franchise Fee: $39,500
Total Startup Costs: $160,000 – $300,000
With a Jon Smith Subs location of your own, you’re providing your small town with delicious, high-quality subs, and delighting locals with exceptional customer service. As a franchisee, you’re also backed by a proven business model and extensive support, making business operations even smoother.
For more information, visit their website.
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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in January 2022. It has been updated to reflect most current data.