BOOM TIME

Baby Boomers are getting older, with two-income families being the norm, and technology is a part of their everyday life. Not only do these demographic trends reflect the times in which we are living, they also are defining and shaping the future of the franchise industry. According to Devlin Smith of Entrepreneur Magazine, "Consumers will spend [money] on any service that makes their complicated lives a little easier." Entrepreneur Magazine recently released its list of the Hottest Franchising Trends for 2004 and the following are some of the franchise areas you, a potential franchisee, should investigate in your quest to find the perfect opportunity.

Senior Care

Baby boomers are all grown up! So grown, in fact, that 20 percent of the U.S. population is expected to be over the age of 69 by the year 2010. This dramatic spike on the higher end of the age scale means demand will increase for products and services that make seniors' lives easier and more enjoyable. A growing number of seniors will find themselves receiving non-medical care and specialized health related services in their own homes. Home Helpers provides a resource for seniors who need something as small as a ride to the store or as sweeping as a live-in companion. Home Helpers encourages its franchisees to build their businesses and turn them into thriving enterprises. While franchisees are not required to have a medical background or experience in the senior-care field, they are tasked with finding qualified, caring Home Helpers employees to provide clients with the assistance they need. Home Helpers franchisees need to understand and appreciate the important role Home Helpers services provide in the lives of seniors. Comfort Keepers, which boasts a diverse assortment of senior-care services, has added more than 100 franchise locations in the past year alone. The company plans to maintain the pace of 10 new franchise openings each month. While Comfort Keepers' expansion rate may be brisk, the company won't relax its high franchisee standards just to uphold the tempo. Comfort Keepers' comprehensive screening process helps them select the most qualified applicant for each new franchise. The company is in the "business of caring" and looks for franchisees who will reflect that mission.

Got kids? Chances are they need a lot of stuff including clothing, toys, birthday party entertainment, before and after school care, tutoring and extracurricular activities. The child-related franchise sector is growing almost as fast as your kids are. Children's Orchard knows kids grow fast and out-grow even faster. The company's chain of resale stores and boutiques specializes in "gently used" children's clothing, furniture, toys and merchandise. To keep young children up to speed in the information age CompuChild franchises provide early computer education to preschool children. For whole-child development, The Little Gym focuses on feeding the child's physical, social and intellectual needs. This franchise company offers gymnastics, karate and sports-skills development classes. It also provides birthday party entertainment, operates summer camps and sponsors craft adventures and parents' night-outs.

Computers are brilliant when they work and unbelievably maddening when they don't. Unfortunately, most computer users don't have the skills or the time to solve their own tech woes. Show Me PCs provides one-on-one in-home and at work computer training services. Franchisees are trained to teach clients how to effectively use their computers for a variety of basic and advanced tasks. Computer Troubleshooters is a rapidly growing franchise network that aims to take the headaches out of owning a computer. The company's franchisees provide hardware repair, networking services, software and security consulting, diagnostics, Web-site development and other computer services to small businesses. Geeks on Call specializes in providing on-site computer service, repair, upgrades, networking and training to businesses that don't have in-house tech support departments. Franchisees of Friendly Computers are equipped to provide similar services to everyone from people setting up their first home systems to large corporations that need additional tech training and support.