Could a Franchise Be Your Family’s College Alternative?

For generations, the roadmap for parents was fairly straightforward:

Graduate from high school. Go to college. Earn a degree. Start a career.

But as the cost of higher education continues to rise, more families are asking a different question:

Is sending every child directly to a four-year university automatically the best investment we can make in their future?

That answer does not have to be anti-college.

College can be an excellent investment for students pursuing careers that require a degree. But when families begin looking seriously at the cost of paying for college, it makes sense to consider other possibilities as well.

One of those possibilities may be business ownership.

Instead of viewing the decision as college versus no college, or framing it as a strict franchise vs college either-or, some families may want to consider a combination of options:

For the right family, a home service franchise could potentially become part of that conversation.

Not because owning a franchise guarantees a particular financial outcome—it doesn’t—but because the amount a family may spend educating two children can be substantial enough that it deserves to be compared with other long-term investments.

The numbers can be shocking.

According to the College Board, the average published tuition and fees for an in-state student attending a public four-year university during the 2025–26 academic year are approximately $11,950 per year.

But tuition is only part of the expense.

When housing, food, books, transportation and other expenses are included, the College Board estimates the average annual student budget for an in-state student attending a public four-year university at approximately $30,990 per year.

That means the estimated four-year cost looks something like this:

That is nearly a quarter-million dollars for two children using today’s national averages.

And that assumes both students finish in four years and attend public universities at approximately the national average.

The actual number could be significantly higher or lower depending on the school, scholarships, financial aid, living arrangements and other factors.

Tuition alone is substantial.

At today’s average public-university tuition and fee rate:

$11,950 × 4 years × 2 children = $95,600

So even before considering housing, meals, books, transportation and other expenses, a family could be looking at almost $100,000 in tuition and fees alone.

That raises an important question.

Imagine a family with two teenagers approaching college age.

The parents have spent years saving money. Perhaps they have college savings accounts, investments, home equity or other resources available to help their children get started.

The traditional plan might be:

Spend much of that capital paying for four years of college for each child.

But there may be another way to frame the conversation:

What combination of education, work experience and business ownership could give our children the strongest foundation for adulthood?

One possibility could be investing part of that capital in a home service franchise.

Home service businesses can include industries such as cleaning, painting, restoration, lawn and landscape services, home maintenance, moving services and many others.

The required investment varies dramatically from one franchise to another.

For illustration only, imagine a home service franchise opportunity with a total initial investment of approximately $150,000.

Compare that with the estimated cost of sending two children to public four-year universities.

This is not an apples-to-apples financial comparison.

College is an educational expense.

A franchise is a business investment carrying substantial risks, operating responsibilities and no guarantee of profitability or return of capital.

But the comparison illustrates why some families may want to broaden the conversation.

A family preparing to allocate nearly $250,000 toward higher education may want to ask whether some portion of those resources could also be used to create practical business experience and an entrepreneurial opportunity for the family.

This is perhaps the most important point.

Considering college alternatives doesn’t necessarily mean eliminating college.

The better answer for some families may be a hybrid approach.

Instead of immediately sending a student away to a four-year university, a student could potentially:

Attend a local community college for the first two years.

Work part-time in the family’s business.

Complete general education requirements at a lower tuition rate.

Learn customer service, marketing, sales, operations and financial responsibility firsthand.

Then transfer to a four-year university to complete a bachelor’s degree if that remains the right path.

The College Board reports average published tuition and fees of approximately $4,150 per year for an in-district public two-year college in 2025–26.

Compare that with $11,950 at a public four-year university.

For tuition and fees alone, a two-year community college plus two-year public university strategy would look approximately like this:

Those are national averages and don’t include differences in financial aid, housing or other costs, but they demonstrate why community college deserves serious consideration in discussions about paying for college.

Another possibility is for a son or daughter to attend school while working in the family business.

Think about the experience a young person could potentially gain.

They might learn how to:

Those are useful skills whether the student eventually becomes an entrepreneur, joins corporate America or pursues an entirely different career.

And unlike a typical summer job, working inside a family-owned business can potentially expose a young adult to how an entire business operates.

There is also a tendency to assume that an 18-year-old must immediately know what he or she wants to do professionally.

Many don’t.

A student might spend tens of thousands of dollars pursuing a degree before deciding that the original career choice wasn’t right.

Working in a business for a year could provide a very different education.

Imagine an 18-year-old spending a year learning:

Sales. Marketing. Customer service. Operations. Leadership. Accounting basics. Hiring. Technology. Time management.

At the end of that year, college may still be the right answer.

In fact, the student may enter college with a clearer idea of why they’re there and what they want to study.

For another student, entrepreneurship or a skilled career may turn out to be the better fit.

The goal shouldn’t necessarily be avoiding college.

The goal should be making an intentional decision instead of assuming there is only one acceptable path.

There are thousands of franchise concepts available, ranging from restaurants and retail businesses to professional services and home services.

For families interested in entrepreneurship, home service franchises can be particularly interesting to explore because many of them do not require a traditional storefront.

Depending on the franchise, the business may be operated from a small office, commercial space or other approved location and may use vehicles or mobile crews to provide services at customers’ homes.

The franchisor may also provide systems covering areas such as:

Those systems don’t remove the risk of business ownership.

A franchisee still has to execute.

A franchise can fail. An owner may lose some or all of the money invested. Results vary significantly by franchise, territory, owner and market.

That is precisely why franchise research and due diligence matter.

There is an important distinction here.

The idea isn’t:

“Instead of sending my child to college, I’ll buy them a franchise.”

That could be a terrible idea if the child has no interest in entrepreneurship or the family hasn’t properly evaluated the business.

A better question is:

“Could owning a business give our family more options?”

Perhaps a parent initially operates the franchise.

Perhaps an adult child works in marketing during college.

Another might spend summers in field operations.

One could eventually have an interest in management.

Or none of the children may ultimately want to run the company at all.

The business should make sense based on its own merits, not because someone is trying to avoid college tuition.

It’s important not to confuse the two.

A college education can provide knowledge, credentials, professional networks and access to careers that would otherwise be unavailable.

A franchise provides the opportunity to operate a business using another company’s established brand and operating system.

Neither guarantees a financial outcome.

A degree does not guarantee a particular salary.

A franchise does not guarantee profitability.

Both require careful evaluation.

The difference is where the family’s capital is being deployed and what the family hopes to accomplish with it.

For families facing the challenge of paying for college, that is a conversation worth having.

Before automatically writing tuition checks—or buying a franchise—consider sitting down as a family and asking:

Does the career our child is considering actually require a four-year degree?

For medicine, engineering, accounting, law and many other professions, formal higher education may be essential.

For other careers, the answer may be less clear.

Does our child know what he or she wants to study?

If not, community college, work experience or a gap year with clear objectives may be worth considering.

What is the real four-year cost of the schools we’re considering?

Don’t look only at tuition. Calculate housing, food, transportation, fees and other expenses.

How much debt would the student or family need to take on?

A $30,000 decision and a $200,000 decision deserve different levels of scrutiny.

Would our child benefit from working in a business?

Some young adults thrive in entrepreneurial environments. Others don’t.

Are we interested in owning a business independent of the college question?

This is critical.

A franchise should stand on its own as a potential investment after careful due diligence.

Maybe the most interesting answer isn’t:

College OR franchise.

Maybe it’s:

Community college AND work experience.

Or:

College AND a family business.

Or:

Business experience first, college later.

Or even:

Four-year university because it’s clearly the right investment for that particular child.

Families now have more options than the traditional one-size-fits-all model suggests.

And with the estimated cost of sending two children through four years at today’s average public university approaching $250,000, those alternatives deserve thoughtful consideration.

A franchise investment shouldn’t be made because college seems expensive.

Prospective franchise owners should investigate the business carefully.

That includes reviewing the Franchise Disclosure Document, speaking with existing and former franchisees, understanding the required investment, evaluating the territory, investigating financing options and determining whether the business fits the owner’s skills, lifestyle and objectives.

And there is no single “best franchise.”

The right opportunity depends on the individual.

That’s where working with an experienced franchise consultant can help.

At Good Guys Franchise Consulting, we help prospective franchise owners explore franchise opportunities based on their goals, experience, lifestyle, interests and investment criteria.

Our goal isn’t to convince someone to buy a franchise.

It’s to help determine whether franchising makes sense in the first place—and, if it does, identify concepts worth investigating further.

If your family is thinking about paying for college, exploring college alternatives, or wondering whether entrepreneurship could be part of your family’s future, we can have that conversation.

There is no obligation to buy a franchise, and for candidates exploring franchise opportunities through Good Guys Franchise Consulting, my franchise consulting service is provided at no cost to the candidate.

Schedule a conversation with Good Guys Franchise Consulting to explore whether franchise ownership belongs on your family’s list of options.

It depends on the family and the child. A franchise is a business investment with its own risks and no assurance of profitability, while college provides credentials and access to certain careers. For some families, allocating part of their available capital toward a franchise alongside, or instead of, a portion of college costs is worth evaluating alongside traditional higher education, not as an automatic replacement for it.

Rather than treating it as a strict either-or choice, many families find a hybrid path works best: community college paired with work experience, a four-year degree combined with time in a family business, or business experience first with college considered later. The right mix depends on the child’s goals, the cost of the schools being considered, and whether the family is independently interested in business ownership.

Yes. Working in a family-owned or franchised business can expose a young adult to sales, marketing, customer service, scheduling, financials and leadership, skills that are useful whether that person later pursues a degree, joins a company, or runs a business of their own. Some students find this experience helps them decide what to study if and when they do enroll in college.

No, and that framing is a mistake. A franchise should be evaluated on its own merits as a business investment, not as a stand-in for a career plan for one specific child. Family members may take on different roles over time, or none at all, and the business still needs to make sense independent of the college decision.

Families should look at whether the child’s intended career actually requires a four-year degree, the real four-year cost of the schools under consideration, how much debt would be involved, and whether the family has genuine interest in business ownership apart from the cost comparison. For a franchise specifically, that research should include the Franchise Disclosure Document, conversations with current and former franchisees, and an honest look at the required investment and territory.

Good Guys Franchise Consulting works with individuals and families evaluating franchise ownership as part of their long-term financial and career planning. My role is to help prospective candidates understand their options, evaluate franchise opportunities objectively, and determine whether business ownership fits their goals, experience and resources.

Eric Silver works directly with candidates throughout the research process, from narrowing down concepts that match their criteria to understanding the Franchise Disclosure Document and the obligations that come with ownership. This service is provided at no cost to the candidate, and there is no obligation to move forward with any particular opportunity.

For families weighing decisions like paying for college against building a business, that kind of objective, independent guidance can make the difference between a decision based on assumptions and one based on genuine due diligence.

If your family is weighing the cost of paying for college against the possibility of business ownership, the next step is a straightforward conversation about your goals, experience and resources, with no obligation and no cost to you.

**Book a Free Consultation** with Good Guys Franchise Consulting to start exploring whether franchising belongs on your family’s list of options.

Franchise ownership involves risk. This article does not make or imply any representation regarding franchise revenue, profitability, investment returns, or the ability of a franchise to fund educational expenses.

The cost comparisons in this article are grounded in the following sources and figures:

Readers considering either path should rely on the original College Board report for the most current national averages and on a specific franchise’s own FDD and franchisee interviews before making any investment decision.