Every now and again, I read something that makes me stop and think: yes, this is exactly what I have been trying to explain.
A recent article by law firm Lewis Silkin, Franchising in 2026: Still a relevant route to market?, did that for me. Not because it revealed something completely new, but because it put into words what I have known, felt and been building towards for years.
The article makes the case that UK franchising is not only still relevant, but actively evolving. More importantly, it explains where that evolution is happening: away from only traditional high street models, and towards home based, digital, service led businesses that give people the ability to work for themselves with genuine infrastructure behind them.
For me, that is the part that matters most.
When I acquired the Activ network in 2021, I already knew franchising had to move in this direction. I had been a franchise partner myself, I understood the reality of building a business locally, and I could see that the old assumptions around franchising did not reflect where the strongest opportunities were starting to emerge.
People were not only looking for a shopfront, a van or a physical premises. They were looking for flexibility, credibility, recurring income, strong systems, trusted support and a way to build something of their own without having to figure out every single part of business ownership alone.
That is why, since 2021, we have been rebuilding Activ around that future.
Not because digital businesses suddenly became fashionable, but because I genuinely believed that the next major phase of franchising would be built around service led expertise, technology, infrastructure and human support.
The Lewis Silkin article references the fact that domestic franchising contributes £19.1 billion to the UK economy each year, with more than 1,000 franchise systems now operating across the country. It also highlights the British Franchise Association’s figure that the twenty year failure rate for franchised businesses sits below 6%.
Those numbers matter because they show something that still does not get enough attention. Good franchising is not a shortcut, and it should never be sold as easy, but it is a proven route into business ownership that gives people a stronger foundation than going completely alone.
For too long, franchising has been misunderstood as either fast food, high street retail or something people look at only when they want a complete career change. In reality, modern franchising can be one of the most powerful ways to help people step into entrepreneurship with structure, training, systems and support already around them.
That is exactly where Activ sits.
We exist because small businesses need proper marketing support, but they also need people who understand the reality of their local area, their community and their day to day challenges. At the same time, there are thousands of talented marketers, freelancers, consultants and career changers who could build brilliant marketing businesses, but who do not want to do it completely on their own.
They do not necessarily lack ambition. They do not lack ideas. They often do not even lack skill.
What they lack is infrastructure.
They lack the systems, processes, technology, delivery support, recurring revenue routes, training, mentoring and peer network that make business ownership feel more solid, more sustainable and more scalable.
That is why our Solo Power® approach has become such an important part of the way we talk about Activ.
SoloPower® is about recognising that many people want the independence of working for themselves, but they do not want the isolation that so often comes with it. They want the freedom of running their own business, but they also want the reassurance of proven systems, shared knowledge, central expertise and a wider brand behind them.
Since 2021, that has been the journey we have been on at Activ.
We have not simply been trying to grow a franchise network. We have been rebuilding what a marketing franchise can actually look like. That has meant developing better systems, clearer training, stronger central support, more structured client delivery, new subscription products, improved recurring revenue opportunities and a support model that reflects the real challenges people face when they are building a business.
AI and automation have made that mission even more powerful.
They have not replaced the human part of what we do. If anything, they have made it more important. They have allowed us to create smarter systems, reduce admin, improve consistency, speed up delivery and give our franchise partners and clients access to a level of support that would have been much harder to deliver even a few years ago.
That is why I feel so strongly that this is not just a trend. This is a revolution in how people can build businesses.
For marketing franchises in particular, the opportunity is huge. We are operating in a sector where demand from SMEs continues to grow, where the digital landscape changes constantly, and where local businesses need trusted guidance more than ever. But we are also in a sector where many solo marketers:
- burn out
- hit capacity ceilings
- struggle to scale because they are trying to be strategist, salesperson, account manager, designer, copywriter, tech expert and finance department all at once.
A strong franchise model changes that.
It gives people a way to keep the independence and ambition that made them want to work for themselves in the first place, but with the structure and backing that allows them to build something stronger.
That is why I was so pleased to see digital marketing agencies specifically referenced as one of the areas helping to lead the growth of franchising. For those of us who have been building in this space for years, it is a real moment of recognition.
And it is a definite win.
It is a win for people who want to build a business without starting from scratch. It is a win for local economies, because more confident business owners means more local relationships, more local support and more resilience. It is a win for SMEs, because they can access professional marketing support from someone who is close enough to understand them, but backed by a wider national agency network.
It is also a win for franchising itself, because it helps broaden the way people see the sector and moves the conversation beyond outdated assumptions.
This is not just about activ, although I am incredibly proud that we are leading the way for marketing franchises in the UK. It is about recognising that franchising has a much bigger role to play in the future of work, entrepreneurship and local business growth.
For the person still employed but quietly wondering whether there is another way, franchising can offer a bridge. For the freelancer who is brilliant at what they do but tired of holding everything together alone, franchising can offer structure. For the marketer or consultant who wants to scale without immediately building a full team, franchising can offer infrastructure.
That is why I feel excited by this moment.
The recognition is growing. The conversation is shifting. The old assumptions are starting to fall away. And the models rising now are more flexible, more digital, more service led and more relevant to the way people actually want to work.
At Activ, we have known this was coming, and since 2021 we have been building for it.
Now, with AI, automation, stronger systems and a growing need for trusted marketing support across the UK, the opportunity is greater than ever.
Franchising is changing, and I am proud to be part of that change, helping to lead the way for a new generation of marketing franchise owners who want independence, but not isolation; ambition, but not guesswork; and the chance to build something of their own with real support behind them.
