New Delhi: Are you tired of being commanded all the time, under exhausting working hours and poor salaries? Well, it's high time you turned the tables around and become the boss yourself.

Starting a business though is a challenging task, but with a numerous franchisee options available, you can start operating right away with increased chances of getting early returns.

An engineer from IIT Mumbai, Rajat never dreamt, he would be selling cookies as a profession. But Rajat is not complaining. After working with firms like ICICI bank and Iflex, he wanted to start his own business. That's when he heard of 'Cookieman'. The Australian cookie giant was looking for franchisees and Rajat bite the bait.

"My life has changed a lot. Earlier I was working for ICICI bank, iflex for 8 hours, and now I work till late night. But it's fun because as I am working for my own firm. I am not sharing my earnings with anyone," said Rajat Mathur Franchisee, Cookie Man.

Take the Road Less Traveled

• Sarath Babu IIM A grad turned down a job offer of Rs 8.5 lakh from an IT firm to set up his own catering company.
• Vardan Kabra, 24, from IIM-A said no to pre-placement offer of Rs 7 lakh from Procter and Gamble to set up a primary school.
• Mansur Nazimuddin from IIM-A refused an offer of $100,000 from a leading investment bank to start his own business.
• Kunal Mahipal from IIM Bangalore last year opted out of the placement process to go the entrepreneurial way.
• In 2006, 6 students of IIM Lucknow opted out of placement, to start IndigoEdge, a company, that exploits medical tourism opportunities in the country.

Franchising, which comprises of less than 2 percent of retailing, has grown by 30 per cent in the last two-years. In simple terms a franchisee sets up shop with his personal investments under the name of a big brand. He gets the brand's products at a discounted rate and the margin he collects is his profit from the business.

"The benefit to us is that the shop will run according to our strategy but we don't need to put any investments," says Nitin Khanna Manager, Spiker Jeans.

From a minimum investment of Rs 2 lakhs stretching to crores., the money depends on the business you want to start. There is opportunity in nearly every sector from Mcdonalds, Pizza hut to Levis and Adidas.

But there is a note of caution, be very careful before selecting your brand and the kind of business you want to sell. While the profits can be limitless, you might have to bear the losses all by your own.