As regular readers will know, I have been involved in any number of different business ideas over the years, but more recently I have focused on international trade. Although I do sometimes act as an agent, mostly I buy and sell. I have got the financial resources to do this and, of course, the margins are considerably better. Anyway, for some time I have been trying to think of something I could trade in that wouldn't require a huge amount of capital. Something intangible. Something that would, ideally, lead to some sort of ongoing revenue stream without me having to do any extra work. As you may imagine, I have been struggling with this challenge for a considerable period of time but to no avail.

What I was looking for was the Holy Grail of import and export. Something that:

What I came up with in the middle of the night a few months ago (thank heavens for insomnia) was the idea of importing franchises. Ah ha, you may be thinking to yourself, he is going to acquire the master franchise for a territory and then recruit individual franchisees. Not at all. I am getting far too old in the tooth to set up franchised businesses. Furthermore, master franchises for anything worth having cost a small fortune. No, my plan was and is to go to successful franchise companies in the US and offer to sell their master franchises for them in other territories. So far - and I have only been at it since the beginning of January - I am doing jolly well. I have identified about a dozen franchise operations in the US that I think would work well in other countries where I do business anyway. These include, as you would expect, Australia, Singapore, the UK and Ireland.

At the moment, I am still striking deals with the individual US franchisors, but the sort of arrangements I am looking at are like this:

I am not, for reasons that are obvious, willing to reveal the different franchise companies I am speaking to. However, I am willing to tell you about the ones I researched and then rejected. There is nothing wrong with these businesses - I can assure you. In fact, if I had more time, I would pursue them as well. The situation is that I have got plenty on my plate (bear in mind I pretty much run a one-man band) and none of the franchised businesses that follow happen to tie in with anything I already do. Indeed, in selecting my dozen operators I was careful to pick companies with which I felt a natural synergy.

One of the things that you will notice about my 'reject' list is that none of them has yet moved internationally. This is an important point. The companies I am talking to can barely cope (for the most part) with their US and Canadian expansions. Therefore, my offer to look after everything for them in overseas territories was extremely welcome. It requires very little work (at least initially) on their part. Only when they sign a master franchisor for each territory will they have to do something. And, at that point, they will have a huge wedge of cash to cover the cost. Ingenious, if I say so myself.

So, which ones didn't I decide to approach? Before I tell you, there's one further point. If you are not interested in the concept of importing/exporting master franchises, you may be interested in these opportunities for yourself. For they are all, in my opinion, businesses with enormous potential. OK, enough blabber, here is the list.

As far as I know, there really isn't an equivalent type of company here in the UK, yet. Basically, Environmental Waste Solutions have capitalised on the growing need that every business owner has to control their waste and recycling costs. They have developed a proven system of finding errors in waste disposal bills. If you are one of their franchisees, you then share 50% of every dollar that is recovered from these mistakes. Thanks to legislation in the EU, Australia and elsewhere, this is bound to be a huge growth area in the future, though I suspect it may be a bit early to launch right now. If you want to learn more, visit the company's website at www.environmental-waste.com.

Providing care for the elderly in their own homes has become a huge, highly profitable business in the US. There are any number of national franchise operations in the sector. I quite like the look of a firm called Home Instead and another called Visiting Angels. However, the firm I rate the highest is called Synergy Home Care. Synergy Home Care are a franchise business opportunity that provide in-home, non-medical care to individuals who require daily living assistance. Hourly, daily, weekly and 24/7 service is available 365 days per year to clients, including the elderly and multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's sufferers and those with other mobility-affecting diseases. They also look after disabled children and adults, individuals undergoing chemotherapy or battling other diseases that sap their strength and individuals convalescing following strokes, injuries and surgery.

Synergy Home Care are still relatively new (the company was only founded in 2002 and franchising began in 2005) but are on target to sell 300 US franchises within the next five years. I understand international master franchises have already been sold in Canada and Japan but nowhere else yet. To discover more, visit their website at www.synergyhomecare.com.

A very clever business is Battery Doctors. Basically, they carry every imaginable type of specialised battery - and they sell them at highly competitive prices. What's more, the franchisees don't need to open a shop - they can actually work from home. This is not an expensive franchise for anyone to buy, and I think it has got great potential. If you want to discover more, visit their website at www.batterydoctors.com.

Last year, I visited a very bright, cheerful, family-friendly, laidback hamburger joint called The Counter in Santa Monica, California. I was so impressed that I decided to investigate the firm further. I discovered that it was opened by a man called Jeff Weinstein and that I wasn't alone in thinking it produced a jolly good burger. The Counter was featured in GK magazine: "20 hamburgers you must eat before you die" and also - believe it or not - on the Oprah Winfrey Show. What makes the restaurant slightly different is that as a customer you can build your own beef, chicken, turkey, veggie, salmon or Ahi tuna burger with a list of mouth-watering ingredients, including ten cheeses, 26 toppings, 17 unique sauces and eight types of bun. Now The Counter is going national. The development rights have been sold to 60 restaurants scheduled to open throughout California over the next three years. To my mind it is a concept that will - sooner or later - travel overseas. Maybe you'll be the one to make it happen. Your first stop should be their website at www.thecounterburger.com.

Custom engraving using laser equipment is big business in the States. A machine costing around $10,000 can engrave and cut photos, art, logos and much, much more on almost anything you care to name from wood to glass and from plastic to stone. One of the biggest machine producers is Epilog Laser Product Line, and you can discover more about them if you visit their website at www.epiloglaser.com. You may also like to consider a firm called SCM. Their website is www.scmart.com. Neither seems to have plugged into the idea of selling its products overseas.

Kid to Kid is a national franchise that specialises in buying and selling gently used children's products and maternity items and is now based in 56 stores in 16 states and also - for some inexplicable reason - in Portugal! Its founder, Shauna Sloan, recently said: "Kid to Kid is really changing the way that consumers think of second-hand stores. Most of our stores are located in up-scale neighbourhoods. The design of our stores is also different from most second-hand outlets. Kid to Kid stores are bright, attractive and organised along the lines of a Gap or other fashion stores. We purchase high-quality products in mint condition, including toys, clothing, car seats, strollers, high chairs and cribs from parents whose families have simply outgrown these items." Interested? Visit their website at www.kidtokid.com.

The name pretty much says it all. Founded in 1992, franchising began in 1994. The company offers - direct to the customer - a wide array of high-quality blinds, shutters and more. It is not cheap to buy a Budget Blinds franchise - which is good news if you are selling the master franchise to different countries around the world. To learn more, check out their website at www.budgetblinds-franchise.com.

Found Value is a leading national network of independent e-specialists who sell merchandise online for individuals, businesses and not-for-profit organisations. This is not an expensive opportunity, but I think it could reach a very large market. If you want to learn more, check out their website at www.foundvalue.com.

Fetch Pet Care basically provide reliable, experienced sitters for pets so that they can be left at home when their owners are away. It was founded by someone called Paul Mann in 2002 and has experienced incredibly rapid growth. The San Francisco Bay Area franchise alone employs 80 staff and looks after 900 clients. If you would like to know more, visit their website at www.fetchpetcare.com.

Our Town is a franchise business in which you will welcome new residents to a community. You make money by providing a welcome package that consists of coupons and gift certificates from local businesses (which, of course, pay you for this opportunity to reach new customers). Revenue (not sales) for Our Town hit $6.5 million last year, and the company intends to have 100 franchisees by the end of 2007. This is an unusual opportunity - I don't think anything like this service exists anywhere except in the United States - but I do think that it is a good one. To learn more, visit their website at www.ourtownamerica.com/franchise.

What a fantastic name for a company! This is a business opportunity that teaches you how to make money providing entertainment services. According to the company, "We teach you how to offer quality entertainers for both business and family functions including birthday parties, grand openings, special events and seasonal promotions. All characters are capable of performing magic, face painting, balloon artistry and much, much more." You will get a great feel for the company if you visit their website at www.mypartyforaliving.com.

Child obesity is a huge problem in the developed world. It is a challenge for both parents and educationalists to find creative ways to instil healthy routines into children. Responding to the growing concern about childhood health and fitness, JumpBunch - a franchise dedicated to nurturing active lifestyles in kids through the fun of sports - meets a very real need. One of the things I particularly like about the business is the fact that you don't have to invest an enormous amount of money in premises. You can run JumpBunch anywhere and there is very little start-up cost. If you would like to know more, visit their website at www.jumpbunch.com.

Here is another fantastic idea. FaceLogic is the first luxury spa experience everyone can afford. Developed by the retired Curves president Gary Findley, FaceLogic offer a range of spa services and products at about half of the normal average price. Not surprisingly, the concept is going 'gangbusters'. The FaceLogic concept is simple: provide high-quality skin-care services and signature products at an affordable price. If you would like to know more, visit their website at www.facelogicspa.com.

For decades, consumers have consistently searched for ways to make preparing dinner an easier task. The mission has become even more challenging where both parents are juggling careers, a heavier workload at home and shuttling children to and from after-school activities. Frozen ready meals, takeaways and fast-food restaurants are all options. For the founders of Let's Eat, none of these options was appropriate. Instead they came up with the idea of an immaculately designed commercial kitchen and a TV cooking show set. Each Let's Eat unit ranges from 1,300 to 1,600 square feet and includes seven to 14 food-preparation stations with all the ingredients, utensils and accessories customers need to prepare their meals from the Let's Eat menu, which changes monthly. In a two-hour session, customers can make eight to 10 dinners, all of which can be frozen and cooked later. Each dish serves four to six people at about $3 per serving. So 12 meals cost about $199. Customers register for day or evening, week day or weekend sessions at a special website www.letseatdinner.com. The same website will tell you all about the franchise opportunity.

As I say, I believe all of the above offer a fantastic opportunity for either (a) someone looking for something to import/export or (b) someone looking for a good business idea to start or copy. I'd be pleased to hear from anyone interested in pursuing these opportunities further.