The Perfect Fit:
Women & Franchising
by
Darcie
Harris
An interesting combination of factors at this time in history
may be the reason so many women are turning to franchising to
fulfill their entrepreneurial desires. Women’s increased
financial power, better education, and corporate experience,
combined with their desire for more autonomy and desire to
connect with others who share their values make franchising a
great fit for many women.
Women are better educated now than ever. They have accumulated
considerable corporate experience. After years in the corporate
world they are tired of being locked into super-human schedules
which often include brutal hours and travel obligations. They
have grown weary of corporate politics, the corporate craziness
of power struggles and meaningless competitive games. They are
bored with unchallenging positions. They long for greater
autonomy, flexibility and control of their schedules. They begin
to hear that entrepreneurial voice, saying “You’re smarter and
more capable than 90% of the management team – why not use your
talents to run your own show?” or, “I’ve paid my dues and now
it’s time to do work that I love, work that feeds my soul.” or,
“Why am I working myself to a frazzle to build equity in someone
else’s business? Why not build equity in my own?” But women can also feel a note of caution about business
ownership. They might begin to wonder if starting their own
business will be even more demanding than working for someone
else. They may have heard horror stories of entrepreneurs that
worked day and night with little financial reward. Or they
wonder if they would miss the companionship of working with
colleagues; they want to be in business for themselves, but not
by themselves. They want to be business owners, and at the same
time they want to be faithful to family relationships and
responsibilities. Whether single or married, they don’t want to
take an unreasonable risk that could negatively effect their
family or their security. Franchising can often be the perfect
fit. Several characteristics unique to franchising make it
tremendously appealing to women. By nature women are relational,
they generally enjoy, in fact crave, opportunities to work with
others toward a shared goal. Women like to connect at a deeper
level, to feel that bond of shared experience. Experiencing
something in common with others is rewarding at a deep level.
Becoming a part of a franchise system meets this need. It offers
women a way to be connected with like-minded souls – you have a
built in team of franchise owners with whom you can connect.
You’re not alone. Once you sign the franchise agreement, you
become a part of a community. Starting any business is a risk, but buying a franchise
mitigates that risk for many women. Buying a franchise means you
are purchasing a proven model, along with training and
operations systems that have been tested and validated. You
don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Because it’s a proven model it
often accelerates the start-up phase, when a business can tax
even the most energetic entrepreneur. You don’t spend months or
years wondering if you’ll “make it.” You have the confidence
that if you follow the plan, the training, the systems, you are
highly likely to succeed. Franchising may help you be move more quickly to becoming
profitable. There are two primary functions in any business –
the developmental function and the implementation function. With
a franchise, the entire business concept development cycle has
been completed (not to mention paid for) by the franchisor. Once
you purchase a franchise, you start right in with the
implementation cycle. The majority of your time can be spent on
obtaining and keeping customers, not on determining what
customers really want and how to provide it. Imagine how many
months or years it would take you to come up with your own
viable concept -- the product, the services, the pricing, the
financial targets, the staffing plan, the entire marketing
package, the materials, the website, the sales plan, the sales
scripts, and everything else involved in creating a business –
perfecting everything as you go along, at the same time you’re
trying to generate business to pay for the development cycle.
Franchising launches you quickly into generating income. You
have completely developed and tested products and services to
sell. You have branding systems, marketing materials, and
operational processes completely developed for your immediate
implementation. Very likely, you’ll have access to a website.
Yes, you have to get your own customers; yes you have to work
hard; yes, you have to be networked in your own community. But
you can begin making the business work immediately and move more
quickly to being profitable. Which brings us back to not being alone – your franchisor wants
to see you succeed. Franchising gives you access to people who
know what it’s like to walk in your shoes who are invested in
your success. Most franchisors provide initial training and
ongoing mentoring through a variety of means. When you aren’t
sure how to handle a certain situation, you can pick up the
phone and call someone who has been there and done that. When
you have an exciting success, you can pick up the phone and call
someone who will be celebrating with you. For many women, franchising is a perfect fit and the most
congruent way to listen to that entrepreneurial voice.
© 2005 Darcie Harris Darcie Harris is co-founder of EWF International®, an Oklahoma
based firm providing peer advisory groups for women business
owners and executives. EWF International® franchises are
available throughout the Southwest. View this article and others
at http://www.ewfinternational.com.
darcie@ewfinternational.com
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