Women in franchising

Over the last decade, the number of women who have become franchisees either on their own or with a business or family partner has grown rapidly.

In the US, the number of women buying franchises is estimated to be close to the 38 per cent mark, which is the same percentage of women in the US who run their own small business.

Since 1995, the number of UK franchisers specifically targeting women to become franchisees has more than tripled and over the last few years, the amount of women owning a franchise has been above 20 per cent, according to annual franchise surveys by NatWest and the British Franchise Association (bfa).

In a recent Daily Express article, national franchise manager at NatWest Mark Scott said: "Attracting more women is something that the franchising industry has been trying to do for some time.

"Not only are they enjoying success as individual franchisees, but where they are providing support for partners who are franchisees, they are making a huge contributing to the success of the business."

The increase in women franchisees has stalled in the last two years, but the NatWest/bfa survey for 2006 indicates that many are doing very well. It said 60 per cent of women who solely run a franchise reported that they are highly profitable, compared with 43 per cent of men.

There are a number of attractions for women to become a franchisee and a large number of them will have useful skills to effectively manage their own business.

In some industries, it remains very difficult for women to reach high level positions and even though they are technically working for a company in a franchise situation, they have sole power or a significant say if setting one up with a partner on deciding how the business in run.

A franchise also gives women greater working flexibility, for example if they have children, and for women taking a career break to start a family, a franchise enables them to build up their skills once again with the security of a business structure and support in place from the franchiser.

There are many skills the franchising industry has identified in women that are important to developing a successful franchise. These include prioritising, taking great attention to detail, being very organised and efficient and having the ability to handle numerous tasks.

Therefore, it appears that if the female market can be tapped into even more, both they and the franchising industry stand to benefit.



Women in franchising - To learn more about this author, visit Diarmuid Kieran's Website.

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