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Women in franchising

Written by: Diarmuid Kieran

Article Overview: Women making progress in franchising industry.

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.

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Any franchising horror story? - I am always writing about the benefits of franchising in this forum. Although I don't own a franchise I do believe in franchising is a great business model. Do any of you have horror stories to share about franchising?
Re: STARBUCK - Licensing vs Joint venture - [quote="bmueller47":czemqiul]I often come here to learn something, therefore I would like to know what is the real practical difference between licensing and franchising. I might have an answer, but you are at the forefront with your knowledge.[/quote:czemqiul] Very good question. Although I am not an attorney, I will do my best to highlight what I believe are the main differences between franchising and licensing. First, here in the US, franchising is very regulated buy the Federal Trade Commission. Not anyone can franchise, you have to go through various steps. Licensing doesn't come with as much regulation. The franchisee can expect to have a very close relationship with his franchisor. In most cases, the franchisor will offer training, and on-going support. The franchisee will be able to use the franchisor's copyrights, trademarks, logo and so on. The franchisee is like the public face of the franchisor. This is I think the high value of franchising. Also, a franchise agreement will most likely define territories. The relationship between the licensee and the licensing company is much looser. In most cases, the licensee won't be able to retain the rights to trademarks, company name, etc and will have to establish his own identity in the marketplace. Licensees rarely get a protected territory which means you next door neighbor could be your competitor... Obviously, franchising is more expensive than licensing because you get a certain "safety". Again, franchising is highly regulated whereas licensing is not. There are many other differences between franchising and licensing but I think these are the main ones.
Re: History of Women in Business in the United States - Yes. Women have increasingly made positive economic contributions to society and their position is being recognized more and more as seen on the Forbes List of Executive Women. In general, women can be a bit more practical in their approach as entrepreneurs too.
A ton of Great Women - You might want to profile Teresa Cascioli of LakePort Brewery. She has an amazing story! I met her at at the celebratory luncheon for the Profit/Chatelaine Top 100 Women Business Owners. The Top 100 list is also a great resource for inspirational stories of Women Entrepreneurs.
Re: Are entrepreneur women more organized than men? - Women are generally more organised than men. They have good instincts more than men. Women are generally aggressive when it come to business. You don't want to mess up with them.


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