Committed to promoting and advancing the achievements of women in franchising and small business, the FCA announced the inaugural Whirlwind Women in Franchising Conference (Thursday 11 October) to be held during the National Franchise and Small Business Convention (NFC07) in Melbourne.

CEO of the Franchise Council of Australia, Richard Evans said there are good female role models working in franchising and there is now more evidence that women are moving in as franchise owners with almost 11 percent of franchised units owned solely by females and a further nine percent owned with a partner but predominately operated by the woman.
"Women see opportunities in franchising to build a business in a way that they can't in the corporate world where a glass ceiling type mentality exists.

"Their communication skills are a valuable competency within the franchising style of relationship based business," Evans said.

Roundtables and panel discussions at The Whirlwind Women in Franchising Conference will explore the women and franchising mix, providing financial, educational and recruitment tips for women in Australia's franchising sector. For registration details visit http://nfc.franchise.org.au/

Sisters are doing it for themselves at bb's café!
bb's café’s amazing female franchisees are devoted to their stores and strive to achieve their business goals and targets. Over the recent years, bb's cafe has seen an increase in individual or groups of women buying and operating their own bb's cafe franchise.

These motivated women are the driving force behind the success of their business and own some of the most successful stores in the bb's cafe franchise system.

The bb's cafe Chermside franchisees, Jennifer and Vivian, are a prime example of this. Since opening their store at Westfield Chermside in December, they have managed to position themselves as one of the system’s top performing stores. These business-savvy women are dedicated to their franchise and have thrived in the bb's cafe system.

bb's cafe Stafford owner, Sarah, is another one of the system’s successful female franchisees. Since acquiring the bb's cafe Stafford store in 2006, she has dedicated herself to her business and as a result now owns one of the top performing franchises. Her dedication to her store and her ability to excel in the bb's cafe system is a credit to her determination.

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For Michelle Turner, running her own business had never been on the cards. Yet when the opportunity arose to become part of the Bakers Delight network, she jumped at the chance and has never looked back.

That was 1993, and 14 years on Michelle has been involved with seven Bakers Delight franchises to date. She currently owns two very successful businesses in Wellington Village and Mountain Gate located in Melbourne's southeastern suburbs.

“I had a successful career in payroll administration, working for the largest companies in Australia, yet I was looking for a way to escape the daily grind,” explains Michelle.

As a Bakers Delight franchisee, Michelle has been able to create a chosen lifestyle without the constraints of a nine-to-five job.

Particularly now, with two young girls aged 11 and seven years old, Michelle relishes the flexibility that operating her own business offers. 

“At a time where there is so much discussion about working mothers, I feel lucky that I’ve been able to step away from the business to bring up my young children, and to re-enter the workforce when I was ready.

If I hadn’t decided to go out on my own and invest in a franchise I never would have been able to have the flexibility I have now as a small business owner.”

Michelle’s advice to potential franchisees:  “Staff are the cornerstone to the success of your business. A happy team means happy customers.”

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Dynamic Women find franchising success pampering pooches

Women franchisees mean business at Aussie Pooch Mobile (APM) and the statistics speak for themselves.  APM comprises over 65% women.

And they are extremely successful women at that, collectively winning numerous awards including Franchisee of the Year/Franchisee Woman of the Year on a national and state basis, Telstra Business awards and Consumer community voted awards.

Karen Garner from Victoria explains why she purchased a franchise in 1996.

“While I wanted to be able to run my own business I had no idea where to start. The whole concept of what Aussie Pooch Mobile offered to their customers appealed to me, as well as the fact that it was all set out for me in the operator’s manual. I could see the incredible success of other women franchisees that were in the similar circumstances of running a business while raising young children. Because they had proven it could be done, made it an easy decision to enter the franchising sector.”

Today Karen manages a team of successful franchisees, helps out with the marketing of the overall business and balances her family and leisure time. She has also placed as a finalist in Franchisee of the Year.

So at APM it’s ‘secret women’s business’ but men are also more than welcome.

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