Women in franchising
Editorial
More and more women are giving up their day jobs to take on the challenge of being their own boss, and Franchisors are reaping the rewards of this influx of extraordinary talent!
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Target Training is a national training organisation focused on staff training at all levels of the organisation from frontline staff to CEO’s. The delivery methods range from group sessions and one-on-one coaching sessions, to business audits,e-learning, distance mode and a blended approach. Target Training is a registered training organisation which means we can issue Australian recognised qualifications in Frontline Management, Business Management and Retail. They also produce and publish training manuals on various sales, service and leadership topics.
Earlier this year, Louise Targett, Managing Director recruited Sheevaun Gallacher, from Perth, as a result of business demand in this growing city. Sheevaun has all the traits of a successful franchisee while she has:
- business savvy
- time management and organisational skills
- a life-long learning approach
- a passion and positive attitude with everything she takes on.
While the Target Training support office in Sydney is an all-female team; they are slow and steadily proving that it’s the women making far greater steps forward than the males! Their male business managers and trainer/assessors appear to be enjoying rising up to the challenge!
The Target Training franchise is the first of its kind in the Australian market and is actively seeking franchisees in all states and regions around Australia.
First time franchisee drives phenomenal growth
After just three years as a first-time franchisee owner, Pauline Holmes has steered her Wendy’s Victoria Point store in South East Brisbane to success.
The results speak for themselves – Pauline recently won Wendy’s prestigious National Franchisee of the Year Award for 2006, has driven a 20% growth in sales in the last 12 months and is currently tracking an increase of 30% over the last quarter.
“Given that this is the first business I have owned, it’s wonderful to be in this position after just three years,” Pauline said.
“When it came to making the decision to buy the business, I did a lot of research including talking to several other Wendy’s owners as well as sitting down with my accountant who had previous experience with Wendy’s.
“In hindsight, it was a great decision and I couldn’t be happier.”
Pauline has applied a customer service background in the finance industry to her new role and largely attributes her success to an ongoing commitment to her local community.
“I support the local schools and sporting groups whenever I can and, while I think it’s a role that all local businesses should play, it has resulted in a large group of loyal customers who support my business in return,” Pauline said.
Testament to her success is the fact that Pauline recently became an “Accredited Franchise Trainer” to help share her knowledge and experience with new franchisees joining the system.
“Training is a challenging but great experience – if anything it benefits me because it keeps me on my toes!
“I’m also very passionate about customer service and my staff share that passion so it’s fantastic to have a positive and enthusiastic team behind me.
“I get a lot of support from my husband and two children and I really enjoy the freedom that comes with owning a business that doesn’t involve much out of hours work.
“In saying that, it has been three years of hard work but I’m really looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead and continuing to grow the business.”
Established 27 years ago, Wendy’s is one of Australia and New Zealand’s most successful franchises.
There are 300 Wendy’s stores across Australia and New Zealand putting smiles on the faces of three-quarters-of-a-million consumers every week.
Today more than 89% of Australians over the age of 13 recognise the Wendy’s brand.
Click here for more information on becoming a Wendy’s Franchisee
With no water, a long and proven history, superb results, and genuine environmental content – NoWet Waterless CarClean has been given the Australian Ecolabel for Environmentally Innovative Product and Service.
Leonie Weber of NoWet Waterless CarClean tells us: "As a woman in franchising I am proud of the women who have come on board with NoWet.
One of our top detailers is a woman in Perth. We headhunted Carlene from an imported car dealership to work in the Perth City Convention Centre Car Park for NoWet. Carlene has been detailing cars for almost 20 years and she is a consummate professional.
Where previously it took her two and a half hours to wash, chamois, wax, polish and fully detail a car, she now does a better job in 40 minutes using NoWet! But more importantly, she no longer gets headaches, feels tired or nauseous, because she is now using a genuine environmental product in NoWet and not the chemically filled ones she was using before.
She is so rapt in the results and how much better she feels, that she bought the franchise!
Many women have joined NoWet - and they chose us for the same reasons Carlene did and they do a fantastic job."
Click here for more information on becoming a NoWet Franchisee
Franchising’s a delight for this entrepreneurial woman
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.
“My husband was working for Bakers Delight head office, and one day came home excited about the potential opportunity for me to take the franchising route and go into business for myself.
“I didn’t even consider looking at any other franchise systems because Bakers Delight was such a well-known, trusted brand and every franchisee I spoke to said I’d be mad if I didn’t do it!”
When Michelle bought her first franchise in 1993, not only was franchising still a relatively new concept in Australia, but it was also still a very male-dominated sector. 
In fact, Michelle was one of a small handful of franchisees in the Bakers Delight network. Imagine the surprise when she was also the first woman to become a Bakers Delight multi-site franchisee.
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 credits her success as a franchisee to the support she receives from head office and other franchisees in the network.
“I could never have started my own business by myself, and that’s the beauty of franchising. It allows you to run your own business but with the support and experience of an established and proven system. As a franchisee I can tap into expert advice from marketing, sales and human resources just to name a few – we’re never left to go it alone. There is always someone there to assist us run the most successful business we can.
Michelle’s advice to potential franchisees is to focus on the development of staff and follow the systems.
“Staff are the cornerstone to the success of your business. A happy team means happy customers.
“If you tap into the resources provided by the Bakers Delight team, the systems, support and experience, the opportunities are endless.”
Sisters are doing it for themselves at bb's cafe
bb's cafe 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 are have managed to position themselves as one of the systems 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 systems 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.
Retail Food Group readily encourages their franchisee to excel in all areas of their business. Full training and a turn key operation is provided to allow all franchisees to shine in their chosen franchise system.
Dynamic Women find franchising success pampering pooches
Women franchisees mean business at Aussie Pooch Mobile (APM) and the statistics speak for themselves. While national figures show that only 20% of small businesses are owned by women and 11% of franchises bought by women, 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.
Founded in 1991 by a then 21-year-old Chris Taylor, today one of Australia’s most successful and influential business women, APM was the first franchise system of its kind, and is still the largest franchised dog wash and care company in the world with over 155 operators in Australia, United Kingdom, Malaysia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and the USA.
But what is the draw-card for women and why are they proving so successful?
“Aussie Pooch Mobile has been built on a basis of an extended family, both from our customer’s point of view with their dogs being an extended member of their families and our franchisees being part of the Aussie Pooch Family.
“This family business suits women with a passion for dogs, a caring nature and a will to succeed. As a mother of two I understand the need of today’s woman in the work place and have established support and ongoing training and development that allows women the opportunity to create a successful business while balancing their family and leisure time. Franchising is the ultimate business model to allow women the opportunity and confidence to create a business for themselves but not by themselves,” explains Taylor.
And it works, just ask Karen Garner from Victoria who 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.
“It is such an honour working with these dynamic women who are doing so incredibly well in their business,” says Taylor. “At APM we acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of these women and encourage others to take a chance and change their lives.”
So at APM it’s ‘secret women’s business’ but men are also more than welcome.