FRANCHISING FEATURE ARTICLES
Franchising appeals to more women
Franchising is a popular business model in Australia for couples, and is becoming even more popular with women operating franchises in their own right, as Johanna Baker-Dowdell reports.THE LATEST Franchising Australia Survey shows female franchisees, who independently own their franchise business, account for 17 per cent of all franchisees. This figure has risen from 11 per cent in 2006 and means there are more than 12,000 female-run franchises units in Australia.
Stephanie Walls owns a Worldwide Online
Printing franchise, and is one of a
rapidly growing number of female franchise
owners.This increase over the past few years can be attributed to a number of factors: many women consider self-employment as a way to balance the needs of career and family; franchising is flexible and allows creativity within the bounds of the franchise agreement; many franchises can be started with minimal investment and the model encourages franchisees to grow their small business with franchisor support.
Karmen Wakelin and Kylie Leopold started as endota spa franchisees in Adelaide CBD, just over four years ago. They recently opened their third unit in Hyde Park after the success of their second, which opened in the Barossa Valley wine region in October 2006. With an annual turnover of $1.7 million in 2008 from two spas, revenues are projected to rise this year to 2.5 million with their third spa in operation.
As newcomers to franchising in 2004, franchisor support was a big drawcard for both women when they considered going into business together. Wakelin said “We decided to join a franchise as we were new to the wellness and beauty industry and we felt the support of a franchise would be beneficial. Plus we recognised that we would be able to open the business a lot faster, rather than opening an independent business.”
Their positive relationship with their franchisor works both ways. Wakelin said her franchisor helped her and Kylie find a site to open their business, gave fit-out guidelines and recommended suppliers to undertake the work. The franchisor also offers marketing support, runs a national gift voucher program, distributes key supplies, negotiates supplier discounts, developed its own product range and provided training and operational support. “When we first joined the endota spa it was in its infancy and we received minimal support, however endota as a network has grown considerably over the past five years and the support has improved tenfold.”
With its female slant, the beauty industry is not an unusual place to find women business owners. Wakelin said working with female founders and a majority of female franchisees has been beneficial for her business with Kylie. “We tend to be working with a network of like-minded young women who are at the same stage of life. We share similar goals and have young families so are attempting to achieve a quality work/life balance.”
Customer relations skills
Printing industry franchisee, Stephanie Walls, said female franchisees were treated differently in the printing industry, which is traditionally a male-dominated field. “Customer relations and relationship building have been a big part of my success, rather than just wanting order. I’ve just added a different aspect [to the business].”
Walls owns a Worldwide Online Printing at Hamilton, Queensland. “All the men [in the network] respect my experience and some even call me for advice,” she added.
Walls can draw on lengthy experience in the printing arena as a Worldwide Online Printing franchisee since July 2003 and 10 years working as a printing sales representative beforehand. Walls’ industry experience speaks for itself. “I grew up in a family business and always had aspirations to own my own,” she said. “I felt that I had the drive to be successful.”
When it came time to become a business owner herself, she chose Worldwide because of the brand’s “business model, low in-store capital requirements and excellent quality-driven products. I chose a franchise that had a ‘family’ feel, as it was my first time in business and I wanted to know that I would have the support from the "franchisor and also from fellow franchisees.” The support includes mentoring programs, effective communication, franchisee meetings, problem solving, technical help and a sharing mentality.
Like Walls, drive and motivation are two factors that Irene Eboli credits as being the key to her success as a franchisee. “Drive, motivation, work ethic, level of communication and that hunger to “succeed,” she said. Irene owns five Shaver Shop units jointly with her husband Tino Eboli and sister-in-law Lorey Brown in Sydney. They started with an existing store in Chatswood in August 2000.
