Becoming a franchise owner is widely regarded as one of the best ways to dip one’s toes into the business world. By tapping into a proven business model, franchise owners can start a company with a leg up on the competition. But just like most enterprises in the business world, franchises too were mostly at the command of men until fairly recently. Luckily, as women have gradually gained better access to higher education and now have more chances to affirm themselves, they’ve also managed to make their way to the top of various companies.
In this climate, it’s fair to ask why a woman should go with franchising as her business model of choice. Well, it turns out that women by and large possess a series of traits and characteristics that make them ideally suited for managing such enterprises, including the following:
1. An inside knowledge of certain industries
While reverse stereotyping is just as bad as maintaining the same old cliches, it isn’t much of a stretch to say that women have more knowledge about certain aspects of life than men do. That being said, even if you don’t know everything there is to know about a certain procedure, or lack the necessary skills to do it yourself, remember that being a manager is about making things happen, not necessarily doing everything on your own. Passion, drive and an ability to manage are the only three things one needs in order to operate a successful franchise.
2. Great organizational ability
In general, women tend to be more thorough in their actions than men, who often disregard details in their pursuit of the big picture. But attention to details is an essential skill to have when first setting up a business, along with the ability to prioritize well and think things through both short-term and long-term. The potential for women to be great managers isn’t even debatable at this point, not with the likes of Sheryl Sandberg and Sara Blakely proving themselves as top-notch leaders for some of the world’s greatest companies.
3. The ability to adapt
In this day and age, things tend to change and fluctuate at an incredibly rapid pace. New challenges appear on the horizon every day, whether it’s improving a company’s social media presence or developing cutting-edge marketing strategies that will allow you to compete with the big boys. In such circumstances, simply leaving things as they are won’t cut it. A good franchise operator knows how to stay with the times and can adapt on the fly whenever a shift in gears is required.
4. Excellent communication skills
Some old wives’ tales turn out to be true in the end. Throughout history, women have been considered to be better communicators than men, and recently studies have been carried out that prove this hypothesis. Of course knowing how to communicate is paramount when doing business, which is why so many women have made a name for themselves in areas such as marketing or PR. All these communication and networking skills will definitely come in handy when setting up a franchise, and can definitely help your business stand out from the crowd.
5. A pragmatic approach to doing business
In our current economic climate, all companies need a steady hand in order to avoid going under. But new businesses in particular are susceptible to the market’s various ups and downs. Fortunately, female business owners have been known to err on the conservative side when doing business, which often allows them to start small and grow at an organic pace. This kind of pragmatic but nonetheless ambitious way of thinking is perfectly suited for opening, operating and growing a successful franchise.
Takeaway
As you can see, there are numerous areas in which women excel that qualify them for the position of franchise owners. Of course, running such an enterprise also means accessing the various tools and training sessions made available by the franchise’s parent company, which will often do everything in its power to give its partners every chance to succeed. For all these reasons and more, there has never been a better time to get into franchising as a female entrepreneur.