At ecomaids, the environmentally friendly cleaning franchise under the Happinest umbrella, entrepreneurs of all kinds are given the chance to pursue a new career path in the thriving home services market. Specifically, the brand is proud to empower women to own their own business. 

A great example of a woman who made the transition to business ownership with ecomaids is Tiffany Shearn, a franchisee in Washington state. Having spent about 17 years in business finance, Shearn worked for a handful of larger companies in the Pacific Northwest. As she began to get frustrated with the bureaucracy that comes with corporate work, she began to seek out other opportunities. 

“I have a passion for employee development,” she said. “I felt stymied and like I couldn’t do my best job working where I was. I knew I could do better, so I thought it was time to put that into practice. And so far, I’m enjoying it. By working for myself, I feel like I can do things that matter more.” 

In just her first year of franchise ownership, Shearn was able to share a unique perspective with the 1851 Franchise in honor of Women’s History Month. 

Perspective on Being a Woman at ecomaids

One of the reasons Shearn liked the ecomaids opportunity was because of how she was able to do it without her husband. 

“It was important to both of us for women to be able to do their own thing and not require the support of their spouse,” she said. “And this is one of the few franchises that didn’t require him to be on anything. I felt like I could do it on my own.” 

Shearn added that being a woman allows her to relate more to most of her potential employees, something that is important to her as a manager and business owner. 

“From what I’ve seen, it seems like more women traditionally apply to this role,” she said. “What I’m finding is that I have an ability to relate to them and understand some of the unique challenges they are facing or what they have faced in their lives and careers. And I’m able to help them move forward.”

Franchisor Support Makes All the Difference

The franchisee added that, although there’s plenty of challenges that come with being a woman in business, the support from ecomaids has been particularly helpful. Additionally, as a published author herself, Shearn knows how much goes into marketing today and pointed out how having assistance in that with ecomaids stood out to her. 

“The training and onboarding is with a really small group and very personalized,” she said. “It’s not something where you’re put in a group of 20 other people and you don’t get your questions answered. I’m also meeting with a business advisor once a week, and I also get to hear from other franchisees in their first year of business on weekly calls. Having those resources available has been really great.” 

Advice for Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs

Shearn encourages women who want entrepreneurship for themselves to go out there and get it. She noted that planning ahead was a big help to her before getting started and so was having a supportive group of people in her life. 

“Know that it is possible, and don’t just assume owning your own business is an impossibility,” she said. “It was always on my radar to open my own business, and so I started planning and saving for that. My family has also been very supportive, and I have a lot of people in my life who have been willing to help out. Talk to your support network that you have built over time because they might be able to help you in more ways than you realize when you’re first starting out.” 

To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit 1851franchise.com/ecomaids/info