Fast Casual: Why Women Are a Natural Fit For Franchising

More women than ever are stepping into the franchise industry, and as a panel of female franchisees explains, there are more than a few good reasons.

During a session discussion at the International Franchise Expo held at the Javits Center in New York in mid-June, several successful female franchisees and franchisors shared insights and tips on succeeding with a franchise operation, as well as reasons why females boast several skills and traits needed for success.

Women, explained Stacey Mobley, a Dream Dinner franchisee based in Mobile, Alabama, tend to be better organizers and skilled at delegating.

"It's our natural skills at managing, at building relationships," she told the audience, which not surprisingly was mostly women, though two men attended the session.

As Mary Kay Liston, president of the Five Star Painting franchise, noted, women also tend to have strong communication skills — a necessity for franchise business operation.

"We're communicators. We have the gift of that — it's all about relationships," she said.

Communication and relationship-building are key to success because franchising is all about building strong partnerships, explained Mobley.

Ashley Sawyer, director of franchise development at Burger 21, said most times women are already adept at another critical franchise skill: multi-tasking.

"Women wear a lot of hats," she said, adding that many franchisees want to be involved in their local communities and women tend to do that naturally.

All the panelists agreed women tend to be more passionate, and passion is a mandate to be successful.

"You need to be super passionate," said Shane Evans, co-founder, president and COO of the Massage Heights franchise. "To be successful it comes down to the people and it's not easy and you really, really have to work hard and know what you want," she said.