Young Ones to Watch; Heather McLeod

Heather McLeod serves as Director of Marketing for The Cleaning Authority. The 30-year-old has bachelor and master’s degrees from Baylor University and recently earned a CFE certification. In her senior marketing role with The Cleaning Authority, McLeod is responsible for setting and driving strategic direction for customer acquisition and revenue generation through online, traditional and social media channels. She is also responsible for driving lead flow for new franchisee acquisition and introducing non-broker sales as a viable channel.

Why do you love franchising?

I think franchising is a great vehicle for business owners to make the most of what they want out of their lives. Working in franchising is very exciting because franchisees are so heavily invested in their business. Many of them invest their retirement fund or life savings into their franchise so it is really inspiring to work with people who are so committed to their business. I also think that the franchising industry gives me the opportunity to work with people from such varying walks of life, which I don’t think is the case in other corporate business structures.

What is the top challenge facing young people in franchising?

As a young professional in franchising, I think that we’re challenged to present our ideas in a way that is well-received and accepted by leadership who may come from an older school of thought or decades of experience beyond our own. While this may not be specific to franchising, young professionals have to master the hurdles of assumed inexperience or wisdom and capitalize on our innovation and fresh ideas that can benefit our brands to get buy-in from leadership teams and franchisees.

As far as young franchisees, I think they have the benefit of being more flexible or adaptable than older franchisees. With that also comes the challenge of balancing a desire to challenge the system to grow in new ways. It is important that young and savvy entrepreneurs acknowledge that the proven franchise system is what makes people successful in the industry and needs to be embraced by all franchisees for the system to succeed.

What is your dream position/goal?

I’m currently in marketing and have a passion for the field, but I would love to be the CEO of a franchise in the future. I think being in marketing positions has positioned me well for leadership roles because it requires versatility and understanding of all aspects of business. It allows me to leverage the adaptability of a marketing background to become a CEO in the future.