Franchise Issues for Women

Franchise Issues for Women

It’s odd to realize that my mom was raised in an era that produced Mildred Pierce, perhaps the earliest film female franchisor.

And Mildred’s story is fairly standard when it comes to franchising; she rose from being a waitress to support her family on her own, to being an owner, to being a franchise owner, ruling over a sea of franchisees, all in a woman’s area of expertise – food.

Mildred's Marketing Expertise
Marketing and branding, along with building and expanding her franchise, come as second nature to Mildred – her restaurants are called “Mildred’s” – and the franchise seems to expand practically effortlessly.

Franchise Issues Nowadays
Statistics nowadays for female franchise owners are difficult to come by – though female franchisees seem to be keeping pace with female business owners in general – around 38% -- statistics for female franchise owners are more difficult to come by. Speculation is that, quite often, the husband’s name appears on the franchise finance papers because, surprise! Banks still prefer men when they’re doling out money.

And, it’s still true that the path to franchise for a woman is fraught with difficulty – developing, marketing, branding, franchises is time-consuming, and something else is time-consuming – what was that? Oh, raising children!

...And What About Marketing?
A franchise owner has to develop marketing and promotional plans that will work in varying markets, as well as be an expert in the business itself, in franchise contract law, in franchise training and administration – it’s a big task.

Mildred Pierce was successful with her franchise but failed – spectacularly – with her children – and for women today it’s still a legitimate fear – running two parallalel franchises – a business and a family – is still a fabulous prospect.


Check out marketing assistance, direct mail for franchises for more information.