by Akua Hinds

Created on: April 12, 2011

The classic Cindy Lauper song “Girls just wanna have fun” has a message that many women who decide to go into business for themselves can relate to.  When a woman decides to become a franchise owner, her main goal is to make a good living and to have fun while she is working.  Owning a franchise is ideal for women who want to run their own business without having to completely start from scratch.  There are many franchise businesses that are geared towards women and some examples of popular female focused direct selling franchise companies are PartyLite, The Pampered Chef and Ardyss.  These companies and other franchises that market their business opportunities to women are attractive to many women because there is no discrimination practiced; as long as a woman is motivated, eager to learn and pays a modest deposit, she can become a franchise owner. 

Women lead busy lives and what most women look for in a franchise business is flexibility.  Many direct selling franchise business offer flexibility to the owners because  it is the owners’ responsibility to schedule showcases and meetings to promote the business’ services and products.  Women who are raising young or sick children especially benefit from careers that put them in the “driver’s seat,” allowing them to create their schedules around their family’s schedule and choose who they want to work with.    

Women prefer owning franchises that have respectable reputations.  Women are sensitive about being associated with companies that have tarnished images because they do not want to be embarrassed when promoting their business to their loved ones.  Franchise businesses dealing with sensual products are hugely popular amongst women of all ages and female business owners working as romance specialists usually choose to join franchises that package and name the products in a discreet and non-offensive manner.  Many women share information with each other about which companies they do business with, and positive and negative reviews impact a purchaser’s decision making.  A woman going in to business for herself should be extra careful to own a franchise with a company that provides good customer service to franchisees and to customers. 

Women who are seeking franchise opportunities want to work with companies that have a proven and successful formula.  Part of what makes franchises so attractive is the fact that the franchise parent companies are usually responsible for establishing the pricing and the promotional material for the business.  Business owners are then free to focus on operating the business and they don’t have to spend hours of market research to create a winning business model because the parent company has done all of that for them. 

Many women interested in owning franchises are also attracted to companies that are focused on women helping other women to succeed.  The business world is extremely competitive and many employers care more about profits than they care about the people working for them.  It is disheartening to work for a company that sees an employee as nothing more than a number.  Becoming a franchise owner can give many women the opportunities to claim more control over their lives, better plan their future, have fun, earn unlimited income and open doors for other women to work and improve their own lives.  Most importantly, if a woman has full confidence in her franchise business and is having fun while working, she is involved in the right kind of business.

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