Generally speaking, women seek to have a more defined level of financial comfort. I say this from my personal observations in dealing with both genders across a range of different businesses over many years.
While I personally have not entered into a franchise, I can certainly say that my risk profile is very different to that of my husband. However, my profile is also significantly different to some of my female friends. We like to know what we're getting into and we try to mitigate the downside of any investment as much as possible -especially when the idea of the family home being mortgaged is raised. The maternal instinct to protect and provide is strong whenever we are taking into account what's at stake. This is not saying that we don't like risk - I personally advocate for leveraging and backing your own judgement - but we like to know both the upside and downside and make well informed decisions. As women we are not afraid to ask the bottom line questions.
Any finance decision should be based on the grounds that you have as much information as possible and a good understanding of your own personal risk profile. This concept is not unique to a specific gender. And that's where purchasing a franchise might be right for you! In the majority of established franchises the franchisor can provide information on the market, competition; product, consumer groups, margins you can expect to make and benchrrrarks. of 'best in breed.' Along with a variety of other business data, this extra information can assist in bringing a concept to reality and provide a realistic expectation of how the business should perform -particularly for start-ups.
It would seem that women are entering into small to medium enterprise arenas with more confidence than ever before. According to SHE Marketing Research in 2007, 65% of start up businesses were commenced by women.
Of course, you want any start up to be successful and the biggest single reason why businesses fail, is that they neglect to plan, and overall management is inadequate. You need to recognise your shortfalls and be prepared to get advice and support, to network and have a mentor whose opinion you value to provide the backbone of your business. This starts with having a great business bank that can provide you with the right finance, at the right time and support you and your business with your core business funding and cashflow requirements. A bank that specialises in the Franchising sector and has specialist bankers should be a priority.
Carolyn White has worked for 26 years with National Australia Bank financial advisory franchise of which 20 years have been in Business Finance roles. Positions held have included Business Development Manager, Regional Executive for Business Banking, and Credit Executive for Business and Private. Carolyn is currently Head of Inclusion and Diversity for Business and Private Banking at NAB financial services franchise.
National Australia Bank recognised a preference from their customer base to have female franchise specialist bankers in all states. Franchise customers in the industries of beauty and personal services are usually among those that prefer a female banker. According to Kathi Iloyd, Business Acquisition Manager.
NAB Franchise Banking, certain customers who deal with women's products or services are seeking like-minded business bankers, to help build their business.
But that's not to say that the banker discriminates on how they serve their customer.
"The way we treat our female and male customers is no different although the feedback we are getting for our female bankers is that they're very popular from a service and relationship point of view," says Kathi.
"They have empathy when dealing with clients and are able to build solid relationships based on one-on-one networking.
"And everyone knows about a woman's ability to multi-task!"
Thirty-one percent of independent small businesses are predominately operated or owned by females. Yet in the franchise sector only 9.3% of franchised units are predominately operated by females and/or in partnership with a spouse, and only 10.9% of franchised units are solely owned by a female. There is huge potential for women in this sector to bridge that gap.
There can be great success in franchising but it's not without its risks. And while all aspiring franchisees need to tread carefully, it can be a great business model for the right operator – male or female. Your business banker will be able to assess whether a franchise is a viable option for you.
This article appears courtesy of The Franchise Review - the Official Journal of the
Franchise Council of Australia8-May-2008