Business ownership as a career alternative for women
Women have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Because mothers often bear primary responsibility for the children, remote and hybrid education prompted many women to put their careers on hold. As we come out of the pandemic, many of those moms will be able to turn back to their career path. But many may decide that the path they were on is not what they really want. For some of them, owning their own business offers the opportunity to create their own path on their own terms.
Starting a business from scratch is hard. Beyond raising the capital and starting without a brand, organizing all the elements of a new business is usually outside the skill set of anyone who has only worked within organizations. For some, franchising is an easier way to get established.
To speak with us about the unique opportunities in franchising for women business owners, I asked Angela LaVecchia to join me. In our short conversation, she discusses the environment for women to get started in their own franchise, the pros and cons of going the franchise route, and what their first steps might be.
Steve:
And so with me today is Angela LaVecchia, who is an Upstate New York Franchise Consultant for FranNet, a company that for 30 years has matched aspiring business owners with franchise opportunities. Angela, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us.
Angela LaVecchia:
Thanks, Steve. It's always fun. It's always fun to let the word out.
Steve:
So, there's a lot that the economy is going through. We're in the middle of a pandemic. We're in the middle of a lot of dislocations and some people are getting displaced from their jobs, and they're looking for new opportunities. And many of them may be looking at other opportunities like they had, working for a big company. But some people may be looking at this as an opportunity to have a business of their own. So, specifically with women, because you work with a lot of women, what are some of the opportunities for women opening their own business these days?
Angela LaVecchia:
COVID has certainly impacted all industries. And relative to women, because women are so gifted and have so many talents, they are above average in many aspects of... I had all this paperwork here. They're above average in networking and recognizing and collating and bringing people forward, that they're recognizing that they may not want to stay in their current business. They may be displaced. And in doing so, they want their own business. And they don't want to do business that keeps them isolated, they want to work for a team, because women are usually really good at teamwork.
Steve:
Okay. Like I said, there's a lot going on. There's a lot of displacement, a lot of uncertainty, is this a better, or worse time than usual for a woman who wants to own her own business?
Angela LaVecchia:
It's the silver lining to the clouds. There are women who have thought for many times, many years, "I want to have my own business." But now they're at The X Factor. "Oh my God, what am I going to do? I don't know. Every week I go into work, I'm working from home. I don't know what the story's going to be." And it may be just the straw that breaks their back, that they say, "Okay, I'm not doing this anymore." And there are women who enter businesses for convenience. They need to be taking care of their kids now more, so it makes more sense to have a home-based business. You can get into a franchise, a home-based franchise, not for lots of money. People hear franchise, they think McDonald's, they think Chick-fil-A, they think big, Sonic, but there are so many more businesses and they have a sweet spot of between 60 and a 100,000 is an investment level.
Steve:
Okay. So let's get into that. So, you are an expert in the franchising arena. We've talked with John Adams about franchising versus going into your own business, but just real quickly, especially from the perspective of women, what are some of the pros and cons of franchising, versus starting your own business?
Angela LaVecchia:
Starting your own business, you have to do everything from the beginning. Franchising is a proven model. So, they take care of marketing. You're in business for yourself, but not by yourself. And it's very, very cohesive. You may find a franchise that you really like, but you don't like the franchise, or who owns the business. Well, we have several of the same products within our portfolio. So, let's say you want to do a STEM STEAM program as a woman owner, for children. And you meet with the one company, that's the STEM STEAM company. And you don't like the franchisor, or you don't like the developer. Within FranNet, I can guide you to a secondary STEM STEAM operation, where you don't have to reinvent the wheel, how you're going to find it. And you may really click with that second franchisor, because there has to be a click. If the franchisor, and the franchisee don't have a click, you might as well call it quits. And, and I'm being very candid about that. You must have an alignment.
Steve:
Okay. And so what are specifically some of the opportunities for women in this space? So we hear a lot about women on businesses, and special opportunities for them versus male owned businesses. What kinds of additional opportunities are out there for women who want to own their own business and maybe pursue the franchising route to do it?
Angela LaVecchia:
There are so many fun businesses. Franchising handles about 80 categories, within the 90 categories of US businesses. And women are very, very versatile. And in their versatility, if they understand the concept, if they understand the initiative, the items that are needed to move forward, and there are many women with many transferable skills, they can enter any business. They can enter a pet business, they can enter a garage business, they could enter a STEM STEAM project. They could enter mosquito abatement, but it depends on what you want.
Angela LaVecchia:
So, if you're looking for a franchise that has a call center, that has a specific territory, that they have a simplistic CRM dashboard, that you're very tied to corporate, that takes some of the panic and the fear away from starting your own business, where you won't have to do the marketing. You won't have to do all of the sales calls. You could have a call center and many of these call centers, they have a very, very high rate of closure. So, you show up if the door and you knock on the door and you say, "Hi, I'm Susie Q from ABC company. You already talked to my appointment service, and I'm here to help you. How can I help you?"
Steve:
Interesting, cool. So, if there is a woman who wanted to pursue an opportunity as a business owner and wanted to think about this avenue of doing it, what would you suggest would be the first few steps that she should be thinking about?
Angela LaVecchia:
First off, know that a franchise consultant exists, namely Angela LaVecchia. I handle Upstate New York. I am a native Rochesterian. One of the things that FranNet prides itself on is that we are local. So, we work with the locals. We understand the neighborhood. I'm a West-sider. I understand the East Side, but I live on the West Side. I understand the North Side. My territory...
Steve:
Besides calling you specifically, more generally, if she wanted to start thinking about opening or buying a business, what would be the first few things that she should do?
Angela LaVecchia:
Look at an industry that really piques her interest, make sure that she has an attorney who understands franchises. And there, again, that could be something that I could help with. You need an accountant that is going to understand franchising, because not all lawyers are created equal. Not all accountants are created equal, you just have to have the niche. And you don't want to enter into anything without making sure you're doing your due diligence. You need to talk to other franchisees within the company, to find out what their satisfaction is. Find out how supportive the franchisor was during the COVID period. Who was willing to forfeit their royalties, who was able to make adjustments with the landlords? How much help you got from the back of the house, from the [sor 00:08:41], with COVID.
Steve:
Oka. Great. Well, Angela, thank you so much for joining us and for sharing some of that with us. If someone did want to find out more about how to do this, where should they find you?
Angela LaVecchia:
They can find me in Rochester, or up and down the corridor. You can find me at alavecchia@frannet.com. That's double N, F-R-A-N-N-E-T.com. My phone number's (585) 261-7194.
Steve:
Great, Angela, thanks for joining us today.
Angela LaVecchia:
Thanks Steve. Thanks for having me.