Female Entrepreneurs Flocking to Get Into Franchise Businesses

Az Central:

Carol Rath knew it was time for a career change when her 2-year-old granddaughter pointed to the children’s indoor playground where Rath was manager, and said: “That’s where my grandma lives.”

Twelve years later, Rath, 54, has no regrets that she quit and opened a franchise instead. Her workweek went from 80 hours as manager of the playground to 45 hours as owner of three East Valley Subway locations.

“If you do what they tell you, you can’t fail,” she said of the support she got from Subway. Rath is like many others who make the leap into business for themselves but prefer the safety net of a tried and true formula that franchises offer.

“It’s easier for a woman to start a business in a man’s world by using the concept of a franchise. The setup is done more easily than if you had your own freestanding location and tried to open a mom and pop by yourself,” she said.

Across the country, the number of female-owned businesses grew 20 percent between 1997 and 2002, twice the national average for all businesses, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Women owned nearly 30 percent of non-farm businesses in the United States in 2002.

“Franchising is definitely a growing trend and it’s also attractive to a lot of women,” said Steven Strasler, a professor at Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management in Phoenix.

Colleague Bob Hirsch, a professor of global entrepreneurship and director of the Center for Global Entrepreneurship at Thunderbird, said that about 10 percent of franchises are owned solely by women, 20 percent are owned by male and female partners and 70 percent are owned by males.

“Franchising definitely reduces the failure rate of entrepreneurs as it gives support and structure,” Hirsch said.