Pip Wilkins
This year the British Franchise Association’s (BFA) Women in Franchising event will be held on 17th November at Savill Court, Windsor.
There will be presentations at the event on topics such as how to engage an audience and ensure traffic flows to your website, how to decode body language, how to deal with assertive personalities and real-life stories from successful franchisors.
Rachel Ray, founder of Bright & Beautiful, will discuss how to empower your franchise team. She launched her eco-friendly homecare business in 2007 and it now has become a multi-award winning domestic cleaning franchise with a turnover of £5m.
The keynote speaker will be Mandy Hickson, who has 20 years service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). She was one of the first female pilots to serve in a front line Tornado GR4 squadron and had an active role in the conflict in Iraq.
Hickson will give her insight into teamwork, communication and leadership. She will also discuss the value of honest and open de-briefing after any project, a requisite in the RAF, but something businesses often overlook.
Pip Wilkins, chief executive of the BFA said: “Government statistics tell us that 15.5% of all businesses are owned or run by women. In franchising that figure is doubled to 30%, a figure we at the BFA are very proud of.
“We want to bring all these brilliant women together, give them relevant, up-to-date information that they will find useful in the practical, day-to-day life of running their businesses and also give them the chance to meet and talk to each other, to make new contacts and to share information.
“For any woman who has ever thought, I wonder what franchising is? Then this event will be a one-stop-shop to hear, meet and talk to the best of the best. We hope many more women, who have maybe thought one day I’ll franchise my business, will come along and meet us and find out a bit more about this little-known sector where women and their businesses thrive.”
The event is open to women from all business backgrounds that would like to learn more about franchising. For those on the BFA’s QFP training programme the day qualifies for 250 QFP points. The registration fee for the day including lunch is £99 plus VAT.
To book a place call the BFA on 01235 820 470 or contact mailroom@thebfa.org