Women in Franchising

Women in Franchising

THE JOURNEY OF A FEMALE ENTREPRENEUR

As of January 2019, there were 715,300 female business operators in Australia – making up less than 35%. While this is far from an equal split the good news is that the percentage share is increasing with more and more women empowering themselves and starting their own businesses each year. From 2018 to 2019 there was a 2% increase or an additional 46,600 women taking the reins and blazing the trail. So for this year’s International Women’s Day we decided to celebrate some of our Soul Sisters running successful Soul Origin Franchises during one of the hardest times the customer service industry has ever seen. 

Lisa Mileto is a Soul Origin business owner that holds two locations across South-West Sydney. She started her journey with Soul Origin back in 2017 when she opened her first store in the Macarthur region. Three years later she is one of the leading franchise owners in the Soul Origin network having added a second store to her portfolio. 

Woman making heart sign with hands

Growing up in South-West Sydney, Lisa was driven at an early age, inspired by her parents and their highly successful business in road construction and haulage. It was watching her mother excelling in what is a male-dominated industry that gave her the confidence to take on the challenge herself. Lisa loved that her mother not only demanded respect but also earned it and never let the fact that she was a woman hold her back. After facing and then overcoming several roadblocks, Lisa launched three clothing boutiques in Sydney. The lessons learnt and successes achieved from those stores gave her the confidence she needed to extend into the QSR industry. When discussing the reaction Lisa gets to her position as a business owner, she claims that while some are still taken aback by the fact that she is a female, she has a strong personality and backs herself – much like her mother. 

When asking Lisa why she loves running her own Soul Origin, she said: 

“I love the challenge! I also love building teams and watching them successfully grow. Being your own boss can be hard but also so rewarding. You need to accept failure and celebrate your successes. Soul Origin was a great opportunity for me as it was an already established brand with good quality food and coffee but also provided a support structure that allowed me to build a team, concentrate on increasing sales while also experimenting with new ideas” 

After the last twelve months, the hospitality industry is feeling the strain of COVID-19 on the economy first-hand with some businesses becoming victims to the downturn. Lisa claims that what has kept her afloat at this time is the rapport she has built with not only her customers but also her team.

“Ensure that when you open your store, you and your team have the right mindset to offer the best service and product to your customers, in return they will support you through the tough times.”    

When asking Lisa what her advice would be to any other young women looking to branch out into the business world, she gave this advice: 

“Do your research, don’t go in thinking it’s easy and if you fail, keep going. Learn from your mistakes and move forward but more importantly, love what you do! You can feel when someone has no passion for their business or their work. It reflects on everything they do so make sure you love it” 

 

 

Ever considered owning your own business?  

Take advantage of the limited-time offer ‘Franchising Relocation Package’.  

When you buy a Soul Origin Franchise, your upfront investments will be reduced by 60k!

For more information, click here or enquire below! 

 

     
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