Franchising is becoming an increasingly popular entrepreneurial opportunity among women. Lynn Ann Zazzali, Franchise Owner with The Learning Experience, joins ChedHER to discuss the challenges and perks that come along with the franchising business.

Why Franchising is Becoming More Popular Among Women

Joining us now to discuss her experience in the world of Franchising and everything you need to know about it, Lin and Zazzali franchise owner with the learning experience, Lynn, thank you so much for joining us. You used to be a public school teacher for 12 years working to become a principal. Why did you decide to become a franchisee? Um, I chose to become a franchisee because I was looking for child care for my Children at the time and you know, I went on all of these different tours. Um, I visited different childcare centers and I couldn't really find one that I felt comfortable with. I would literally go to a child care center and go on a tour and I would cry and I just thought, okay, how am I going to leave my two Children with complete strangers. Um, and after talking to my dad, I thought, okay, um, you know, I don't know how I'm gonna get through this and he said to me, why don't you just open up your own child care center at this time? I thought he was absolutely crazy. And you know, I kind of put it to the back of my mind, I went into my office at work as a public school teacher, I was a reading specialist at the time and I started thinking about it, maybe he was right. So I started doing different research, I looked at commercial property in my area, I thought maybe I'll do this on my own. And then I started looking into franchises and after interviewing many different brands, I stumbled across the learning experience and very quickly I fell in love with the owners and everything that they stood for and in fact I ended up sending both of my Children to the learning experience in my town and had a phenomenal experience there as a mom. Um, and I think, you know, as a mom, I know what moms are looking for in childcare and I can empathize with parents because it could be a dancing process. Yeah, and you currently own a franchise businesses with the learning experience. So obviously your experience with the business has been an interesting one and allowed you the flexibility, as you mentioned with your Children, what has it like to be a multi unit franchise business owner? What are some of your biggest challenges? Okay, that's a great question. I actually, um just recently in the last month purchase for additional locations, so now, um you know, I do have seven that are open and I have five more that are under development. So with that said, the biggest challenge would be going, um you know, really transitioning from one center to two and working on my growth mindset, um you have to, you know, try to get away from being the face of the center and in reality you are becoming a visionary, so you're becoming a leader of your team to propel them forward. Um so I had to step away from that. It was very hard in the beginning for me not to have my hands on everything, but very quickly I learned that if I wanted to be successful, I have to take on more of a visionary role. So I would say my biggest obstacle was just shifting from one center to 2 to 3. What were some of the most rewarding aspects of this career that maybe you didn't anticipate? You did mention going into this because of the need for flexibility for your family. Yes. Um, absolutely flexibility. I think for most women would be the number one. Um, but I also think, you know, we're able to be passionate about what we do and, you know, most women that I know at least in my circle of life, um, are very empathetic and this field in particular lends itself to that because we're able to make the difference in not only the lives of Children, but also their families and the communities that we serve. It's probably the most rewarding field to be in. Um, and I think with any franchise, it's the same. You know, we can really excel and showcase what we're passionate about. Um, and even more than just what I provide here at the learning experience, but being able to, as a woman affect the lives of other women. Um, and men. Um, but women in particular. Um, the flexibility that I have as a mom is of course key because um, you know, being a part of their lives and being able to be there for them, but also being able to run my business and you know, affect the lives of, you know, all the women that also work for me, Yeah Lin over the last decade, as we mentioned, there's been a 24% increase in women-owned franchise businesses. I also wonder how much that has potentially increased or maybe decreased during the pandemic. Why do you think this kind of career as a franchise is becoming more appealing to women? And have you seen a lot about this? I think of like social media um and just the availability of information around a business like this. Yeah, absolutely. Um you know, just being on linkedin, it's it's all over um from Forbes to entrepreneur, you know, media outlets. Uh you do hear a lot about why women are going into a franchise and to be honest, I think that the potential of growth is number one. Um also the scheduling flexibility, we have a support system. Our franchisor, for instance is our partner, so their success is our success. And to be honest, um even as a public school teacher, I loved what I did and it was really hard to leave, but I also knew um no matter how hard I worked, there was a cap at my earning potential. So as a franchisee, the harder I work, you know, um I'm able to read more of the rewards. So you know, the more I put into it, whether it's working harder or smarter and you know, it really does measure my success so I can get to that outcome faster. So I think just the growth potential is better. But you had mentioned before like why women are leaving companies and going to be an entrepreneur of Franchising and you mentioned the better work culture and also um that women are under recognized. So as a female owner, I can say that you know, I work really hard to build a positive work culture where being a mom is not only celebrated, um, but it's something that I actually, you know honor and I respect Lynn ann Zazzali franchise owner with a learning experience, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your insight.