And there's no doubt many women would make fantastic franchisees in these areas, whilst giving them the opportunity to balance home and work life.

But that route is not for every woman looking to become a franchisee and, in some cases, wondering if business ownership is really for them at all.

Julie Wagstaff, Managing Director of ActionCOACH UK, is a mum of two girls - juggling all that entails - who is also passionate about business coaching and the huge impact it can make on the lives of business owners, their teams and the communities they serve. So, it's important to Julie that ActionCOACH offers women a range of ways to enjoy the benefits of franchising in sectors, like business services, which traditionally had not been so obvious as a choice. Our approach and solutions can now be seen in action, giving both women and men an insight into flexible routes to enter the franchising industry.

Understanding the barriers to franchising for women

Both the initial financial investment and time commitment are the most common things women raise as barriers to becoming a franchisee - it is often why women choose low-investment, part-time models. But consequently, these models rarely give you the opportunity to build a million-pound business with the potential to create a true legacy in your community. The women who approach us at ActionCOACH are looking to do more, create more and build more.

Prior to taking career breaks, women who have risen to senior positions in the corporate world, gathering levels of expertise which could be incredibly useful to other business owners, find themselves wondering if there are opportunities to make a more substantial difference. That is when we find them drawn to the world of business coaching and professional development at ActionCOACH.

You don't have to be a franchisee to be part of franchising

At ActionCOACH, like many franchise brands, we own a number of territories at corporate level. This gives us the opportunity to test new products, services and systems before rolling them out to the rest of the network. We employ General Managers for each of these territories, still training and supporting them exactly as we would our franchise partners. Our General Managers complete ActionCOACH University, join weekly online seminars and receive support from their own Action Coach.

Our franchise partners at ActionCOACH build a business coaching firm in their exclusive territories. To create a firm, they need a team working on business development, marketing, events and much more. They often start as the lead business coach whilst managing their team but need to employ business coaches soon after to support the growing number of clients. So, if you are passionate about a career in business coaching, this is a fantastic option to be part of the world's no. 1 business coaching franchise. As an employee business coach in one of our franchise partner's firms, you will receive the same training and professional development opportunities as they did from day one.

We have also seen women join our franchise partners' teams in business development or creative administration roles who have gone on to take promotions, becoming Action Coaches in as little as a year with the business. Who wouldn't want to harness the talent that is uncovered in their team?

All of these routes are a great way to experience everything our franchisees do but in an employed position. And there are opportunities similar to this across franchising if you choose to seek them out.

Try before you buy

So, what happens if your goal is to become a franchisee, if business ownership is your true calling? How do these employed positions help you achieve your dream?

We give our General Managers the option to buy shares in the business they work so hard to build or they can go on to buy the whole business, becoming a fully-fledged franchise partner. One of our 14 Points of Culture at ActionCOACH is Success - for us to be successful, our team and our clients must be successful. It is why we take this win-win attitude through to offering our General Managers the option to become shareholders or franchise partners at any time during their journey with ActionCOACH.

Our franchise partners have this same abundant outlook when it comes to their business coaching firms. Whether they are running multiple territories or are looking to take a step back from day-to-day management, you will find their employee business coaches being offered shares in the business or bigger partnership opportunities. Some employed business coaches have gone on to invest in vacant territories in the UK or purchase a franchise territory from a retiring franchise partner. What is so exciting to see is the passion of the people who join ActionCOACH in employed positions who find their only next career move is to become a franchise partner - they simply can't see themselves doing anything else!

There are many flexible routes into franchising for women and this September, the British Franchise Association has the Empowering Women in Business conference where you can find out more, as well as meet franchise brands like ours committed to welcoming more women into franchising.

If you want to build a business with an organisation that cares, make a difference in your local community and you're the kind of person who:

A) loves learning and helping other people succeed;

B) has enjoyed success in your career or sport; and

C) is willing to invest if you see substantial rewards can be made...

then find out more about joining ActionCOACH. [1]

Our People & Culture Co-ordinator, Caroline Pateman would be happy to talk about all of these options available to you: carolinepateman@actioncoach.co.uk