From L-R: Fiona Simpson, Neha Surana (on behalf of Shweta Jhajharia), Jo Middleton, Jane Maudsley, Charlotte Pearce (Keynote speaker), Ali Beckman, Clive Sawyer (EWIF CEO), Julie Houston, Fiona Boswell, Louise Harris, Hannah Drury.
We are Encouraging Women into Franchising (EWIF), an organisation focusing our time and energy on supporting women who are looking for a route into the franchising industry. Our mission is to educate, inspire and empower and one way we do this is by hosting an Annual Awards Ceremony celebrating the achievements of women across the franchising industry.
At our 8th NatWest EWIF Awards, held on Tuesday 15th May, the atmosphere at the NatWest building, London was electric. And now, after all the excitement, we are extremely proud to announce the winners for this year’s NatWest EWIF awards, and would like to thank everyone who entered and attended!
So without further ado, drum roll please…
New Woman Franchisor, sponsored by Daisy First Aid. WINNER: Jo Middleton, Dog First Aid
Jo Middleton first started franchising her dog first aid business in December 2016, firmly establishing a successful business model used by the 11 franchisees who were on-boarded during the year, and celebrated wins with a number of industry awards.
New Woman Franchisee, sponsored by NatWest WINNER: Julie Houston, Right at Home
Despite opening her franchise less than 12 months ago, Julie has already made a substantial impact to the Right at Home network and her local area! By month 4, Julie was already receiving excellent reviews on homecare.co.uk (the UK’s number 1 home care rating website).
Woman Franchisor, sponsored by Franchise Finance WINNER: Fiona Simpson, ARTventurers
Fiona experienced an impressive 2017, including eight new franchisees, and developing new programmes her franchisees could use for business growth. She also moved her HQ to larger premises with better training facilities, and became City of Sunderland Champion for City of Culture 2021.
Woman Franchisee, sponsored by McDonald’s WINNER: Shweta Jhajharia, ActionCOACH
Shweta through the success of her ActionCOACH business, speaks to franchisees world-wide, regularly presenting at franchise exhibitions and business conferences. Shweta, with some of her clients, partnered with charity project Buy1Give1, paying for a year’s education for 40 children in rural India.
Woman Franchise Employee, sponsored by AFA WINNER: Ali Beckman, Puddle Ducks
Ali has been with Puddle Ducks for over 13 years. A renowned expert in baby swimming and a respected member of the Swimming Teachers Association, she contributes to their ongoing development. Ali led a number of initiatives, including Puddle Ducks’ new Swim Academy programme.
Young Woman in Franchising, sponsored by Darwin Gray WINNER: Hannah Drury, Caremark
As winner of the bfa Young franchisee of the year, 2017, Hannah continues to implement initiatives her business can create, cultivate and connect with their franchisees, customers, and the community. As a passionate advocate for women in business, Hannah speaks of the opportunities women have.
Service Provider, sponsored by The Franchise Show WINNER: Fiona Boswell, Fraser Brown
Passionate about women in franchising, Fiona has provided valuable support to over 24 female-led businesses. As one of EWIF’s regional chairs, Fiona is a great advocate for women in franchising, using every opportunity to speak to women about the opportunities available to them.
Inspirational Woman, sponsored by What Franchise WINNER: Jane Maudsley, Little Voices
Jane celebrated the 10th anniversary of her franchise, and did it in style – with an overhaul of her systems and process for the better of her franchisees. She also tirelessly pioneers for regulation in the children’s activities sector.
As part of the EWIF 10th anniversary celebrations, Louise Harris from Wilkins Chimney Sweep was awarded a special one-off Special Recognition Award, for her services to the franchise industry throughout the years, particularly for women in franchising.
In a final celebration of women in franchising, each inspirational woman also had the chance at winning Overall Woman in Franchising – the winner’s winner. This year, Ali Beckman, Puddle Ducks received the award! Congratulations Ali, and all the NatWest EWIF winners, 2018.
If you weren’t able to be involved in this year’s awards, why not join us at the EWIF Conference 2018 on September 21st. The conference offers you a chance to meet and network with other women across the franchising industry, including service providers, so you can share ideas, gain expert knowledge as well as hear about the fantastic developments from the organisation. To find out more visit ewif.org. #EWIFConf18
Thank you to all of this years’ the entrants, guests, hosts and sponsors. If you were unsuccessful this year – why not give it a go in 2019?! You never know, it might just be your year…