From Earning Medals to Winning Awards
Stories are many, of those that have emerged from the Armed Forces and gone on to huge success in the world of franchising.
As the bfa’s (British Franchise Association) ‘Life After The Military’ campaign demonstrates, the two worlds have many areas of overlap, not least the values that underpin success in the Military and their alignment with those that so often define success in franchising. Determination, leadership, the ability to think on your feet, inspiring teams, and the ability to understand and follow processes.
These very same values bring success, not only as a business, but also when entering the bfa annual awards. Known as the ‘Oscars’ of the franchise industry, these awards celebrate the innovation, dedication and devotion of franchisors and franchisees, with the awards night set to take place on 30 November this year.
Ethical
Several of the featured ‘Life After The Military’ campaign participants, drawn from the ranks of the bfa membership, have been winners in previous years, and the current holder of the Gold Franchisor of the Year Award, ‘Home Instead’ also features in the campaign.
Winning the Gold Franchisor of the Year award is the highest accolade in UK franchising. The franchisor needs to be a strong advocate of ethical franchising, demonstrating how they support their network during the entire franchisee lifecycle, right through to exit and resale.
Home Instead chose to focus their ‘Life After The Military’ campaign entry on Lynn Roddy, a successful franchisee in their network. Lynn, an ex-Army Officer in the Royal Signals, explains, “When I looked at Home Instead, I kept coming back to the ethos, and the cultural values and how they really matched my serving heart. Being a franchise owner, it’s really like having my unit again, having my team, building a team.”
This sense of belonging to a community, to a family, is one that runs strong through all of the participants in the bfa’s campaign, and indeed beyond. Franchising, as a sector is hugely supportive, with the bfa at its heart, as a hub where people can come together to learn, share ideas, gain expertise and support each other in business.
The bfa awards will be taking place on 30 November, and the full category listings are below:
Franchisor:
• Franchisor of the year: Bronze, Silver and Gold
• Emerging Franchisor
• Leadership and Culture Franchisor
• Business Resilience (new for 2021)
• Sustainable Warrior (new for 2021)
• Franchise Balance (new for 2021)
Franchisee:
• Lifestyle Franchisee
• Next Generation Franchisee
• Local Focus Franchisee
• Resilient Riser (New for 2021)
• HSBC Best In Class Multi-Unit Leader (open to non-bfa members)
• Franchisee Of The Year – People’s Choice
To find out more about franchising, please visit the bfa’s website: www.thebfa.org or contact them directly at: mailroom@thebfa.org or tel: 01235 820470.
