Women are becoming business owners at a historic rate and they’re only getting stronger in numbers. According to research, there are 7.8 million women-owned businesses in America. It is also said that those businesses are contributing over 3 trillion dollars to the U.S. economy. While there are still strides to be made in closing the gender wage gap, now more than ever, women business owners are making a huge impact in the world of entrepreneurship and innovation.

There are many benefits of having more women-run businesses, including higher financial returns versus companies with lower proportions of women in top leadership positions. Women leaders are also credited with seeing better employee retention rates and team satisfactory scores. According to the Pew Research Center in 2014, women in top business positions were rated as being very good at the following tasks:

Being honest and ethical
Providing fair pay/benefits
Mentoring employees

For many, franchising has served as the perfect model for women looking to become business owners. Master Franchising specifically is increasing in popularity as the ideal model for women seeking both financial freedom and flexibility in work-life balance. Many of the franchising industry’s best leaders are women who bring new insights into customer retention, operations, sales and vertical trends. Women also band together as a single cohort versus their male counterparts. This creates a sense of belonging and boosts employee engagement. Many of Anago’s Master Franchise Owners are also women who love the comradery and benefits of investing in a model like Anago.

“Being a business owner is amazing. I have a group of people working with me that believe in our common goals. When the goals become more valuable than the leader, employees follow rather than the leader pushing them to follow. It’s an amazing feeling,” says Michelle Weber, President of Anago of Nashville.

“Being a business owner as a young woman is one of the greatest achievements in my life thus far. It is important to define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules and build a life around doing some things that scare you,” says Chastity Schaffer, Vice President of Anago of Cleveland. “Living life is easy, but living a life that you’re proud of takes hard work, dedication and willingness to change.”

Anago has been recognized as one of the best commercial cleaning franchises for women and offers amazing opportunities for those looking to jump into business ownership. If you have any questions regarding Anago’s superior franchising opportunities, please contact Judy Walker (judy@anagocleaning.com)