Women business owners make up less than one-third of franchised businesses in the U.S., a statistic 7-Eleven, Inc. would like to see rise. In an effort to increase its own number of female franchisees, the world’s largest convenience retailer is kicking off a franchise give-away contest targeted exclusively to women entrepreneurs. I’m pleased to share this opportunity with Prime Women readers.
The Contest
7-Eleven® invites qualified women to enter the contest and consider becoming an independent business owner with the No. 1 franchise business opportunity, as named in Entrepreneur magazine’s 2017 Franchise 500. One deserving woman will be awarded a 7-Eleven fee-free franchise, a value of up to $190,000.
In addition, 7-Eleven will make a donation to the winning woman’s charity of choice that aligns with its Project A-Game® program. Project A-Game grants help provide youth a foundation for success by funding programs focused on education, fitness, safety and hunger relief.
The competition is similar to 7-Eleven’s successful Operation: Take Command® franchise giveaway for U.S. military veterans. Like Operation: Take Command, this multi-phase competition includes meeting company franchising qualifications, preliminary interviews, video contest and a final one-on-one interview with 7-Eleven senior leadership for the top finalists.
“Some of our most successful franchisees across the country are women,” said Larry Hughes, 7-Eleven vice president of franchise systems. “7-Eleven serves a diverse customer base, and the number of women shopping our stores continues to grow. More and more are choosing to become independent business owners, and 7-Eleven offers a proven system and one of the best entrepreneurial opportunities around.”
After meeting qualifications, submitting an essay and talking to 7-Eleven franchise sales representatives, the top 25 candidates will be invited to submit a video on why they deserve a 7-Eleven franchise. Up to seven will be selected from this pool for the semifinal competition. By voting for their favorite videos on the 7-Eleven Facebook page, the public will select three finalists to be interviewed by 7-Eleven’s franchise department management and narrowed to one winner.
The winner can choose any of the company’s 7-Eleven convenience stores available in the continental U.S. at the contest’s culmination. Interested women can enter online at WomensFranchiseGiveaway.com now through 11:59 p.m. CST on April 7, 2017. The winner will be announced in July 2017.
To qualify, an entrant must be age 21 or older, a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, have excellent credit and at least three years of leadership, retail or restaurant experience. Contestants will go through the same qualification process as all 7-Eleven franchise applicants including credit evaluation, a leadership test, business plan development, budget, and store location preferences.
This year marks the 53rd year of franchising for the world’s largest convenience store. Today, franchisees operate almost 90 percent of the 7-Eleven stores in the U.S. An interactive map at www.franchise.7-eleven.com indicates stores available for franchising.
Find out more about 7-Eleven online at www.7-Eleven.com. And good luck!
