As Chair of the Women’s Franchise Network (WFN) Tampa Bay I like to share a “year in review”. When we rolled into 2019, my thoughts swirled around on how to make an impact, and what as Chair of this Committee can I bring to the franchise network to engage, grow, and you guessed it, make a BIG IMPACT? It hit me, with all the resources available, why not tap into them.
Harnessing Technology in Franchise Marketing
As a member of the Women’s Franchise Committee and Chair of Network Task force for 18 plus chapters, it occurred to me we have so much technology available to us, and why not seek it out. The question then became how do we harness that technology and tap into the resources?
Well I did not have to look far, in comes Jack Monson of Social Joey. We had a conversation on how we can get the WFN’s Facebook pages noticed to build awareness, gain traction and communicate to the Franchise Community and beyond.
Well that was all I had to ask, and Jack being Jack, he took it upon himself to say “let me help…. send me the list and let Social Joey take care of the Social Media.” Social Joey has been managing our FB pages now for two years. Fast forward to 2019 and Jack again is a driving force for “impact”.
We kicked off 2019 with our first impact speaker Jack Monson, Chief Revenue Officer of Social Joey and renowned Host of Social Geek Radio who presented the 5 Critical Changes in Social Media that you need to be aware of in your marketing efforts for franchise brands.
Social Media tactics and best practices are dynamic, change faster than we are able to keep up with and have a huge impact. It is here where we learned many tips and tricks on how to manage YOUR brand, get seen and understand the good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly if not diligent.
Jack’s presentation was such a huge success, we posted on Facebook and Linkedin, he was then asked to present/speak at other WFNs this year. Continuing to make an impact!!!!
Building A Sustainable Business Culture & Growth
Emma Dickison, CEO & President at Home Helpers Home Care was another amazing and impactful guest speaker. Emma has 30+ years Leadership and Franchise Experience and the 2019 recipient of The Crystal Compass Award and active in the Home Health sector. She spoke to “Building an Environment of Sustainable Culture and Business Growth”.
Culture=Health & Wellness, Culture is Everyone’s Responsibility. We need and should build an environment for all to thrive. Personally, what resonated most with me was her passion for people both internal to her organization, her community, and her strong desire to make a better place for everyone. I loved her: Be B.O.L.D.
Bring Your Passion Every day.
Own Your Results.
Love What You Do.
Driven By Excellence.
We talked about the importance of people impacting your life, understanding what motivates us, keeping lines of communication open, building relationships outside your organization, and most importantly to build relationships with your customers.
Emma also shared four words she tries to never say and since hearing them I too try not to say them…. They are: Just, Because, But, Can’t; Makes you think, doesn’t it? So, now it is your turn to try – how many times do you throw those words into a sentence?
Franchise Business Network & Women's Franchise Network Give Back
Our end of the year holiday gathering is one of my favorite times of the year. Here the Franchise Business Network and the Women’s Franchise Network Tampa Bay join forces and gives back to our local community.
For the Third year in a row, we adopted the local Blossom Montessori School for the Deaf as our chosen charity. One of our guest speakers was a new teacher from the school, Mariah. Mariah, shared her experience as a student and what it meant for her to be in an environment that allowed her to excel.
Today, Mariah is a teacher at Blossom Montessori School for the Deaf. I appreciate the school “celebrates the uniqueness of every child, values and encourage creativity and innovation and believe all children possess the ability to learn and succeed”. This is truly how we “blossom”.
So my year in review is all about the “impact”. We really never know the ROI of impact and the difference we can make on people, community, and customers. I hope to continue to make a Huge Positive Impact in 2020.
I am proud to be the chair of the Women’s Franchise Network Tampa Bay, thankful to have such a community to work within, and appreciative of our sponsors and our network members. We are a team, a community and part of a growing network that makes a positive impact. I look forward to continuing to grow our local network in 2020.
Have an amazing New Year!
Maria Haan, CFE, CC Chair, IFA Women’s Franchise Network Tampa Bay Co-Chair, IFA Women’s Franchise Committee, Task Force
IFAwfnoftampabay; @mcshaan;
Thank you to our sponsors for helping us make a positive impact: Social Joey; Quarles & Brady, Xplor, Inc. Bloomin Brands, College Hunks Hauling Junk