Female Founders
en business, with tremendous passion for
bringing art to kids. Our franchisees, staff,
and even the thousands of Young Rembrandts instructors all across the country
share the same drive for excellence, art,
and education.
BEING FEMALE
Was being female an advantage or
disadvantage for you in building
your company? How? Being a female
has been an advantage for me because of
the market I’m in. I was very comfortable
in the classroom. I had a lot of relationships with schools and teachers because
of being a mom and having worked in
education. I knew my customers because
I was my customer!
sue their career while having kids, take
time off and be at home, or some variation and it’s all okay. It’s about choice
without judgment.
Which female leaders do you admire? Why? Eleanor Roosevelt is one of
my heroes. She was all about social causes
and in a position of profound influence.
She was really in touch with the needs of
the people. She made things happen and
got things done, with immense grace and
professionalism.
that means being in the office three full
days a week, doing more operational and
CEO kind of work. The other two days a
week are devoted to thought leadership:
writing for my blog, recording the podcast,
planning, strategizing, speaking, product
development, and networking. I refer to
this as my “genius time,” and it’s invaluable.
How do you maintain a work/life
balance? I started my own business
because I wanted to maintain work/life
balance, and for years I’ve been blessed to
Have you found specific advantages
or disadvantages to being a woman
business owner? Some disadvantages
I found were my professionals. Lawyers,
bankers, and accountants didn’t take me
seriously because I was a woman. Over
the years I have surrounded myself with
like-minded professionals—and as it turns
out, many of them are women.
What do you think is the biggest issue for women in the workplace?
Women are still faced with the struggle
to balance career and family. With four
kids of my own, I was fortunate to have
my own business and for it to be in a
child-related field. This is why Young
Rembrandts attracts corporate professionals, because our business model
and target market are all about family
and education. One of the things we see
when new franchisees come on board is
their excitement to build a business and
still have a healthy work/life balance—
something they couldn’t do as easily in
Corporate America.
From a woman’s perspective, what
notable changes have you seen for
women in franchising since starting
your brand? When it comes to work
and family, women are still the ones who
struggle most to balance or choose one
or the other. But now there are more
choices for women as far as career versus home life. They can choose to pur-
Has mentorship made a difference in
your professional and personal life?
How? I have a strong network of female
professionals who have been invaluable in
my personal and business development. And
most of them are entrepreneurs!
do just that. I had four young kids when
I started my business and managed to
adapt my schedule along the way to be
very available for them, involved in their
education and activities, while still growing a great business.
Are you involved in any female entrepreneur organizations? I was involved
in the Women Presidents’ Organization
for several years, but not currently. They
are a great group of women leaders, many
of them entrepreneurs who really share
and encourage other women in business.
Right now I have several female friends
who are entrepreneurs and we are each
other’s support group!
What are your top 5 favorite things
to do? 1) I love my job! We have a remarkably dynamic staff who love what
they do. They care deeply about our
franchisees and their success. They’re
innovative, creative, and always looking to make things even better than
they already are. I love to work with our
franchisees, too. We are a happy, productive group that loves what we do. 2)
I love children. Children are so full of
possibility and promise. I’m enormously
thankful my life’s work and career have
all been about kids and art. Everything
we do is about educating, empowering,
and valuing kids. 3) I love art. I love
seeing, making, and sharing art. Young
PERSONAL
What does your typical day look like?
As a leader I truly believe you need to spend
as much time working for the future as
you are working in the present. For me
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