Name of franchise: The Athena Network
Industry: Business Networking
Cost to set up franchise: £5,000 plus VAT
Potential earnings: Up to £3,000 per month
Training provided/length of training: Full training programme including two day franchisee induction training, four start-up tele-classes, ongoing master classes and mentoring.
Type of support given: Athena offers a consultative approach where franchisees attend regional director development days every eight weeks, giving them the opportunity to network and connect with each other and work together to gain motivation, support and inspiration. Keynote guest speakers are used for training purposes. The Athena Network?s support structure offers its franchisees a ‘hotline’ to the head office for instant support and advice, and provides comprehensive tools to make work easier, such as scripts for short training presentations, an online calendar which automatically diarises franchisee Athena actions each week, Athena email templates, etc.
Why is this franchise suitable for mothers?
The Athena Network is a fantastic business opportunity for mums as it offers the perfect blend of home-based administrative work, and an energising social aspect, including networking lunches, meetings, and training and development days. No previous experience is required, full training is provided and franchisees work with a dedicated personal mentor. Training is thorough and a detailed operations manual is provided.
There’s also the opportunity to increase income streams with other Athena initiatives, such as affiliate schemes for Athena products, or running Athena workshops or teleclasses. The flexibility of The Athena franchise package provides franchisees with an exclusive four-group territory, and successful Athena franchises can generate up to £3,000 per month for just a few hours work with the option of taking on more territories to increase profit margins further. Mothers can take on an affordable franchise with a 100% no-risk guarantee, set their own workload and put themselves in control.
Robyn Hatley, Regional Director, South West Middlesex, shares her story
“I have two daughters aged six and three and joined the Athena Network in October last year, taking over the running of an existing group. I’m now at pre-launch stage of the remaining three groups, and am glad to say I’ve made a profit from day one! I chose Athena for a number of reasons:
- Flexibility was a major factor – the work fits in very well with school hours and term-time working, with very occasional childcare required during school holidays (for just a couple of hours).
- Athena offers fun and support in business, and having experienced an Athena networking lunch prior to becoming a franchisee, I could clearly see the motivational benefits for women in business.
- Athena appealed to me as an opportunity to increase my skills set, and I feel that I’ve grown tremendously in terms of confidence through social networking, guest speaking and successfully running a home-based business.
Athena also complements my primary home-based business (business coaching,) which I’ve been running for two years.
My typical day as an Athena franchisee may include promoting my Athena business, sending emails, making phone calls, meeting or calling business women interested in Athena; writing advertorials prior to an Athena launch, updating my database and other franchisee administration, preparing for the next Athena Networking lunch, sourcing a guest speaker, and preparing a short training topic. Athena provides me with an income stream that doesn?t require hundreds of hours of hand-holding, and is self-sustaining to a great degree!”
How to apply
Contact Jacqueline Rogers, National Director, The Athena Network, 61 Ebury Road, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, WD3 1BL, tel: 0845 004 9262, or visit www.athenafranchise.com.