A recent survey reveals women are outpacing men as entrepreneurs, while also growing their workforces and revenue.
The number of women-owned businesses nearly doubled those owned by their male counterparts from 2019-2023, according to an inaugural report by Wells Fargo. The research further shows 50% of these businesses are concentrated in four industries, which includes service-based companies like Marine veteran Cynthia Williams owns.
Williams said she recognized her dream of running a Molly Maid franchise after being medically discharged from the military. She served nine years as a Marine, with her last duty station at Parris Island, South Carolina. A cancer diagnosis changed everything.
Williams, whose brother’s career in the Navy encouraged her to pursue a commissioning, said she loved her job. After unexpectedly being diagnosed with leukemia, she began treatment at the Nashville Veterans Affairs Hospital. For a decade her care was successful, but eventually she would need a bone marrow transplant from her brother. Four months later, Williams said, she was recovered and cancer free.
While on medical leave for her treatment, she began exploring the idea of owning a business. She did research, learning about opportunities with Molly Maid — a cleaning service franchise with more than 450 individually owned locations across the United States, according to its website.
Williams currently operates Molly Maid of Winder in Athens, Georgia. She says skills learned from the Marines helped with her role.
“In the Marine Corps you do have delegation, but you still are responsible for everything,” she said. “I guess I had to realize it is the same thing in business; you can be in charge and responsible for everything but also you can delegate.”
She added how military allowed her to utilize time management so she could get all the tasks completed each week. She also relied on networking by meeting other veterans, business owners and people in other fields that helped her learn and grow as an entrepreneur.
If veterans are considering starting their own business, especially a franchise, she recommends VET FRAN. It provides a list of franchise options along with other resources for starting a business. She also shared advice for female veterans considering entrepreneurship.
“Do a lot of research. Figure out what kind of business you want to do. Have a good business plan, and then if you are going to do a franchise make sure that you talk to a lot of owners of that franchise to get a good understanding of what it entails as far as your time [and] money.”
Williams adds that veterans are a natural fit for entrepreneurship.
“As a veteran, going into your own business is kind of a good fit because of the discipline that we have, the great mindset that we have to get things done, and the leadership skills we learn in the military,” she said.
Last year, Molly Maid performed 1.7 million cleaning services, 90% of which were for repeat customers. Visit the Molly Maid franchise website to learn more about franchise opportunities.
