DALLAS – Less than one-third of franchised businesses in the U.S. are owned by women, a statistic 7-Eleven Inc. would like to see rise. To increase its own number of female franchisees, the convenience retailer is kicking off a franchise give-away contest exclusively for women entrepreneurs.
7-Eleven invites qualified women to enter the contest and consider becoming an independent business owner, where 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 helps provide young people 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, a 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 pm 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 7-Eleven. Today, franchisees operate almost 90% of the 7-Eleven stores in the United States. An interactive map at www.franchise.7-eleven.com indicates stores available for franchising.
7-Eleven disclaimer: The contest is not open to eligible women who are legal residents of Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota and where prohibited. All participants must read and agree to the official rules at WomensFranchiseGiveaway.com. This is not an offer to sell a franchise, which will be made by us only in a state if 7-Eleven, Inc. is first registered, filed, exempted or otherwise qualified to offer franchises in that state, and only if 7-Eleven provides an appropriate Franchise Disclosure Document. A credit of up to $190,000 toward the initial franchise fee will be awarded. The winner will be required to pay any portion of the initial franchise fee over $190,000 for the store they select, along with other initial fees, including but not limited to a $29,000 down payment on inventory, cost of all licenses and permits, expenses to attend training and other fees described in our Franchise Disclosure Document.