The NatWest EWIF Awards 2014 ceremony took place in Central London on Thursday 22nd
May in front of over 100 guests from the world of franchising including sponsors Bartercard, Coconut Creatives, McDonald’s, Merry Maids and The Franchise Show.
EWIF (Encouraging Women into Franchising) is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to encourage women to buy a franchise business, to franchise their existing business or to help existing franchise operations to attract more female franchisees and they run regular meetings across the UK. This year, the awards event was even bigger and better thanks to the hard work of all their volunteers from the franchise industry.
Coconut Creatives was proud to sponsor the prestigious Franchisor of the Year award. We had a tough decision to make and, after weighing up the finalists, we presented the award to Lisa Suswain, Managing Director at Wagging Tails, for her dedication to the franchise industry. Lisa’s passion for her business shone through and it is clear that she is doing something she loves.
Lisa set up Wagging Tails after an injury forced her to retire as a professional ballet dancer. She wanted to do something she was passionate about and so decided to follow a career in the pet care industry. Wagging Tails provides a home from home for dogs whilst their owners are a way on holiday and offers something a little different to the traditional kennels.
“Lisa is clearly passionate about her business and she is really working hard towards being an ambassador for her industry at all levels. All the candidates gave strong entries but Lisa demonstrated a deep understanding of her business, forging the way not only in the franchising arena but in her industry as a whole. Lisa has shown an unrelenting level of professionalism and pursuit of excellence in every area of her business showing that she clearly values her franchisees’ success as much as her own,” explains Sarah Carlile, Director of Coconut Creatives.
“It was a tough decision and the competition was high quality but Lisa definitely stood out in the category. Lisa is a true entrepreneur and has built the business up to be the successful franchise it is today. We hope that Lisa is as proud to add this award to her collection as we were to present her with it,” adds Sally Anne Butters, Director of Media at Coconut Creatives.
The ceremony was a massive success, commenting on the day Louise Harris, Co-chair of EWIF said:
“It’s great to know that we have honoured some of the best in the industry, both upcoming and established women franchising. We hope it will inspire women everywhere to take a closer look at franchising as an option, either buying into one of the many women friendly businesses available or franchising their own business.”
You can find out more about EWIF and the valuable work it does within the franchise community plus more about this year’s award winners by visiting www.ewif.org