How a Stay-At-Home Mom Became a Multi-Unit Franchisee
As a child, Once Upon A Child® and Plato’s Closet® franchisee Becky Finger always wanted to be a mother when she grew up. After marrying her husband, Becky achieved her dream and ended up having three children. As her kids started to get older, however, Becky turned her sights to something else – entrepreneurship. She purchased her first franchise at age 40 and opened up 16 more stores – nine Once Upon A Child stores and seven Plato’s Closet locations – over the next 10 years.
“I have always been very family-oriented,” said Becky. “And now, my husband and children are involved in my businesses, so I get the best of both worlds.”
Becky says she sees her son and daughter becoming co-owners in the business in the next five to ten years, making for a seamless transition. Both her children have worked in her stores since they were teens and continue to oversee operations, point-of-sale systems and more. Since 2015, her daughter has joined the family business as marketing director. She brings 15 years of marketing experience, which has allowed Becky to step aside and given her children the opportunity to run the stores.
Becky has been extremely successful as a multi-unit franchisee. In 2015, she did over $20 million in sales and experienced a 10 percent and 7.4 percent sales growth at her Once Upon A Child locations and Plato’s Closet respectively. In 2016, she saw roughly the same results. She attributes this success to the unique mission and business model of her stores.
“From day one, our key focus has been on providing great value and selection for families and young adults,” said Becky. “And our customer base has increased continuously over the past decade, and I think it’s because more customers are value-minded and conscious of the recycling aspect of our business.”
Although Becky has experienced great success within her 16 franchise stores, she says she is always coming up with ways to continue expanding. She encourages her employees to take an active role in marketing and other initiatives so the businesses continue to thrive.
“Since our business changes based on our customers’ wants and needs, I encourage my team to bring new marketing ideas and promotions to our business,” Becky said. “If we always do the same thing, we’ll get the same results. I like to try new ideas and get the customers’ feedback.”
More and more women are becoming franchisees – leaving home or a corporate office for business ownership. Consider a franchise opportunity that will allow you more free time, greater flexibility and countless other advantages.
At Winmark Corporation®, we provide a proven business model, helpful resources and an open-door policy to set our franchisees up for success. Visit our website to explore our growing franchise opportunities.
