How Mandy Nowels, SVP of E-Commerce & Marketing at The Spice & Tea Exchange, Found Her Way into Franchising

Name: Mandy Nowels Brand: The Spice & Tea Exchange Title: Senior Vice President of E-Commerce and Marketing Years in franchising: 2 No. of units: 74 What attracted you to franchising? Initially I was simply attracted to The Spice & Tea Exchange as a growing company.

Their unique concept and product really intrigued me and led me to venture into the franchise space. It’s been fun learning about a new industry and how to apply my knowledge. What was your first job in franchising?

This is my first experience working in franchising and it’s been interesting discovering that some businesses I am familiar with are, in fact, franchises! Now that I’m in the industry, I’m much more aware of franchised concepts and how they implement both local and national strategies. What do you attribute your success to?

Probably my entrepreneurial spirit. It takes a particular mindset to problem-solve in a quickly scaling environment. What challenges and obstacles have you overcome in your career?

Communication is one of our most important tools, but it is also challenging at times. I find that my mentors, colleagues, and I are constantly working on better or more effective communication. I tend to gravitate toward that and am drawn to effective leaders and how they communicate.

Describe your journey to your current position I’ve been lucky enough to be involved with a lot of aspects of this business. Coming from a background in e-commerce and marketing, I came to The Spice & Tea Exchange prepared to help them grow the department and streamline the end-to-end journey of products through our internal and external channels. What are your future career goals?

I am always eager to continue to grow my knowledge in any area that sparks interest; to push myself. I hope to continue to find joy in contributing to successful growth, and to make a difference in each organization (any area) that I dive into! Advice to young female executives in franchising Work hard and ask questions!

Franchising has a unique human element with some of the most eclectic groupings of people. Have fun with that! That’s what I’ve found as I created connections working within this environment – you don’t find that in other industries and business models!