---
title: "Grand Rapids Business Journal: Female business ownership on the rise"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/cf69c851-b921-450d-8423-3d32f2e3fc1d
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/grand-rapids-business-journal-female-business-ownership-on-the-rise-2705446
category: "Franchise Industry"
industry: "Franchise Industry"
published: 2018-02-05T20:15:01.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T03:02:37.204Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/fe5068f382c192d589427f1cde4ad13e6168.jpg
---

# Grand Rapids Business Journal: Female business ownership on the rise

**TL;DR:** Women are becoming franchisees at a growing rate, driven by flexibility and community engagement, with 50% of all franchisees in 2017 being women. The number of female franchisees has increased from 14% in 2013 to 50% in 2017.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2018-02-05. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/grand-rapids-business-journal-female-business-ownership-on-the-rise-2705446).*

## Story

According to a recent Grand Rapids Business Journal article, flexibility and community engagement are the major drivers for women becoming franchisees. Recent FranNet data stated only 14 percent of all franchisees in 2013 were women, with that number climbing to 50 percent in 2017.

“Ultimately, if you look at those numbers, there’s been pretty much a steady growth overall,” said Brigitte Betser, FranNet consultant for the West Michigan market.

Bester says most of her clients are mothers or aging parents who are looking for flexibility in managing their business and personal responsibilities.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Franchise Industry (sector)
- franchise ownership (topic)
- FranNet (company)
- female franchisees (topic)
- business flexibility (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/grand-rapids-business-journal-female-business-ownership-on-the-rise-2705446). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/cf69c851-b921-450d-8423-3d32f2e3fc1d).