#Youngsters thrive as franchisees

Franchise opportunities are becoming increasingly popular with youngsters who are looking for a way to get a successful career going when they leave college or university.

One example of this comes from 25 year old Gemma Field. When she left school, she had a feeling that she might want to get into catering or hospitality, but she never expected to take on a franchise.

She now oversees a group of shops within one of the UK’s fastest growing sandwich chain, Baguette Express.
The youngster manages a busy branch of the store in Glasgow but to add to this, she is also helping to develop and train two new stores in Harlow and Camden in London.

Gemma studied travel and tourism at college and worked as a waitress when she left. She planned on working her way up from being a waitress but she was introduced to a Baguette Express franchisee called Amjid Bashir.
He saw her drive and determination and immediately made her a supervisor, giving her plenty of responsibility. She was given two weeks of training and then opened the Queen Street store in Glasgow.

She was quickly promoted to manager and asked to help out with the openings of some of the new London stores.

It’s been a fast learning curve for Gemma, but one that she has really enjoyed every minute of.