Opportunities Are Created By Those Who Taste The Win
Emily-Jane Price, the Chief Operating Officer of the British Franchise Association, is an ambitious business woman who made her way through life. Emily did not have it all served to her on a platter. In fact, it was quite the contrary. She fought her share of battles, overcame her fears, created sustainable opportunities for herself and aced at it. She still does.
Emily is an ambitious business woman who is married and is a mother to two daughters. She is the compassionate owner of two dogs and has an innate passion for health, fitness and cooking. She grew up in a middle-class family where both her parents worked full time to provide for the family. Emily had a very grounded upbringing with strong connections to her grandparents. “Family was and still is very important, we didn’t have a lot but we appreciated what we had,” she says.
Emily recognizes herself as an introvert and growing up she found it painful to put herself forward for anything. So much so that even answering the phone was a challenge for her. “I have learnt that you just have to get comfortable being uncomfortable and keep expanding comfort zones, which is what I did throughout my early career, taking opportunities that were built on my weaknesses to provide a strong foundation for my growth in business,” she shares.
Emily completed her graduate diploma in Applied Management from the Warwick Business School in 2017. She reveals that this was the point of inception of her passion for leadership. She learnt about the impact that great leadership can have on individuals and groups of people. Since then, she has studied, in her own time, various leadership methodologies and principles and is about to commence an ILM executive coaching qualification to further deepen her knowledge.
It was no surprise when Emily said that she was motivated by helping others realize their value in business and have a firm belief that leading with kindness is a necessary requirement for anyone in a position of seniority. “Facilitating environments where people feel safe and trust one another is the gamechanger for high performance teams,” she adds.
If one had to look at her career trajectory, they’d know how Emily has grown exponentially through her roles. Almost a decade of her service at the British Franchise Association itself showcases her areas of expertise and how she has outgrown herself over the years. Her zeal to transform the odds as foundations for success is certainly something to look up to.
The British Franchise Association represents ethical business format franchising in the UK and is an established self regulatory body, focused on building quality and protecting the industry from malpractice. “We are huge advocates of the industry and have a world leading educational programme to support the franchising community with both business and personal development,” says Emily.
She further says that “The franchise industry is welcoming of the change in culture of the British Franchise Association in the past 3 – 5 years, through the new executive leadership we have taken what was an old fashioned institution to a modern, inclusive and more representative high quality organisation”.
As for her growth, initially, even though her challenges involved juggling being a mum and deciding to continue the focus on her career and studies, she never gave up. Instead, she really focused on being a role model to her daughters so that one day, they could be proud of their mum. Emily also provides for them so that they could have opportunities that she didn’t have in her younger years.
Today, Emily is very much focused on strategic direction, she has the opportunity to work with and create initiatives that impact many businesses for the better and thrive of the collective opportunity for the franchise industry.
Emily passes the following message to our readers – “As you grow, never forget to look after you! Surround yourself with people that can impact you positively and remember that your reflection is the most powerful contributor to your success”.