Shirin Behzadi, HFC, Helping Female Business Owners Succeed

May 21, 2019,

Proof that the American dream is still alive and well is the massive number of individuals who desire to own their own business.

Women, decades ago, once essentially banned from the club, are now becoming some of the greatest entrepreneurial change merchants.

The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) is the largest certifier of women-owned businesses in the U.S. and a leading advocate for women business owners and entrepreneurs.

They believe diversity promotes innovation, opens doors, and creates partnerships that fuel the economy. That’s why they provide the most relied upon certification standard for women-owned businesses and the tools to help them succeed.

According to WBENC:

fciwomenswrestling.com femcompetitor.com, WBENC photo credit

As of 2018, there are 12.3 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. Compare that to 1972, when there were only 402,000 women-owned businesses, representing 4.6 percent of all firms.
Women own 4 out of every 10 businesses in the U.S.
Since 2007, the number of women-owned businesses has increased by 58 percent, which is better than businesses overall, which increased by only 12 percent.
Last year, 1,821 net new women-owned businesses were launched every day. Women of color founded 64 percent of those new businesses.
Women are slightly more likely to start a business than men, according to the SCORE report.

That is truly good news.

One such dynamic woman is leading a growing company that helps budding entrepreneurs get their start.

Her name is Shirin Behzadi.

fciwomenswrestling.com femcompetitor.com, Budget Blinds Franchise photo credit

As shared by bloomberg.com, “Ms. Shirin Behzadi has been the Chief Executive Officer of Home Franchise Concepts, Inc., since December 10, 2015. Ms. Behzadi began with Budgets Blinds as Chief Financial Officer in 1999 and continued to provide fiscal guidance for its family of brands including Tailored Living, Home Franchise Concepts, BB Commercial Solutions, Inspired Drapes and Concrete Craft.

She manages the Accounting Department, manages the National Advertising Fund (NAF), and ensures that the dollars are working hard for its franchisees.

She served as the Chief Financial Officer of Home Franchise Concepts, Inc., from September 16, 2015 to December 10, 2015.”

Very impressive resume.

Her accomplishments didn’t come easy.

As shared at forbes.com, “Her journey to the top wasn’t easy. At 17, she fled Iran following the 1979 revolution and emigrated to America; soon her mother and siblings followed, finding their upper-middle-class lifestyle back home much diminished. She took a job as a gas station cashier when she was a teenager and went on to establish a comfortable life, working at EY as an accountant and then as a mortgage bank’s CFO. A brain tumor threatened her entrepreneurial dreams in 2009, but she survived 20 hours of surgery, then needed to relearn how to walk.”

Her story is sadly inspiring and incredible.

Incredible in part because of the great success she is having leading HFC.

On June 26, 2018 it was announced at HFC, “EY today announced that Shirin Behzadi, CEO of Home Franchise Concepts (HFC), the largest family of direct-to-consumer brands in the home improvement space, received the Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2018 Award in the Direct to Consumer category in Orange County.

Considered the world’s most prestigious business honor for entrepreneurs, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Award recognizes inspirational business leaders excelling in areas such as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Behzadi was selected after completing a series of in-person interviews evaluated by an independent panel of judges, and the award was presented at a special gala event at the Monarch Beach Resort on June 22.

The award comes during a season of professional recognition for Behzadi including nomination to the Orange County Business Journal “OCBJ 500,” selection as a presenter at the Franchise Times Finance and Growth Conference and the subject of a May 2018 cover profile in Franchise Times magazine, a leading journal of the franchising industry.

Under Behzadi’s direction, HFC has grown into one of the largest and most respected franchisors in the country, on track to reach $700 million in sales in 2018, up from $600 million last year and a 71-percent increase in systemwide sales since 2015.”

That speaks to how women all over the world could look to Shirin as an example to follow.

Her company can help those who have been thinking about the right time to start a business.

We say the time is now.

Here is their philosophy, “We are passionate about providing an opportunity for people from all walks of life and backgrounds to own their own business and own their own lives. We do this by providing them with programs, products and services that consumers recognize as their “go-to” brands. We provide superior training, support and leadership to our owners so they become as successful as they want to be. Our strong network of business owners consistently trained and supported is the perfect way to distribute high-quality products and services to consumers whose lives we touch.”

Well said.

Anyone who has owned their own business knows there is this feeling no ceiling exists on how well you can do financially if you work hard and smart enough.

If you are a woman desiring to become an entrepreneur, HFC is expanding. Check it out and see if this is for you.

Home Franchise Concepts Adds AdvantaClean to its Growing Family of Brands

fciwomenswrestling.com femcompetitor.com, pexels.com bruce mars photo credit

Home of Budget Blinds, Tailored Living and Concrete Craft acquires leading franchised provider of restoration services

January 02, 2019 06:30 PM Eastern Standard Time

–Home Franchise Concepts (HFC), the world’s largest franchising system in the home improvement space, has expanded its position as a whole-home solution with the Jan. 1, 2019, acquisition of AdvantaClean, one of the nation’s leading franchised providers of restoration services.

AdvantaClean becomes the fourth Home Franchise Concepts home-related brand, joining Budget Blinds^®, Tailored Living^® and Concrete Craft^® as the top-rated franchised brands in their category.

Founded in 1994, AdvantaClean specializes in mold remediation, water damage restoration, and air duct and dryer vent cleaning. It also provides permanent solutions such as crawl space encapsulation, attic and radon ventilation, and basement waterproofing. The Huntersville, N.C.-based company operates more than 230 franchise territories in 37 states.

The acquisition extends HFC’s footprint and commitment to North American homeowners to more than 1,700 franchise territories operating in 11,000 cities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

“AdvantaClean is a perfect fit with the HFC family and spreads our mission of being a whole-home-solution provider with a growing suite of best-in-class home products and services,” said Shirin Behzadi, CEO of Irvine, Calif.-based Home Franchise Concepts. “Just like local Budget Blinds, Tailored Living and Concrete Craft business owners, AdvantaClean franchisees are trusted, local experts in their communities, offering innovative solutions to help turn their customers’ houses into a home.”

According to Behzadi, AdvantaClean shares a number of similarities with HFC and its brand family including common core values and a focus on giving back. AdvantaClean is a National Partner of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “As a growing franchisor, HFC is looking to develop and acquire brands that not only meet specific business criteria but can contribute to our ongoing commitment to caring and our long-term partnerships with Home for Our Troops, Wounded Warriors Canada and Working Wardrobes.”

AdvantaClean was founded by Jeff Dudan in Florida to help homeowners impacted by Hurricane Andrew. President Matt Phillips is a Certified Franchise Executive, U.S. Army veteran and serves on the board of VetFran, a veteran franchising initiative of the International Franchise Association.

“We are delighted to join forces with the experts at HFC and to expand our collective ability to positively impact homeowners across North America,” said Phillips. “It’s rare that you find two companies that are so closely aligned in business philosophy, core values and a genuine desire to impact our local communities in the long run. AdvantaClean franchisees can expect a bright future as part of the HFC family.”

Boxwood Partners, LLC provided financial advice to AdvantaClean on the transaction.

About AdvantaClean

Founded in 1994 as a contracting business handling cleanup and repairs in South Florida, AdvantaClean, now headquartered in Huntersville, N.C., is one of the leading national franchised providers of Restoration Services in the country. The company currently ranks 85th on Entrepreneur Magazine’s fastest-growing-franchises list and is among Franchise Business Review’s Top 50 in franchisee-satisfaction ratings. In 2013–14, USA Today and the International Franchise Association recognized AdvantaClean as a Top Franchise for Military Veterans. Today, more than 230 AdvantaClean franchised territories operate in 37 states.

About Home Franchise Concepts

Home Franchise Concepts (HFC) is the top-selling family of direct-to-consumer brands in the home-related goods and services space, one of the world’s largest franchise businesses and a recognized leader in franchisee-franchisor relationships. HFC’s three brands including Budget Blinds^®, Tailored Living^® and Concrete Craft^® are consistently rated at the top of their categories and supported by nearly 1,500 franchise territories in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.