Join us in offering our wholehearted congratulations to the 2024 CFA Franchisees of the Year, each of whom have reigned victorious in their territories, within their chosen franchise system, and now on a national level among their industry peers
This past April in Montreal, the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) distributed awards to nine franchisees who have gone above and beyond in their pursuit of their dream of business ownership through the power of financing. The Franchisee of the Year award celebrates their accomplishments and recognizes their business performance, community service, and overall involvement in their franchise brand. In launching and nurturing their franchised small businesses, they have found success in going into business for themselves, but not by themselves.
Scroll on to learn more about the 2024 Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners and what makes them unique in the burgeoning franchise community.
Gold, Traditional: Alicia Baker, DermaEnvy Skincare, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
When Alicia Baker first heard she was a finalist for the 2024 Franchisee of the Year Award, she was understandably shook—in the best way possible.
“As soon as I saw an email that was titled ‘Congratulations,’ I stopped,” she recalls. “I was born in the social media generation, so I know a lot about email scams and such. So as soon as I saw it, I was like, ‘Oh, great.’ You know, another cruise [contest scam].”
After quickly confirming it wasn’t a hoax, she reached out to her DermaEnvy Skincare franchisor, Cohen MacInnis, who agreed that they shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to attend the awards ceremony. Before she knew it, her flight was booked to attend the 2024 CFA National Convention in Montreal. “I had been once, literally for one day, and I really enjoyed it,” she says of learning she’d be travelling to historic Montreal. “I’ve been looking for an excuse to go back ever since, so this was perfect.”
Fast forward to the CFA Awards Gala Dinner on April 8, and Baker was blown away yet again when she heard her name announced as the Gold winner of Franchisee of the Year in the Traditional Franchise (a business with a brick-and-mortar location) category.
As it had been throughout her entire franchise journey, DermaEnvy Skincare was exceptionally supportive of Baker, celebrating her nomination and subsequent win both within the system and publicly. And Baker has nothing but positive things to say about the brand, from its steadfast support of her and her location to the benefits it offers franchisees from across Canada. Another of her biggest cheerleaders is none other than her father, who Baker looks to as a lifelong source of inspiration.
“My dad raised my brother and I on his own; our mother passed away when we were both quite young,” she explains. “He has always worked harder than hard, harder than humanly possible. He has always not just taken whatever kind of job he can get, but whatever would be the best to help my brother and I.” Because of her father’s determined, hard-working nature, both she and her brother (who is a marine engineering systems designer) were motivated to find successful, satisfying careers.
When it comes to why and how she was selected for the honour, Baker is humble, giving the greatest credit to her franchise system and team.
“Something that makes us stand out is that all our franchisees are typically local to their area. I think clients really appreciate that, when we go the extra mile to say ‘Oh, I remember it was your grandson’s birthday, what did he get up to,’ and so on. I think people really do appreciate the personality we bring to the business as well as great service.”
Now 25, Baker believes that receiving this recognition is good for both her brand and for other young entrepreneurs looking to enter the franchise industry, as it sets an example of what can be accomplished in one’s twenties.
“I think franchising is a great opportunity and a great option for anybody who is interested in being their own boss,” she insists. “Franchising itself is so special because you always have a team around you, and you have a system that is built to hold you up.”
And as she proudly holds up her own trophy, an award that represents the hard work she’s put into her business, Baker is the ideal example of the wonderful, sometimes unexpected places that the franchise industry can take you.
Gold, Non-Traditional: Candice Parent, MOLLY MAID Canada, Windsor, Ontario
Candice Parent has seen her fair share of messes, both in her former life as a teacher and in her current role as MOLLY MAID Canada’s Windsor, Ontario, franchisee. But since her business’ launch two years ago, she has received accolade after accolade within the brand and beyond, culminating in her recent Gold win for the CFA’s Franchisee of the Year Award for Non-Traditional Franchises (mobile systems and home-based businesses that don’t have a set office).
After 20 years in the education field, Parent was considering going back into the classroom full time but was dismayed to find that if she wanted to change school boards, she would be starting at the bottom, with zero seniority. Thankfully, an opportunity opened up in the form of a MOLLY MAID franchise in her area being sold by its owner.
“I always thought it would be great to own my own business, but I thought it would be more in the educational sector, or even the event sector,” says Parent. (During COVID, she attended college online for event planning.) Still, her curiosity was piqued, and she reached out to MOLLY MAID and the location owner at the time to dive into the opportunity. After speaking with several franchisees, some of whom had been with the brand for 20-plus years, and discussing the ins and outs of the franchise model, she was sold—literally.
One thing that drew Parent to MOLLY MAID was the number of female franchisees—though she notes there are also many successful male owners, the fact that so many women were successful in the system really drove home its strength. And during the launch phase of her business, which happened only in 2022 (the same year Parent won MOLLY MAID’s Rookie of the Year award), MOLLY MAID offered immense, consistent guidance, which helped her and her partner, Doug Vollans, as they embarked on this exciting new milestone.
“There was so much support leading up to [the launch of the franchise], not only from the person who would eventually be my business coach, but all the way up to Aaron Abrams, our CEO,” explains Parent.
And the kudos haven’t stopped rolling in for Parent since she launched her business. Earlier this year, just before the CFA National Convention, she was awarded the Purpose Award at MOLLY MAID’s own convention and awards gala. The award, she explains, is to recognize a franchisee who exemplifies “the true spirit of providing joy and comfort where people live, work, and play.”
Looking at all that Parent has accomplished in such little time, it’s clear that this is just the beginning of a long and lauded second act. But that hasn’t stopped her from remaining as down to earth as ever—in fact, when asked the secret to her success, she points to those around her.
“All these accomplishments, it’s a Team Windsor thing, because without the team, there is no me,” insists Parent. “They work so hard every day, and I’m very grateful and appreciative.”
Her franchise system family was there the day her name was announced to help her celebrate, too.
“It was really quite unbelievable for so many reasons,” she says about the CFA Awards Gala. “It was great that Doug was there to share that moment. I remember the first thing that happened is he jumped up and gave me a kiss. And then after that, Fiona jumped up, and Aaron jumped up, and we were all hugging.”
Though Parent has set the bar exceptionally high with this Gold win, both she and her MOLLY MAID team are ready for whatever other hardware will be thrown their way—but in the meantime, she’s keeping herself busy delivering the highest quality residential cleaning services she and her crew can offer, and she’s sure to be cleaning up more awards along the way.
Silver, Traditional: Neelam Bandali, Kumon Math & Reading Centres, Edmonton, Alberta
To own a thriving education business, you can’t just do it—you have to believe in it. And when it comes to championing the Kumon Method, the company’s Edmonton franchisee, Neelam Bandali, is the quarterback, wide receiver, and cheerleader of the brand’s approach to math and reading.
“One thing that stands out and truly attracted me toward Kumon is the self-learning aspect of it,” explains Bandali. “Other programs offer tutoring and one-on-one support. However, Kumon offers an opportunity for students to self-learn. As instructors, we help students to recognize their potential to be independent learners.
“I feel blessed that I have an opportunity to make a difference in students’ lives and community as a whole.”
Kumon is also one of the longest-running educational programs in the game, she adds, which provides a level of clout not often found in the field. And Bandali would know first-hand: her uncle was a Kumon franchisee, and she cut her teeth working at his centre early in her career.
Prior to joining the system, her husband, an engineer and therefore a huge fan of spreadsheets, helped her build her initial business plan, which she lists as one of the necessary steps to franchise success.
“We did a business plan to see if it was feasible,” recalls Bandali. “Like, do we have enough savings if it doesn’t work out? Can we sustain [our lives] on only one income?”
Fortunately, Bandali found success. But being prepared for the worst, she advises, can go a long way to ensuring you can sustain the financial, emotional, and mental toll that business ownership can take.
Of course, the sheer number of upsides that come along with being a franchisee, especially a Kumon franchisee, are what keep her ploughing ahead and delivering the superb tutoring and teaching support that her clients need.
“Thank God I went in and there were not many surprises,” she says, thinking back. “In fact, I was really lucky that the location that I picked [grew] really fast.”
For those who are looking to follow in her footsteps, Bandali recommends taking the same levelled approach that she did when investigating her business ownership options, and always have your support system ready to lean on when you need them most.
In the end, though recognition through awards such as the CFA Franchisee of the Year are welcomed and appreciated, Bandali stresses that she is but a single gear in the Kumon machine.
“I am honoured and grateful to be a part of a global franchise and to have been recognized as one of the top franchisees in Canada by the CFA,” she says. “I am a very small piece of the puzzle but am humbled to have played my part in this recognition.”
Though she may consider herself a small piece in the grand scheme of things, one thing is for sure: her contributions shine as brightly as her silver 2024 CFA Award—and are just as valuable.
Silver, Non-Traditional, Justin Callon, Billy Van Wyck, and Andrew Jackson, ServiceMaster Restore of Niagara
“We bleed yellow.”
That’s how Andrew Jackson describes the winning attitude behind his and his business partners’ successful ServiceMaster Restore location in St. Catharines, Ontario, which serves the Niagara region of the province. Some seven years ago, Jackson moved from Grande Prairie, Alberta, to settle in the Golden Horseshoe area, closer to where he grew up. Along with Justin Callon and Billy Van Wyck, who Jackson had worked with at ServiceMaster in Grand Prairie, the trio made their first steps in taking over the St. Catharines location from a previous long-time owner. They already knew ServiceMaster inside and out, thanks to their previous years as employees in the system, which was foundational to their success.
Now, nearly a decade later, and after finally getting “off the tools” two years into their endeavour, they are more than settled in the region, commanding industry-leading numbers and pushing their business forward with aplomb. Still, this doesn’t mean they’ve resigned to complacency.
Being part of a company that provides restoration services in the wake of disasters means that the trio and their team could be called into action at any point, anywhere, to help out their fellow ServiceMaster franchisees. Case in point: 2022’s Hurricane Fiona, which had Callon and Van Wyck heading to Nova Scotia to roll up their sleeves and help on the frontlines. “Having a good support system at home is key to doing what we’ve done,” notes Callon.
Jackson echoes that sentiment, with thank-yous reserved for their respective significant others as well as Callon’s parents, who ponied up an initial investment to help get the group off the ground.
“Probably the hardest decision I’ve had to make is the willingness to borrow money from my old man, because I knew how miserable it would make my life,” Callon jokes. “Worked out for the best, though.”
When it comes to cultivating an award-winning franchise, like their ServiceMaster Restore location, the recipe is simple, according to Jackson: trust the system, follow the system, and stick to the brand. “But you also need to go above and beyond what home office expects,” adds Van Wyck.
Visibility is one of the main drivers of their profitability, explains Jackson, pointing back to the company’s iconic, eye-catching yellow branded trucks. Plus, they go above and beyond in the community, ensuring that everyone from the nearby U.S. border to the neighbouring Hamilton region are aware of their presence, sponsoring “every yellow-themed sports team” from AAA hockey right down to kids’ soccer. And in a crowded market, being that visible takes a bit of creativity.
“We found a yellow fire truck on Kijiji, and we put it in every single Christmas parade there was,” says Callon. “That’s one way we get out in front of a large audience.”
The other, perhaps more important facet of gaining notoriety is by continuing to deliver the quality service that the ServiceMaster name is known for, and above all, having a passion for what they do. Between that and the brilliantly coloured vehicles they’re recognized for, it’s certainly hard for anyone to ignore their brand on the streets of Niagara.
And while the group is thrilled about being a finalist in the 2024 Franchisee of the Year awards, it’s of little surprise that they are using it as another personal catalyst. As Jackson teases, “Next year, it’ll be Gold.”
Bronze, Traditional, Wanda and Lawson MacEachern, Hallmark, Prince Edward Island
Though many of Hallmark’s biggest sales seasons revolve around holidays—think Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and of course, Christmas—franchisees Wanda and Lawson MacEachern have made it their mission to ensure that their franchise location is resistant to the natural ebbs and flows of the calendar year. One way they are doing that is by welcoming a selection of locally made goods, such as chocolates and other gift items, into their Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, store. Another recent undertaking is a bit more technologically advanced.
“We have a new laser engraver,” enthuses Wanda. “It’s catching on really well because not a lot of places on Prince Edward Island do this.”
This new addition ties into one of the aspects of Hallmark ownership that Wanda and Lawson appreciate the most: the ability to customize their offerings to meet the needs to their local community. The new engraving system means that customers can shop from over 200 products in the store’s engraving section and have them inscribed with names, initials, and sentiments—and as a bonus, the cost of engraving is included in the purchase price 99 per cent of the time. Plus, it adds an element of entertainment to the shop’s floor.
“We do the engraving right on the floor, while the customer watches and waits,” explains Lawson. Or, preferably, while they do some more shopping amongst the aisles.
It’s this ingenuity that has allowed their Charlottetown store to shine for more than a decade, along with their other P.E.I. location, situated in the County Fair Mall in Summerside. Their warm and welcoming attitude lends well to the nature of their business, where people can shop for anything from a mug for a number-one dad to a card of condolence for a coworker. Life’s highs and lows are experienced within the walls of their stores, so the customer experience needs to adjust based on the client’s needs.
“It has to, 100 per cent,” explains Wanda. “Our staff knows that. It’s our philosophy. You can go anywhere [to purchase a card]—big box stores, the drug store, the dollar store.” It’s the amount of care and compassion they show shoppers that sets them apart, she believes.
Being named the Bronze winners in the Traditional category for the 2024 CFA Franchisee of the Year award was a point of pride for the couple. Like many franchisees who count their spouse as business partner, the lines between their work and personal life can be blurry—but they wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We work really, really well together,” notes Wanda. “And it’s nice that even when we go to the Summerside store at least once a week, we drive over there together. We unload the truck together—well, really, he unloads the truck and I’ll start sorting the product.
“Even if we have to do an order in the nighttime, we’re still working together. We’ll be watching TV while Lawson’s doing sales on his computer.”
It’s this comfortable balance—perhaps the coziest example of business ownership one can imagine—that drives everything the MacEacherns do in their Hallmark locations and allows them to find success in the small things, each and every day.
“Obviously we want to make money, because you know, we’re a business,” says Lawson. “But we’re not looking to overprice anything, and we want to set a good example [for the community].”
With their balance of family and work, and their constant drive to improve the in-store experience, visitors to their stores would certainly agree that the MacEacherns can consider that goal met.
Bronze, Non-Traditional, Kristelle Campbell, PropertyGuys.com, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Since joining the PropertyGuys.com franchise system in 2018, Kristelle Campbell has seen her fair share of work-life changes. One of the biggest? Changing professions altogether.
“My husband and I and the kids were living just outside Halifax at the time,” she explains. “We were both working. I was a lawyer, and my husband was working in the trades as a millwright.” During the time between having her first and second child, Campbell took notice of how her husband’s self-owned business had been progressing and thought that there was something to it. Dreading the prospect of going back to the office full-time after maternity leave, she decided to take the leap into business ownership, in the form of PropertyGuys.com.
“It was my husband who first started looking into buying a franchise,” she recalls. And it was thanks to the brand’s solid digital marketing strategy that her interest was piqued. “I think he did a quick Google search, and one of the first things to come up was PropertyGuys.com.”
It was kismet, to some degree, as only a year prior the couple had been in the same shoes as their now-customers, trying to sell their home the “traditional way,” with the help of a real estate agent. She immediately recognized the benefit of not only using the PropertyGuys.com system but owning their own franchise: by cutting out the middleman and putting the power to sell in the homeowner’s hands, she could help those in her community save thousands of dollars during what could potentially be one of the most stressful periods of their lives.
“What we liked about [PropertyGuys.com as a couple selling their home] was the control,” explains Campbell. “We could log in and see everything that was going on with our account. Obviously the cost savings was huge, too.”
It turned out that it was the right choice for both her and her family, and the PropertyGuys.com business model had another, unexpected benefit: they were able to “stay open” during the entire pandemic, even attracting clients from other provinces who were looking to sell property they owned in the area.
From there, the business continued to grow and expand, and the PropertyGuys.com head office team took note. After the first year in operation, Campbell and her husband were nominated for the brand’s Rookie of the Year award, and only a year later in 2020, they took the plunge and purchased their second territory. With that territory, they landed the top awards honour in the PropertyGuys.com system earlier this year, and then a few short months later, Campbell was informed she was a finalist for the CFA Franchisee of the Year awards.
“That was the icing on the cake,” she says of the appreciation and recognition she has amassed. “It’s been a really, really great year.”
That appreciation extends all the way up the ranks of her franchise system. Ken LeBlanc, president and CEO of PropertyGuys.com, couldn’t be prouder of Campbell’s accomplishments.
“Kristelle epitomizes the essence of a top-notch, world-class franchisee,” he says. “Her unwavering commitment to her customers, her team, her fellow franchisees, and the greater good of our franchise system is truly exemplary.
“She embodies the values and our code of conduct we hold dear at PropertyGuys.com, and we are proud to have her as part of our franchise team.”
Whether it be her and her team’s charitable initiatives, such as community cleanups and drives to help Habitat for Humanity, or her day-to-day passion for helping homeowners, Campbell has shown that an amazing business opportunity can have ripple effects across one’s life. And for those looking to join a franchise system, remember: the right fit might be as close as your next Google search.