What I Didn't Expect To Take From EWiB & The EWiF Awards

Walking into the Empowering Women in Business (EWiB) Conference and the Empowering Women in Franchising (EWiF) Awards, I'll admit something upfront: I was completely wrong about what I thought I was walking into.

I've only recently joined the franchising sector and, unlike many of the people in the room, I wasn't arriving with years of industry experience or a network of people I'd known and become friends with over the years. In fact, despite being determined not to be, I quietly wondered whether I'd feel like the new kid on their first day at school.

What I expected was a day of discussions about franchising. What I didn't expect was to spend so much of the day reflecting on my own path.

The room was full of franchisors, franchisees, business owners and industry leaders. People who had spent years building businesses, supporting teams and navigating challenges I haven't encountered yet. Throughout the conference, speaker after speaker shared stories of career changes, unexpected opportunities, difficult decisions and moments where they had chosen to back themselves despite uncertainty.

What struck me wasn't how different their journeys were, it was how few of them seemed to have followed a perfectly mapped-out plan.

There's a tendency, especially when you're earlier in your career, to look at successful people and assume they must have known exactly where they were going all along. That there was some grand strategy behind every move. Listening to the speakers, the reality seemed much messier and much more reassuring.

Careers changed direction, businesses evolved, plans failed, new opportunities appeared and more people than I expected took chances before they felt completely ready.

One of the themes that kept appearing throughout the day was the idea of giving yourself permission. Permission to apply for the role, to start the business or to speak up. Permission to pursue something simply because it interests you, even if it doesn't make perfect sense to everyone else.

As someone who has spent plenty of time analysing possible outcomes of decisions, I wasn't expecting to hear that from a Women's franchising conference. It didn't suddenly give me all the answers, but it was a reminder that very few people have everything figured out. Often, the people we admire most are simply the ones who were willing to start before they felt ready.

The other thing that stood out was the atmosphere in the room. What could have felt intimidating as a newcomer instead felt incredibly welcoming. People were generous with their experiences, honest about their challenges and genuinely invested in celebrating each other's successes.

By the time the awards began later that evening, I found myself looking at the room differently. Of course, there were impressive businesses and achievements being recognised, but what stood out most was the variety of journeys that had brought people there. No two stories were the same, yet all of them had started somewhere. The lessons came from all sorts of places throughout the day. Some came from conversations over coffee, others from the speakers themselves.

One of the highlights of the day for me was Heather Wright's presentation, which challenged the familiar idea that "the customer comes first". Instead, she argued for a different order of priorities: first yourself, then your team, and then the customer. It was a perspective that sparked plenty of discussion and gave me a lot to think about. Almost immediately you think it's counterintuitive. But the more Heather spoke the more it made sense that people who are burnt out, overwhelmed or unsupported will struggle to bring their best selves to work. As part of the session, we took part in an exercise where teams had to come up with ways to disrupt a competitor's business. Our group accidentally stumbled upon what turned out to be a surprisingly effective strategy: repeatedly interfering with lots of small processes rather than targeting one major weakness. We later discovered we'd inadvertently landed on a tactic used during the Second World War. Even better, our efforts earned us some honey as a prize.

From old war tactics to new - another amazing presentation came from Suzanne Williams, who shared lessons on active listening drawn from her years as a hostage negotiator. Hearing how skills like patience, empathy and genuinely listening to understand can help build trust in the most high-pressure situations was fascinating, and it was a reminder of how valuable those skills are in everyday professional life too.

Much like the honey I brought home from the event, some of the best things come from unexpected places. I arrived expecting only conversations about franchising and left with a fresh perspective on life, opportunity and backing yourself when the path ahead isn't completely clear.

Not what I expected to take from a franchising conference, but perhaps that's the sweetest takeaway of all.