The entrepreneurial landscape is experiencing a seismic shift, and women are leading the charge—particularly through franchising. Ronda Swanigan’s journey from school counselor to award-winning multi-unit franchise owner exemplifies this transformation. As the founder of three Class 101 college planning centers across Texas, Georgia, and California, she’s proving that franchising offers women a powerful pathway to build wealth while making meaningful impact in their communities.

In this article:

• How Ronda accidentally discovered franchising and built three locations in five years
• Why franchising works for women entrepreneurs (especially those without business backgrounds)
• Overcoming real barriers: capital access, personal tragedy, and burnout
• Building teams and delegating for sustainable growth
• Practical advice for women evaluating franchise opportunities
• The power of representation in business

An Unexpected Entry into Franchising

From counselor to entrepreneur during COVID

Swanigan’s path to franchise ownership began in education. As a school counselor specializing in college and career readiness, she spent years helping students navigate the college application process, secure scholarships, and make higher education more affordable. She never imagined leaving her district position—until franchising literally fell into her lap.

“My husband saw a Class 101 location in our area and said, ‘Hey, there’s something where they do college planning. I know you love to do that.'”

She initially reached out hoping for part-time summer work, but discovered it was actually a franchise opportunity. After connecting with the founder, who told her she’d be a perfect fit, Swanigan faced a pivotal decision during COVID: stay in her comfortable education career or take a leap into entrepreneurship.

Vision board to reality

In December 2020, she purchased her first territory. The decision proved prescient—her background in college counseling, combined with a proven franchise system, created immediate synergy. Within five years, she achieved what she’d visualized on her vision board: three locations in the three states most meaningful to her:

• Texas- where she lives
• Georgia- where she attended Spelman College 
• California- where she’s originally from

“I had that on my vision board. It was a while ago before I even had my first student. I still have that vision board,” she says. “It’s so surreal that I was able to get my three locations in the three states where I really wanted to make an impact.”

Why Franchising Works for Women

Proven systems eliminate the guesswork

When asked why franchising has become such a powerful pathway for women entrepreneurs, Swanigan’s answer is straightforward: proven systems.

“I tried doing college planning on the side while working, but it didn’t really work because my background wasn’t in business. But as soon as I started Class 101, I hit the ground running and was successful because we had those proven systems.”

The franchise model offers what many women need:

• Comprehensive week-long training on services AND business operations
• Established brand recognition
• Ongoing support from headquarters and fellow franchisees
• Lower risk than starting from scratch

The numbers don’t lie

Franchisees are more likely to still be running their businesses after five years compared to independent startups. This reduced risk, combined with the ability to leverage existing resources and experience from the founder and other owners, makes franchising particularly attractive for women transitioning from other careers.

“We already have a well-known brand and know that this works. We were able to leverage that, leverage the resources, leverage the experiences,” Swanigan explains.

Navigating Real Barriers: Capital, Tragedy, and Resilience

The capital challenge

Despite franchising’s advantages, Swanigan faced significant hurdles. Access to capital proved challenging as a new business owner without historical data to show lenders.

“They like to see data. They like to see what you’ve done before. But as a new business owner, I didn’t have that, so I didn’t have anything to show.”

She overcame this through strategic positioning and community resources. Participating in Goldman Sachs’ competitive 10K Small Businesses program gave her crucial knowledge about presenting herself to potential investors and understanding business fundamentals.

“It was like business school in four months,” she says. “I went through everything from your leadership style, running your numbers, scaling, knowing your customer avatar, to creating opportunity growth. It helped me think as a business owner.”

Facing unimaginable loss

But her greatest challenge came just months after launching her first location in January 2021: her stepson tragically passed away unexpectedly.

“I wanted to quit. I didn’t know if I could do this. But I knew he would want me to continue on and do this for his legacy.”

What kept her going were her students. “They were the reason where I said, ‘This is a need and I need to keep going.'” Then, while still grieving and building her business, she discovered she was pregnant. These dual experiences—losing a child and preparing for a new one—tested her resilience in ways no business training could prepare her for.

The breaking point

The turning point came after her daughter’s birth. “I was still in the hospital and I had students calling, texting saying, ‘I have the application due.'” Her husband intervened: “You can’t keep running like this. You aren’t even healed yet.”

She was meeting with students virtually just weeks postpartum, her newborn daughter beside her. “I didn’t even really take a break. And I knew that was not what I wanted.”

This unsustainable reality forced a crucial shift: she had to delegate.

From Doing Everything to Building Teams

The solo entrepreneur trap

“When I first started, I was doing everything. I was doing test prep. I met with all the students. I did everything,” Swanigan explains. But to grow from one location to three while maintaining work-life balance, she needed to build a team.

The game-changing book

Reading “Who Not How” proved transformative. The book shifted her thinking from “How will I do this?” to “Who can help me achieve this goal?”

“That book was a game changer because if I can hire key people who are passionate like me, they’ll be able to do it. And I know I have to release that. I can’t just say, I want to meet with every student and know every family. But I won’t be able to grow and impact more students.”

Building the dream team

Today, Swanigan has center directors and advisors at each location—all former educators, school counselors, or administrators who share her passion. Her locations now serve:

• 250+ families annually
• Partnerships with Southern Methodist University, Spelman College, and Georgia State University
• 100 percent success rate- Her first student (her niece) is now a college freshman with a full-ride scholarship

“You’re not going to be able to grow if you do it all on your own. That’s not going to work. You’re going to have to find those people that align with you, your business, your mission, to spread your mission and the results of your students.”

The Keys to Early Success

Franchise Rookie of the Year

This strategic growth earned Swanigan recognition as Class 101’s Franchise Rookie of the Year. When asked what contributed to her success, she points to four key factors:

1. Passion – “That’s something you cannot teach. Anybody that knows me knows that I’m passionate about the resource access that you need to get into college, getting those scholarships.”

2. Strategic thinking – “I had the end in mind. If I want three locations in five years or in six years, what do I need to be doing today?”

3. KPI tracking – She broke down annual goals into monthly, weekly, and daily targets for families, leads, and contacts.

4. Leadership experience – Her counseling background translated seamlessly: “Building that authentic relationship with our students and giving them that unconditional positive regard helped as far as leading them.”

The numbers game

“What is my goal as far as families that I want to sign up for the year? If I want these many families for the year, how many do I need for the month? How many do I need for the week? If I need this for the week, how many leads or contacts do I need to call? I was really strategic on numbers.”

What Women Should Look for in Franchise Opportunities

Three essential evaluation criteria

Based on her experience, Swanigan offers specific advice for women evaluating franchises:

1. Find your passion alignment

“Make sure there’s an alignment, something that they’re passionate about or would enjoy doing.” Don’t just chase profitability—choose something that energizes you.

2. Vet the support system thoroughly

Ask headquarters these critical questions:

• How do you support franchisees day-to-day?
• What does training look like?
• What is the success rate after 1, 3, and 5 years?
• Will I have a mentor?
• What does ongoing support look like—monthly meetings, check-ins, resources?

“After the discovery call, if I decide to move forward and get a franchise territory, what is that support going to look like?”

3. Don’t rely solely on the franchise

Swanigan leveraged external resources that transformed her business acumen:

• Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses- “Like business school in four months”
• Sister Biz- Goal setting, knowing your numbers, scaling strategies
• Women-owned business certification- Access to additional resources and opportunities

“There are so many free resources where you can do courses and they teach you different things about business. Don’t just rely on your franchise, but also look at resources outside in your community.”

The Power of Representation in Franchising

As a Black female franchisee, Swanigan brings unique perspective and opens doors for communities that may lack access to college planning resources. Her HBCU background—she attended Spelman College—proved particularly valuable.

“I think it’s opened a lot of doors for me as far as making sure to help students, but helping our community as well, as far as the access,” she explains. “I went to an HBCU. But I think when I came in having that knowledge about HBCUs, I was able to even share that with the other owners in Class 101.”

She created a workshop on HBCUs for fellow franchisees, covering statistics and essential information. “I did a workshop on what to know about HBCUs and stats and all the things. And a lot of owners found it helpful. I told them, if you have African American students, you should know about HBCUs. And even if you have students who want to do a particular sport, they should know about HBCUs as well, because it’s not just African American students” who attend, especially in sports.

This intentionality extends to her community work. “I think it was me being intentional in finding those communities that needed resources that looked like me and providing support where it probably wasn’t tapped into before, or maybe from another owner who didn’t know. I think that was my advantage of being an African American female owner.”

The visibility of Black female franchise owners matters—not just for representation’s sake, but for inspiring the next generation. Swanigan notices her female students asking about her entrepreneurial journey. “They ask me ‘How are you doing that? Or what are the steps that you’re taking?’ And it’s so cool to see that they’re interested in owning a business and learning more about franchising.”

She draws inspiration from seeing other business owners who look like her. “I was inspired by other business owners, franchising or not. But seeing other people that looked like me—’Wow, she did it. And she’s in my community and she looks like me’—that gives me a little bit more hope that this is possible. Representation matters.”

Being in spaces where she’s one of few also requires commanding respect. “I may be in spaces where I don’t see anyone that looks like me or if it’s just a few of us multi-unit business owners who are Black females. So commanding that respect as well,” she acknowledges as one of the ongoing challenges.

The Future is Female

When asked what role women will play in shaping franchising’s future, Swanigan doesn’t hesitate: “We’re just going to take over. We’re about to take it over because that’s what we do.”

She sees the increase in women franchisees accelerating and emphasizes the importance of exposure—women sharing their stories to inspire others. “I think the biggest thing too is just the exposure, putting that out there and having those opportunities for women to share their stories, to inspire others.”

“I see a growth and a boom with women franchisees and hope to inspire others to do the same because it’s been life-changing for me and for my family. It was the best decision that I made.”

Her message to women considering franchising is rooted in her own experience of overcoming obstacles. Despite facing access to capital challenges, personal tragedy, and the pressure of building a business while raising a family, she persisted. She learned to delegate, sought out business education, and built a team that shares her mission.

“I think that’s important to see more women, and more women of color, in this space, sharing their stories and inspiring others,” she emphasizes.

What Class 101 Offers

Class 101 is a college planning franchise that assists students from eighth through twelfth grade with comprehensive support throughout the college journey. The services include helping students develop intentional college lists, teaching them how to research and find the best fit schools, and providing SAT, ACT, and PSAT test preparation.

The program extends to resume building, organizing college visits for campus exposure, academic advising to maintain strong grades, and summer programming to help students apply for pre-college programs. In the fall, Class 101 advisors work with students on college essays, ensure applications are submitted on time, and maximize scholarship opportunities through both merit-based and local and national scholarships.

Even after acceptance, Class 101 continues supporting students through the transition to college, ensuring housing is arranged, orientation is scheduled, health records are complete, and parking permits are obtained if needed. “We have a very detailed college planning checklist as they transition off,” Swanigan explains.

The comprehensive approach reflects Swanigan’s philosophy: “I want to make sure, as well as my advisors, not only are they successful getting into college, but successful through college. So we keep track of our students even after they leave us.”