After entering a nationwide contest more than a year ago one of Canada's most promising young entrepreneurs is about to help home sellers in Oakville, Ontario do it themselves without the high cost of real estate commissions. Ken LeBlanc, president of PropertyGuys.com Inc., announced today Canada's leading private sale network is awarding the Oakville franchise to a 26-year old with a degree in Business Administration and a wealth of experience gained from capturing the hugely successful "Y-Preneur Challenge" contest in front of the stars of CBC's "Dragons Den".
"Jennifer Howarth is the proud owner of our Oakville location and she brings more energy and enthusiasm than you can imagine to this rapidly changing world of private sale real estate. Since winning the "Y-Preneur Challenge" contest in November of 2009, Jenn has taken time to wrap up her university studies, earn her degree and get things ready to help capitalize on the momentum already building these last few months in Ontario," said LeBlanc. "The contest revealed that Jenn has a bright future as a young entrepreneur and everything she has done to this point has only confirmed that she was highly deserving of the grand prize of a PropertyGuys.com franchise. And with our solid, established franchise locations in Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph and Hamilton among others, Jenn and her team will add to the momentum continuing to build through our ability to offer the added benefits of MLS exposure and provide even more in the way of services for the private sale consumer".
In November of 2009, before a live audience of close to 600 people in Toronto, Howarth was one of three finalists presenting their best case in the hopes of winning their own franchise from PropertyGuys.com. Each appeared before "Dragons Den" stars Jim Treliving and Arlene Dickinson as well as "Honorary Dragon" Ken LeBlanc to explain why they should be the ones walking out of the CBC Broadcast Centre as the proud owner of their own business. And it was Jenn who survived the "Den", placing her on a path to become a full-time entrepreneur.
From where she sits, Howarth has been chomping at the bit to get going. As she explains, "The passion around PropertyGuys.com is contagious and it makes you want to be a part of that. People I talk to in my generation can see where private sale is going to take over the entire industry and the more people learn the ins and outs of how they can sell their homes on their own; they're going to save a ton of money. The Oakville area, which I grew up in, is full of business savvy people who will see how getting rid of the high-priced middleman makes sense and I just can't wait to get out there and have those conversations with homeowners and help in any way I can".
Jennifer Howarth is currently enrolled in training with other new franchise owners at PropertyGuys.com University (PGU). He plans to launch full time operations in Oakville, Ontario later this month.
About Us
PropertyGuys.com is Canada's largest and fastest growing private sale franchise network. It has over 100 locally-owned franchise locations to assist home buyers in more than 600 communities across Canada. PropertyGuys.com is a proud member of the Canadian franchise Association. It is a recipient of Canada's top franchise honour, the Award of Excellence, for several years running.
