National Franchise Group, Master Franchise owner of Plan Ahead Events (PAE) Canada is excited to announce the signing of their first Quebec franchisee - Nicole Pelletier, who will soon be opening in the Montreal region.
Nicole has over 20 years of experience as a business consultant focusing on change management, human resource management, organisational performance, culture diagnostics, team development, coaching and more. As a consultant with firms such Accenture, Deloitte Consulting and CFC Consulting, she has worked with corporations and organizations in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.
Nicole began her search for a business of her own over three years ago. She has always been fascinated with entrepreneurs and what drove them to go into business for themselves as well as what it took to ensure success. “It is a casual comment from a friend that put me on the right track” Nicole said. A few months ago, after organizing a fund raising event in her local community, Nicole was sharing with friends how much fun that she had planning the event. “My friend said, ‘Would it not be great to find work in an industry where you could have that much fun?’" Those words stayed with Nicole as she searched for a business of her own.
A few weeks later, Nicole was on a popular online franchise directory site called betheboss.ca and came across the listing for the Plan Ahead Events franchise opportunity. After exploring the corporate website, excitement set in. Here was a business she loved and could absolutely relate too, having been involved in the planning of events and conferences throughout her career including the fund raising event she had just planned. Now all she had to determine was if the company was right for her.
After meeting Ghassan Barazi and Cheryl Higgins, who head up the Canadian head office, she knew immediately that it was the right fit. “I did my due diligence,” said Nicole, who spent hours on the phone with existing PAE Canada franchisees asking them dozens of questions about their experience with the franchisors as well as the success of their business.
Commenting on her talks with the franchisees, Nicole said “I could relate to everything they discussed with me as we are all very like-minded business professionals who are creative and passionate about event planning.” Satisfied that she was on the right track, her final step in the process was flying down to the United Franchise Group’s (UFG) head office in West Palm Beach. They started the franchise in 2007 and have grown it to over 100 franchisees in nine countries, seven of which are now in Canada. “I was very impressed with the professionalism and courtesy shown to me at UFG,” Nicole stated. “The team was amazing and inspiring. My decision to sign on as the first Quebec franchisee was really an easy one.”
“I am thrilled to welcome Nicole to our team,” said Ghassan Barazi, president of Mississauga-based National Franchise Group. “Her level of professionalism and enthusiasm for the event planning industry is exactly what we look for in prospective franchisees.” Nicole is completely bilingual in French and English and slated to open her office in September.
