Women in franchising are building businesses, leading teams, serving their communities, and shaping the industry’s future. ohDEER is proud to have a growing group of female franchise owners contributing to that momentum. Today, women represent approximately 15% of ownership across the ohDEER franchise system, a milestone that reflects their growing presence and influence within the brand.
Across the ohDEER franchise system, women are bringing their professional experience, leadership styles, family goals, and community connections to an outdoor home service brand built around a simple purpose: helping people enjoy more time outside. Their markets may look different, but owners share a willingness to learn, a desire to build something meaningful, and the determination required to grow a local business.
From North Idaho to Nashville and from the Midwest to Georgia, women in franchising are helping introduce ohDEER’s All-Natural Deer, Rabbit, Tick, and Mosquito Control services to communities. Some entered the brand with entrepreneurial experience. Others came from corporate careers or joined alongside family members. Each has a story, and each is helping expand what leadership in home services can look like.
Franchising can offer an appealing path for women who want to own a business without having to create every process, service, and resource from the ground up. Franchise owners can operate their own local companies while working within an established brand and receiving access to training, systems, marketing resources, and a network of other owners.
That combination can be especially valuable in a home service category. Running a local service business requires much more than delivering the service itself. Owners need to build awareness, respond to leads, create relationships with customers, manage schedules and routes, develop a team, monitor performance, and represent the business in the community. A franchise system provides a framework, but it is the local owner who brings that framework to life.
Women also bring valuable perspectives to an industry that has traditionally been viewed as male-dominated. Strong communication, thoughtful customer education, attention to detail, relationship-building, and community involvement all play an important role in growing a trusted local service company. There is no single personality or professional background required to succeed. The ability to connect with customers, follow a proven system, lead with consistency, and remain committed to the long-term vision matters far more.
The women in franchising at ohDEER demonstrate that there are many ways to enter entrepreneurship, and many ways to lead once you get there.
When people imagine the owner of a home services franchise, they may picture someone with years of pest control, landscaping, or field service experience. At ohDEER, however, franchise owners come from a wide range of careers and industries. What matters most is not whether someone has spent years working in pest control. It is whether she is ready to lead, learn, build relationships, follow a proven system, and become an active part of her community.
The skills women in franchising have developed throughout their careers and lives can transfer naturally into franchise ownership. Communication, organization, customer service, adaptability, and community involvement all play important roles in running a local ohDEER business.
The model also gives owners the opportunity to build something tangible. Instead of contributing to the growth of someone else’s company, franchisees can put their experience and effort into a business of their own. Not only that, they will have an established brand, operating model, training, and support behind them.
That combination of independence and support is one of the reasons franchising can be an attractive path for aspiring entrepreneurs. Owners are responsible for leading their local businesses, but they do not have to invent every process, service, marketing strategy, or operational system from the beginning.
Jeri and Sarah Lucco became the first female franchise owners at ohDEER when they opened the brand’s Northwest Columbus, Ohio, location. Their entrance into the system was an important milestone, but their impact reaches far beyond being first. They have brought their own energy, perspective, and community-focused approach to the brand while building a business in a field where women-owned companies are still less common.
When asked what it has meant to become the first female franchise owners at ohDEER, Jeri shared:
“We LOVE it!! And it makes both of us feel incredibly empowered. I like to think that it gives us an upper hand—woman-owned home services businesses are not the norm. I like that the brand doesn’t treat us differently, although they may be more patient about our questions on mechanical things.”
Her answer captures both the confidence and honesty that entrepreneurship requires. Owners do not need to begin as experts in every aspect of running a home service business. There will always be new systems to understand, skills to develop, and questions to ask. A healthy franchise culture creates space for that learning while holding every owner to the same standards and believing in every owner’s ability to lead.
Jeri and Sarah have also shown how local ownership can create a meaningful community presence. Their work demonstrates that a home service franchise can be more than a route-based business. It can become a recognizable, trusted local company that forms partnerships, supports community efforts, and helps families feel more comfortable in their outdoor spaces.
Their journey may be especially encouraging to women who are interested in a service-based franchise but do not see themselves reflected often enough in the category. Jeri and Sarah are proof that women belong in home services, not simply as participants, but as owners, decision-makers, and leaders.
They earned the Community Impact Award from the 2025 Franchisee Awards at the 2026 ohDEER Annual Event! From leading one of the system’s most impactful coat drive efforts to supporting local events, their work proves that success is measured not only in revenue, but also in relationships and trust.
Their commitment to community involvement also earned Jeri and Sarah national recognition as recipients of the 2026 Franchisee Excellence Award from Franchise Business Review. The award recognizes franchise owners who demonstrate operational excellence, brand alignment, community leadership, collaboration, and thoughtful growth. Receiving this honor during their first operating season is especially meaningful.
While introducing the first ohDEER location in Ohio, Jeri and Sarah built local awareness from the ground up, formed meaningful community partnerships, and remained coachable and engaged within the franchise system. Their recognition reflects both what they have accomplished in Northwest Columbus and the impact women in franchising can make through purpose-driven leadership.
Karen Woodard is helping build the ohDEER brand in North Idaho, a market where outdoor living is an important part of everyday life. The region’s wooded properties, natural landscapes, and active outdoor culture make protecting yards from deer, ticks, mosquitoes, and rabbits especially relevant to local homeowners.
Building a new brand in a new region requires an owner to become both a business leader and a local educator. Many homeowners may be familiar with the problems caused by unwanted pests but may not yet know that an all-natural service option is available. That creates an opportunity to introduce not only the ohDEER name, but also a different way of thinking about yard protection.
Karen’s presence in North Idaho reflects one of the most exciting aspects of franchise ownership: the ability to take a larger brand mission and make it meaningful within a specific community. Through local relationships, customer conversations, events, and consistent service, a franchise owner becomes the face of the brand in the market she serves.
Rachel Jenkins represents ohDEER in the West County St. Louis and St. Charles communities of Missouri. These markets offer a blend of suburban neighborhoods, landscaped properties, wooded edges, and families who value spending time in their yards. Those local characteristics create a natural need for the services ohDEER provides.
Rachel’s role also highlights the importance of relationship-driven leadership. A successful home service business is built one customer experience at a time. Homeowners want to know that the person serving their property understands their concerns, communicates clearly, and will be there when they have questions. That trust is strengthened through reliable follow-up, local visibility, customer education, and a genuine investment in the community.
For women in franchising, or those considering franchise ownership, Rachel’s story shows that local market knowledge is a real business advantage. Understanding the neighborhoods, lifestyles, seasonal concerns, and expectations of homeowners helps an owner make national brand resources feel personal and relevant.
Stephanie Lingenfelter is helping establish ohDEER in North Kansas City, Missouri. Launching a franchise location involves wearing many hats: marketer, networker, customer advocate, problem-solver, planner, and team leader. It requires the ability to see the larger opportunity while remaining attentive to the daily details that shape the customer experience.
Stephanie’s marketing experience gives her a valuable foundation as she establishes ohDEER in North Kansas City. Her understanding of communication, relationship-building, and brand development will help her connect with local homeowners and introduce the business to a new community. That experience, combined with the support and systems of ohDEER, positions her to build awareness, earn trust, and support the long-term growth of her location.
Brandi Burns is helping lead ohDEER Northern Greensboro alongside Earl Neumann. Their location serves families throughout Greensboro and surrounding North Carolina communities with all-natural tick, mosquito, deer, and rabbit control. For Brandi, the brand’s mission has a personal connection. She understands how much more enjoyable outdoor spaces can be when families, pets, and gardens are better protected from unwanted pests.
Brandi and Earl share a genuine love for the outdoors. They enjoy camping under the stars, spending time around a campfire, zip lining through the trees, and relaxing in their backyard with their dogs and goats. Those experiences make the purpose behind their business easy to understand. They want customers to spend less time worrying about ticks and mosquitoes or watching deer and rabbits damage their landscaping, and more time enjoying the places they call home.
For Hannah Hoffman, becoming the owner of ohDEER’s Nashville-area territory marks a return to entrepreneurship. After spending a decade as an entrepreneur and later moving into software sales, Hannah was ready to build a business again—this time with the support and systems of a franchise brand behind her.
Hannah is the sole owner of the Nashville-area ohDEER location, and her decision is closely connected to both her professional ambitions and her family’s goals. She and her husband, Eric, have three boys: Kellan, Corbin, and Lenox. As a family, they are excited about building the brand locally, spending more time outside, helping other families do the same, and creating a business through which their children can learn the value of hard work.
Her story illustrates why women in franchising can draw strength from previous entrepreneurial or corporate experience. Starting a business does not require abandoning the knowledge gained in earlier roles. Sales experience, communication skills, time management, resilience, and the ability to build relationships can all translate into business ownership. A franchise gives an owner the opportunity to apply those strengths within a defined model while still shaping the local culture and growth of her own company.
Amy and Lanie Nash are bringing female leadership to ohDEER’s Acworth-Cartersville location in Georgia alongside Barry Nash. For the Nash family, joining ohDEER is an opportunity to work together, build a business, and make a positive impact in their community.
The family shared that they were drawn to the care ohDEER demonstrates for both its business owners and the communities it serves. That alignment matters. A franchise is more than a service model or recognizable name; it is a long-term relationship between local owners and the larger brand. Shared values can make that relationship stronger.
Lanie also brings the perspective of a competitive equestrian. Her connection to animals and the outdoors naturally complements a brand focused on helping people protect and enjoy their landscapes. Equestrian experience also demands discipline, patience, responsibility, and steady improvement. These are all qualities that carry naturally into business ownership.
Their story represents another path into franchising: multigenerational family ownership. Building a company with family members can create shared purpose and allow each person to contribute different skills. It can also become a way to create something lasting together.
The women growing ohDEER do not all come from the same career path, region, or stage of life. That is precisely what makes their stories valuable.
One owner may be returning to entrepreneurship after time in corporate sales. Another may be building alongside a spouse, sibling, parent, or child. Some may feel immediately comfortable with sales and networking, while others may excel in operations, customer relationships, team development, or community engagement. Technical knowledge can be taught. Systems can be learned. Confidence grows through action and experience.
What successful owners share is a willingness to take responsibility for their local businesses. They understand that a franchise offers a playbook, but it does not remove the need for leadership. Owners still need to introduce themselves to the community, follow up with prospective customers, build a dependable team, use the available marketing tools, and deliver a consistently strong service experience.
For many women, that combination of independence and support is what makes franchising attractive. They can build equity in a business of their own while benefiting from a model, brand, and network that already exist.
The mission behind ohDEER is straightforward: help families enjoy more time outside through All-Natural Deer, Rabbit Tick and Mosquito Control services. That mission gives owners a clear connection between the business they are building and the difference their services can make in customers daily lives.
The value of the service is easy to understand. A parent may want greater peace of mind while children play in the yard. A dog owner may be concerned about ticks. A gardener may be frustrated by deer or rabbits damaging carefully maintained plants. A family may want to use its patio without mosquitoes taking over the evening. ohDEER franchise owners help address those concerns while educating customers and creating long-term service relationships. For women in franchising, the opportunity also extends beyond individual customers. Their visibility can influence how employees, children, neighbors, and other aspiring entrepreneurs picture business leadership.
Every time a woman launches a truck, hires a team member, attends a community event, reaches a business milestone, or helps another owner solve a problem, she makes the path a little more visible for someone else.
Reaching approximately 15% solely female-owned locations is a milestone worth recognizing, but the larger story is not about filling a quota or placing every female owner into one category. It is about creating a franchise opportunity in which qualified, motivated women can see a path for themselves.
Representation matters because people are more likely to imagine themselves pursuing ownership when they can see others doing it. A prospective franchisee may not have pictured herself running a home services business. Seeing Karen, Rachel, Stephanie, Hannah, Jeri, Sarah, Brandi, Amy, and Lanie among today’s women in franchising can help broaden that picture.
At the same time, each prospective owner should be evaluated and supported as an individual. Her goals, market, leadership style, professional background, financial readiness, and vision for the future will shape her franchise journey. The goal is not to suggest that every woman wants the same thing from business ownership. It is to make it clear that women belong in the conversation, and that there is room for more of them to own businesses and lead teams.
Whether you are an experienced entrepreneur, a corporate professional ready for greater independence, a parent looking to build something for your family, or a community-minded leader searching for a more meaningful career, franchise ownership may offer a new way forward.
You do not need a background in pest control to explore an ohDEER franchise. You do need a willingness to learn, serve customers, follow a proven system, lead a team, and take responsibility for growing a local business.
The women of ohDEER are showing what is possible when different experiences, skills, and ambitions come together under one brand. From the first female-owned location in Northwest Columbus to new territories in Nashville and Georgia, these women in franchising are helping shape the next chapter of the ohDEE system.
Learn more about the opportunity to join the ohDEER herd here, we would love to hear from you!
