THE ATHENA NETWORK FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY · ESTABLISHED 2005
Run your own part-time business with The Athena Network: A proven opportunity for women to lead, empower and thrive alongside your own business!
Create a lifestyle you love while building a supportive community of women in business. This is your chance to lead with purpose, operate a flexible business and be part of a community that makes a difference.
No pressure and no hard sell. The assessment takes a few minutes and gives you a personalised report so you can decide whether to take the next step.
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Est. 2005
Founded by Jacqueline Y B Rogers
Franchising Since 2006
A proven, refined model
UK & International
A global reach of women
A LETTER FROM JACQUELINE
Before I Explain The Opportunity Let Me Tell You How It Came To Exist
Hello, and thank you for your interest in The Athena Network.
If you want to run your own business, work from home (or a café, or a beach), earn a good income and dramatically improve your work life balance, I believe this is a business opportunity that will stand up to every question you ask of it. This page is deliberately thorough. I would rather you had every answer now than discover a surprise later, and by the end you will know whether this is for you.
From Corporate High Achiever To Founder
I spent over twelve years in the corporate world in demanding sales, training and consultancy roles with organisations including KPMG and Ernst & Young. When I realised I did not know the colour of my own front door in daylight, because I left so early and returned so late, I knew something had to change. When redundancy became an option I took it, walked to my office, packed my desk and left while I was strong enough to make the decision on my own terms.
I Thought Clients Would Find Me
They did not. Every advisor told me networking was the key, so off I went, an introvert, to rooms full of strangers, with no direction, no structure and no idea what I was supposed to do. I came away from event after event frustrated and certain there had to be a better way.
“When I could not find a network that would teach women how to network, I built one.”
The Athena Network Was Born
The Athena Network launched in 2005 and grew to 27 groups across the Home Counties in its first year. Demand was so strong that in 2006 we franchised, so that women across the UK could not only network but learn how to network and grow their businesses.
More than twenty years on, Athena is recognised as the leading networking, training and development community for businesswomen, female executives and entrepreneurs. And I am still here, still leading it, still in the meetings. I share my story for one reason only: so you know my track record and know that I am for real.
Warm wishes
Jacqueline Y B Rogers, CEO & Founder, The Athena Network
What Athena Is Today
Athena has evolved with the women it serves. The business you would be leading in 2026 is online first, beautifully simple to run and richer than ever for members.
Online Meetings
Groups meet online, which means members join from wherever life has taken them and you can run your business from anywhere. Regional Directors have hosted from Malta, Vancouver Island and the Isle of Wight and nobody would have known.
Membership Model
A membership model that keeps on giving. Members join Athena, not just a meeting. Membership includes the structured group experience, training woven through every meeting and a national and international community.
PASS+
Every member can visit any Athena group where her profession is not already represented. Visits are arranged with the host Regional Director, so it is a benefit with courtesy built in. For you it means a steady flow of warm visitors into your groups.
Hot Seating
A signature element of the Athena meeting that gives members focused input on a real business challenge, so every meeting delivers practical value, not just introductions.
Cappuccino Connections
Relaxed in person gatherings that complement the online meetings, giving members and guests the face to face connection they love without the overhead of a formal event.
Training Built In
Members learn how to network, how to introduce themselves and how to build the relationships that grow a business. The missing ingredient that set us apart in 2005 and still does.
What It Would Mean To Run The Athena Business
To fully understand why I am so passionate about Athena you might want to consider what would excite you about running a business of your own that attracts such a high turnover for part time hours per week.
Flexibility
You choose your days and hours. Around 10 hours per group per month while growing, far less once established, and no meetings in August or December.
Freedom
Your business, your way, yet never on your own. The Athena Way gives you a clear rhythm you can quite literally tick off.
Income
With a full territory of established groups, expect £2,000 to £5,000 a month for part time hours. The full numbers are below, in the open.
Lifestyle
Often the most valuable benefit of all. Quality of life touches your relationships, your health and your wellbeing.
Fun
Speak to any of our Regional Directors. The meetings are motivational and genuinely enjoyable, and the community will tell you honestly that they have fun.
Community & Respect
You become the go to woman for business connections in your area, mentor to women building their businesses through Athena.
Security
Around 80 to 90% of members renew, so you can project future earnings with unusual confidence for a small business.
A Portfolio Business
Many Regional Directors run Athena alongside another business, and Athena feeds it. Your profile rises with your network.
“The Athena model brings together the very best tried and tested elements of networking in a way that is attractive and cost effective for members, as well as being easy to manage and grow for franchisees. Moreover, it has provided me with a regular income!”
Lindsay McLoughlin, Franchise Recruitment Director
A MODERN FRANCHISE
How We Have Embraced AI
Athena is a relationship business and always will be. Nothing about AI changes the heart of what we do. What it has changed is the weight of everything around it. Over the past two years we have thoughtfully woven AI into the operational side of the franchise so that our Regional Directors spend their time on people, not paperwork.
Marketing Without The Blank Page
Templates, prompts and AI assisted content across your social media, newsletters and member communications, all in Athena brand and voice, so promoting your groups takes minutes rather than evenings.
Admin That Runs Itself
Streamlined systems and AI supported processes for the routine running of your groups.
Smarter Support and Training
The Athena Way, our complete operations resource, continues to grow with AI supported guidance, so the answer to “how do I…” is always at your fingertips.
The Franchise Readiness Assessment
Even the way you are exploring this opportunity reflects it. Our assessment gives you a personalised report on your readiness before you speak to anyone.
You do not need to be technical. If you can join a Zoom meeting, or are willing to learn, you can run this business, and every tool comes with training.
What Is Included In The Franchise
Everything. I mean that quite literally, and it is one of the reasons this opportunity has stood for twenty+ years.
The Athena Way
Our complete operations resource: manuals, scripts, workbooks, training videos and marketing materials covering every area of the business. Follow it and you cannot get lost.
Induction and Launch Training
A full online induction, mentoring calls before and after your launches and structured post launch training, from your 30 day kick start to publicity, social media and profit.
A Quick Start Guide
Your first weeks mapped out step by step with an activity tracker, so you spend the minimum time working in your business and the maximum time building it.
The Athena Brand
A powerful, recognised national brand plus the full brand guide and ready made templates for every platform, with recommended copy included.
Marketing Pack
Templates for virtually every marketing situation you will meet, including press release templates that have won our franchisees national coverage.
The Athena Dashboard
Members, prospects, income, costs and profit for every group at a glance, plus exactly how many members you need to reach your target.
Launch Collateral
Personalised business cards and a pop up banner for in person events, with the majority of member collateral now digital so it is always current.
A Support Team That Answers
Email and telephone support, monthly Focus and Strategy meetings, quarterly Regional Development Days and a warm community of fellow Regional Directors.
Your Presence On The Athena Website
Dedicated pages for your groups, events and profile, which you can use to raise the profile of your other business too.
An Exclusive Territory
Defined by postcode by geographic territory specialists and personally assessed for demand and competition, typically with 4,000 or more businesses.
“Becoming a Regional Director has been the best career decision I have ever made. It's given me the flexibility to choose my hours, earn an extra income and have a purpose aside from the day to day of looking after my children.”
Sophie Fleming, Regional Director North London
Is It For You?
Athena is not a get rich quick scheme, and I will only welcome women who are as committed to the growth of their groups as we are. This section is here so you can qualify yourself, honestly, in both directions.
You will thrive here if you have
- ✓Bags of enthusiasm and personality, with a genuine can do attitude
- ✓A real belief in the service you will be providing to women in business
- ✓The ability to get on well with people (we will teach you the rest)
- ✓Comfort with technology such as Zoom, or the willingness to learn
- ✓The self discipline to follow a proven system rather than reinvent it
This is probably not for you if
- ✗You want overnight income without the early work of launching your groups
- ✗You would rather build your own system than follow a proven one
- ✗Supporting other women to succeed does not light you up
- ✗Meeting new people drains you more than it energises you
- ✗You would rather not use simple tools such as Zoom, or learn them
Women come to Athena from three broad directions and all three succeed here: employees ready for recognition on their own terms, coaches and consultants raising their profile and entrepreneurs seeking an additional, proven revenue stream. If you found yourself in one of those sentences, keep reading.
What Skills Do I Require?
Our Regional Directors come from wonderfully varied backgrounds. What they share is not a particular CV but adaptability, sound business sense and a genuine warmth towards other women in business. Whatever your experience, and whatever industry you have come from, our comprehensive training programme and support services are designed to make you an expert in this growing market quickly.
You do not need previous networking experience. You do not need to be technical. You do not need to have run a franchise before. You need enthusiasm, the willingness to follow a proven system and a real belief in what Athena does for women. We will teach you the rest, and we will support you every step of the way.
Since our first meetings in 2005 we have ironed out the creases, and Athena has grown across the UK, with international licences including Singapore and Dubai. We have the expertise and the resources to get your groups up and running quickly, and to give you the training and support that only an established network can.
It can be difficult to find a business opportunity that ticks every box. We are proud that Athena does just that.
The Financials In The Open
Your Investment
The investment for an exclusive territory of four groups is £16,500 + VAT (£19,800 including VAT) for a five year term, with the option to launch two additional groups at no extra cost after 18 months. At the end of the five years the agreement can be renewed with no refranchise fee, only a reasonable administration charge. Ongoing costs are a monthly management fee plus a 10% royalty.
The Earning Potential
Here is how the numbers can look with a full territory of four groups, based on the actual figures of a franchisee:
Based on four groups with an average of 20 members each (groups can hold up to 26). Operating profit is before franchisee remuneration, repayments on capital, bank charges, tax and other overheads. Projections are estimates and not a guarantee of results; each franchisee's success depends on her own efforts and skills.
3 LAUNCHES
to cash flow positive
80 TO 90%
of members renew
£0
re-franchise fee
An Asset: Not Just An Income
It is common in franchising to be asked to buy your territory back when your term ends. We do not do that. When your agreement is due for renewal we encourage you to renew or, if you prefer, to sell, and we support you through the sale. Franchisees who have sold have generated strong ongoing incomes along the way and sold their territories for more than double what they paid.
Funding Your Investment
A government backed start up loan can part fund or fully fund the franchise fee, with repayment terms of up to five years, which means the business can pay for itself as memberships come in. We will support you through the application, and an easy pay payment plan is also available; ask for the details when we speak.
What Helps Make The Perfect Franchise Opportunity?
If you have always wanted to run your own business, work from home, earn a great income and dramatically improve the quality of your work life balance, you will find that the Athena opportunity lets you achieve all of this and much more.
Small can be beautiful, and profitable. Do not let the absence of big money spoil your franchise hopes. It matters to us that you take real care and proper due diligence, exactly as you would if you were spending a fortune, because the right level of support is what gives you the confidence and direction to run your business successfully and take control of your life. And you do not need a fortune to begin. The British Franchise Association reports that around 60% of franchisors estimate the initial investment for their opportunity at less than £50,000, and some franchises start at under £10,000.
Your franchise may be one of the most considered investments you ever make, and the reassuring news is that failure is rare. The 2024 National Franchise Survey found the commercial failure rate of franchises had fallen to just 0.5%. Set that against independent start ups, where around half fail within their first three years, and the case for a proven model speaks for itself.
And there has never been a better time for a woman to lead one. Women now make up 40% of all UK franchisees, up sharply from just 20% in 2005, the very year Athena began. When the BFA asked what draws women to franchising, 62% said flexibility and work life balance, which is the heart of everything Athena was built to offer.
REGISTER FOR MORE INFORMATION“As I celebrate my 5th year as a franchisee with 4 groups in the London City area, I can hand on heart say it's one of the best investments I've ever made. Having initially acquired one group, we grew to four groups within 21 months.”
Maggie Sarfo, Regional Director London City
Frequently Asked Questions
If your question is not here please tell us and we will answer it for you!
How much does it cost?
Are there any other costs?
How much time does it take?
Do I need networking experience?
Do I need to be technical?
How are territories defined?
What happens to enquiries in my area?
Can I earn beyond membership?
What is the exit strategy?
Is my success guaranteed?
YOUR NEXT STEP
If You Have Read This Far, Something Here Is Speaking To You!
So what do you need to do next? Contact me to request more information. Let me know what territory you would be interested in so that we can support you in your decision and ensure that you have sufficient scope in your territory to be successful.
- Book a call: A relaxed, no pressure conversation so we can get to know each other.
- Talk it through: Ask me anything that is on your mind, and I will share the story, the model and the numbers, honestly.
- Explore your territory: If we both want to continue, we will talk territories and next steps, and you can speak to our Regional Directors and members.
Whatever you decide, I wish you every success in everything that you do.
Warm wishes
Jacqueline Y B Rogers, CEO and Founder, The Athena Network
PS. You get absolutely everything you need to build a business that frees up your time and funds the lifestyle you want, from a franchisor with more than twenty years of proven concept behind her. The only question this page cannot answer is whether you are ready, and the assessment will help you answer that in minutes.
REGISTER FOR MORE INFORMATION"The Athena Network model works! How do I know? We see the results daily and our members tell us!
Join us wherever you are in the world; from your home, a cafe, your office, the beach. I look forward to meeting you"
~ Jacqueline Y B Rogers, CEO & Founder of The Athena Network
REGISTER FOR MORE DETAILS
Find out if the area you are interested in is still available. We will confirm by email.
