Female Franchisees Bring Diverse Skills to MilkShake Factory’s Dessert Franchise
The franchisees of MilkShake Factory are rewriting the narrative of entrepreneurship one shake at a time. They bring a world of varied experiences, skills and talents to their franchises, teams and communities. National Women’s History Month, celebrated each March, amplifies the contributions of women such as those in MilkShake Factory’s growing network of female franchise owners including Digna Forbes, Kim Richards, Anna Sheehan and Tracy Carter. These entrepreneurs represent a growing trend involving women in franchising and follow in the footsteps of four generations of female MilkShake Factory leaders. Although they share the characteristics and passion MilkShake Factory Founder and CEO Dana Edwards Manatos seeks in owners of the dessert franchise, they couldn’t be more different in their skill sets, backgrounds and paths to franchising.
What unites these women is not just their entrepreneurial drive, but their shared belief in creating something meaningful. Each franchisee brings unique skills to the table: Anna Sheehan’s marketing background, Digna Forbes’ expertise as an epidemiologist, Tracy Carter’s nonprofit leadership and Kim Richards’ extensive experience in organizational strategy. Yet all of them were drawn to MilkShake Factory for the same reasons: a shared set of values and the opportunity to build a business that balances personal fulfillment with professional growth.
A Fourth-Generation Dessert Franchise
MilkShake Factory was founded in 1914 by Manatos’ great-grandparents, who immigrated to the United States from Greece with their chocolate recipes. Over the next 10 decades, the chocolate shop’s popularity would skyrocket and eventually lead to 11 locations around Pittsburgh.
“It wasn’t until we opened our 11th location when we realized we had created a business perfect for franchising,” Manatos says. She and her family were thrilled with the idea that other entrepreneurs and their families could create dessert destinations for their communities just as Manatos and her family did in Pittsburgh, and MilkShake Factory partnered with Franworth, a franchise incubator, to help people become entrepreneurs through franchising. This partnership has positioned MilkShake Factory as a top emerging franchise, selling 100 units in its first year while maintaining its brand, product and culture.
Manatos says her great-grandmother Orania instilled essential values – “Don’t cut corners, work hard, make the right decisions” – and the grit needed to maintain them through tough times. “Those are the same values we’re looking for in franchise partners,” she adds. “We’re looking for people to connect with and invest in their teams and communities. Making milkshakes is the easy part.”
Sheehan, Forbes, Carter and Richards exemplify the qualities MilkShake Factory seeks in its franchise partners – an unwavering commitment to quality, a deep sense of integrity and a passion for fostering community. Each of them brings a distinct background and expertise, yet they all share a drive to uphold the brand’s legacy while shaping its future. Below, they share their paths to franchising, what drew them to MilkShake Factory, the unique opportunities available to women in franchising and their advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Anna Sheehan
MilkShake Factory of Grapevine, Texas
We were captivated by the Edwards family’s rich history, spanning four generations of serving their community with cherished chocolate recipes.
For Anna Sheehan, franchising with MilkShake Factory is the next chapter in a journey built on creativity and resourcefulness. A former graphic designer, Sheehan spent more than a decade working in marketing and design before stepping away to focus on raising her four children. During that time, she balanced family life with volunteer work and running small side businesses, honing her organizational and entrepreneurial skills. “Franchising lets me take all the skills I’ve built over the years and apply them to something bigger,” she says. Sheehan and her husband, Scott, a CFO in the oil and gas industry, will open their first MilkShake Factory franchise in Grapevine, Texas, where their children will also pitch in to help build the family business.
Digna Forbes
MilkShake Factory of Chesapeake, Va.
I believe franchising creates a supportive model for female entrepreneurs to gain valuable business management experience.
For Digna Forbes, franchising is a chance to combine her analytical expertise and passion for community. With a career spanning more than nine years as an epidemiologist, Forbes has worked as a U.S. Army fellow overseas and now serves as a civilian with the Navy in Virginia. She has built her career solving complex problems and leading teams in high-pressure environments – skills she plans to bring to her franchise. “Franchising creates a supportive model for female entrepreneurs to gain business management experience,” she says. Forbes and her husband, Alexander, who works in cybersecurity, will open their first MilkShake Factory location in Chesapeake, Va., in 2025. Together, they aim to make it a family venture by involving their daughters in the business to provide them with early entrepreneurial experiences.
Tracy Carter
MilkShake Factory of Mason, Ohio
Our family has been our biggest cheerleaders in this process, and we have a feeling they will be hanging out at our store on a regular basis!
With more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, Tracy Carter knows how to build strong teams and create meaningful connections. She has worked in early education, health care and social services, holding executive roles that demanded expertise in fundraising, community outreach and operational management. When she discovered MilkShake Factory, she saw it as an opportunity to bring her professional skills into a new space. “MilkShake Factory lets me combine my love of people and community with a proven business model,” she says. Carter and her husband, Joe, will open their first location in Mason, Ohio, in early 2025. They are excited to involve their extended family in the business and create a gathering place that reflects their values.
Kim Richards
MilkShake Factory of Huntersville-Lake Norman, N.C.
Smiles and shakes are meant to be shared.
Kim Richards has spent her career helping businesses thrive, focusing on leadership development and organizational effectiveness. Armed with a doctorate in industrial-organizational psychology, Richards has worked with Fortune 500 companies, Silicon Valley startups and her own consulting firm, specializing in people strategy and performance optimization. Now, she is channeling that expertise into her own family business. Richards and her husband, Brian, will open their first MilkShake Factory location in Huntersville-Lake Norman, N.C., in spring 2025. Their 17-year-old daughter, Addison, and 14-year-old son, Hayden, will also be involved, with Addison already contributing creative ideas, such as a digital photo booth to engage customers. “Smiles and shakes are meant to be shared,” Kim says, embracing the opportunity to merge purpose, family and community in a meaningful way.
Q&A: MilkShake Factory Celebrates National Women’s History Month
1. What convinced you to invest in a MilkShake Factory franchise?
Sheehan: When we attended discovery day, we were captivated by the Edwards family’s rich history, spanning four generations of serving their community with cherished chocolate recipes. Meeting Dana and [her brother and Milkshake Factory co-founder] Chris [Edwards] further solidified our enthusiasm, as their sibling chemistry was inspiring, and we were excited about the opportunity to grow our own family business in Texas.
Forbes: I believe franchising provides a roadmap to success. My husband and I had been informally investigating potential opportunities including dessert franchises over the years. During a visit to Pittsburgh a few years ago, my sister introduced us to MilkShake Factory. We were immediately enamored with the aesthetic, the atmosphere, the customer service and the products. The dairy-free milkshakes won us over. Unfortunately, they were not franchising at the time, but when we learned about the opportunity last year, we immediately reached out, thus initiating our exciting and delightful MilkShake Factory path.
Meeting Founder and CEO Dana Edwards Manatos left me inspired, and I knew I wanted to learn from her.
Tracy Carter
Carter: I worked with a franchise consultant who suggested MilkShake Factory as a match. After digging into the brand story and learning about the Edwards family, I knew this was something special. Discovery day really sealed the deal. Meeting Founder and CEO Dana Edwards Manatos left me inspired, and I knew I wanted to learn from her. From there, with every other person I met on the leadership team, it was clear that as a franchisee, I would be surrounding myself with top-tiered talent that would help me be successful.
Richards: MilkShake Factory has the right blend of purpose, people, process and performance. For me and my family, it’s critical that there is a purpose far greater than profit and many other superficial factors to warrant the risk and financial and human investment that it will take to bring this brand and dream to life. I saw a match in those values and purpose with Dana and the other MilkShake Factory teammates we met early on.
Which brings me to the people. Each one of the people I met who have built MilkShake Factory thus far has incredible superpowers, background and heart. Knowing, respecting and being able to learn and grow with and from all of those involved, including other franchisees, is crucial to me.
The product is not just the amazing milkshakes and chocolates, but smiles and joy. The way in which MilkShake Factory was born from the family business and through a blend of hard work, intelligent insights and smart experimentation is a testament to the growth and performance we see today across this brand. The operational structure and business model is solid, well thought out, and at a place where others can step in and replicate certain aspects that will lead to success in many aspects of the business, while also being able to bring new thoughts, experiences, expertise and life that will strengthen each store and the overall MilkShake Factory community.
At the same time, Dana and the other leadership team members recognize that franchising is a new chapter in the brand’s history, and that as we bring this brand, its milkshakes and its experience to different communities across the U.S., there is still so much to learn – and ways that each of us can contribute to its success.
So, the chance to lead and be a pioneer in this industry, to enjoy success and to deliver joy and smiles in concert with so many others from diverse backgrounds and perspectives was a perfect blend.
2. What opportunities for women in franchising might not exist in other business models?
Sheehan: Many successful women, including myself, were advancing in their careers when they began having children. Staying home to raise our kids often means missing out on career growth opportunities. However, as a stay-at-home mom, I continued to run side businesses, volunteer extensively, and I managed the household on a day-to-day basis. Franchising has enabled me to leverage my years of building valuable business skills and apply them at a high level right from the start.
Forbes: I believe franchising creates a supportive model for female entrepreneurs to gain valuable business management experience. Typically, franchises are built around products and brands that are desired and with set practices and principles that work for that brand. If this support is crafted with due diligence, as the MilkShake Factory has done, this allows the individual to focus on the implementation and management of their business and have more time to set expectations and enhance customer experience for their store(s).
Carter: Franchising offers female entrepreneurs amazing advantages, including a tested business model, ongoing support and a higher potential for growth and stability. Instead of winging it on your own, franchising helps you tap into a community of fellow business owners and a wealth of resources to help you fast-track your dream. I think the opportunities for women in franchising are a best kept secret that I’m happy to share with other women!
Franchising provides a way for more people of all genders, backgrounds, generations and perspectives to come together, to work together, to contribute uniquely.
Kim Richards
Richards: Franchising provides the opportunity for female entrepreneurs to be pioneers and introduce new ways of thinking, doing business and being successful while at the same time reducing some of the barriers and untenable risks that accompany trying to start a business on your own from complete scratch. This requires just the right franchise opportunity to fit the purpose, needs, desires and abilities of the female entrepreneur.
Franchising also provides a way for women to support women that is wholly different than corporate America or consulting. The latter is built almost exclusively on competing with each other, and the underside of these models is that we end up fighting for limited opportunities. Instead, franchising can offer a way to create new opportunities for all people to support each other in a more collaborative way. But franchising also provides a way for more people of all genders, backgrounds, generations and perspectives to come together, to work together, to contribute uniquely.
3. As we celebrate National Women’s History Month, do you have advice for other women considering franchising?
Sheehan: Seek out a company led by someone like Dana. Dana is clear about her vision and sets high expectations for partners, employees and franchisees. She has in-depth knowledge of the chocolate and milkshake business and has worked tirelessly to collaborate with the best in the industry. She not only expects high standards but upholds them herself. Dana is committed to ensuring her franchisees are set up for success in the dessert franchise.
Seek out a company led by someone like Dana.
Anna Sheehan
Forbes: Go for it! While I am still early in the process, I can say that I have found the entire process empowering and exciting, hurdles and all. I am inspired by women in franchising I’ve read about. Particularly those who embark on their journey with their daughters or as a family business. I find that endearing and generationally empowering.
Carter: There are thousands of franchises in the U.S., including many dessert franchises, and I would encourage other women to invest the necessary time to do their research. I highly recommend working with a franchise consultant who can help narrow down the businesses that align with your values, interests and goals. As important as it is to understand the financials and operations of each business, I think the most important variable in choosing a franchise is the people. Align yourself with people who have achieved the success you want to achieve. Surround yourself with people who inspire you to keep leveling up your performance.
Richards: Be your own unique blend. Be that gourmet milkshake that is a product of hard work and multiple ingredients, blended just right to enjoy and bring smiles. Be honest with who you are and who you want to become. Know and be realistic about your strengths, talents and challenges, then go find other people who appreciate and complement yours. Then figure out how to leverage those into something that can be successful in many ways. Embrace what I call the ‘chaordic.’ Understand that this type of business is a constant mixture of chaos and order, of friction points. You will need the wisdom, discernment and courage to know when and how to embrace the chaos and how to bring order.
You will need to be versatile, understanding many different aspects of business – the financial, operational and marketing aspects but also the people, partnerships and relationships that are crucial to success.
About MilkShake Factory
MilkShake Factory is a premium dessert destination, serving up handspun milkshakes made with housemade ice cream, as well as premium chocolates crafted by generational chocolatiers. Family-owned since 1914, the company evolved from an old-fashioned soda fountain to one of Pittsburgh’s most iconic sweet spots and is now adding locations across the United States. With a mission to create simple moments of joy, MilkShake Factory is quickly becoming a community dessert destination creating smiles from coast to coast. To learn more, visit milkshakefactory.com/franchise.
About Franworth
Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Franworth builds, incubates, and grows franchise brands through mentorship, education and best-in-class support empowering entrepreneurs and creating brighter futures. With over 450 years of combined franchise experience, the Franworth team has been recognized with the highest honors in franchising and for repeatedly scaling brands using a franchise model. Franworth’s portfolio of Beloved Brands includes MilkShake Factory®, sugaringLA®, MosquitoNix®, HealthSource America’s Chiropractor®, and Degree Wellness®.
