Renee Woodward, 26, and Carly McIlvride, 22 are the
first members of the scheme, which gives young Australian entrepreneurs the opportunity
to unlock their commercial potential with an equity stake in a company alongside
experienced business owners.

According to BRW Magazine, Worldwide has been the
country's fastest-growing printer for the past three years and now has 82
writing, design and print centres across Australia.

Woodward currently manages Worldwide's centre in
Strathfield and McIlvride works at the same centre, as senior designer and
customer service representative. Under the new scheme they will become co-owners
with current Strathfield owner Vince Grieco of new centres in Brookvale and
nearby Silverwater.

The scheme is the brainchild of Grieco, one of
Worldwide's top-performing franchisees. He saw how hard it was for young people
to move from management into business ownership, and so devised a rapid
roll-out plan which could take Renee and Carly from designers to successful
multi-business owner in less than three years.

Woodward says, "It's a huge responsibility and if I
think about it for too long, it can sometimes seem a bit daunting. The fact
that this can happen to someone like me shows just how far printing – and
franchising – have come.

"Being a print professional at Worldwide today means
working with clients to develop their marketing and communication collateral
and help them to build stronger brands. Because all the printing is done in our
giant production facilities, staff in the centres are left to focus on customer
service."

According to Grieco the scheme shows what can be
achieved when talented young people get a chance to unlock their potential and
leverage the commercial value which often otherwise lies hidden within crafts
such as graphic design and copywriting.

He says, "Franchising
provides a great opportunity for people to own and grow their own business
without also taking on all the usual risks, but it doesn't help successful
managers become owners. This scheme opens up that route, and will hopefully
pave the way for a new breed of entrepreneur who has bags of drive and ability
but hasn't been working long enough to build up the capital base needed to make
their business ownership dreams into reality."

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