Jade Colin, Youngest Black Woman to Own a McDonald’s Franchise.

In 2018, 30-year-old Jade Colin, a native of New Orleans became the first black woman to ever own a McDonald Franchise.

She was reported to have started as an employee with McDonald, shuffling both work and school as she was going to college at the University of Louisiana. Upon graduation in 2012, Jade applied for McDonald’s intensive Next Generation program, which she was qualified for, as a child of a McDonald's owner.

Her family already owned a McDonald franchise, which they purchased in 2010, so she was already exposed to a lot at quite a young age and at one point she was the manager of the family’s McDonald franchise.

With years of experience already gained, having been exposed to all that the business is all about, and completing a two-year intensive training, Jade moved to acquire her own McDonald franchise.

During her two-year intensive training, in her first year of the program, she received the Outstanding Restaurant Manager of the Year Award for her region.

In the following year, she was honored with the Ray Kroc Award, which recognizes the top 1 percent of restaurant managers in the country.

In an interview where Jade shared a lot, she also gave some words of encouragement that would be of help to anyone who seeks to follow the path which she has cleared.

She said, “Take the risk and know that it will be a lot of hard work.”

Looking at her, one would tell that she has put in a lot of work to attain the height she currently is.

She further said “Network and have a core team of genuine mentors. You need people who are in your corner that will positively motivate you. I say 'genuine' because not everyone will have your best interest at heart… As an African American community, we need more men and women to know that it’s not just about right now, but it’s about the generations to come”

Jade has become an inspiration to a lot of people out there and she gives all the help she can to her community, serving also as a mentor to her employees. In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, she has offered free meals to some medical personnel.