FranchiseCanada September | October 2017 87hen she left her job as a teacher to join
Fairway Divorce Solutions, Colette For-
tin knew without a doubt she was mak-
ing the right choice. She took the leap into
business ownership eight years ago, after
reading an article on Fairway’s founder, Karen Stewart,
and her revolutionary approach to divorce.
Fortin was immediately drawn to Stewart’s innovative
business model, which uses mediation and negotiation
to help couples amicably separate. “My husband was a
huge encouragement,” she says. “He looked at me and
said, ‘You need to do this. You will be an amazing coach
for people going through a separation.”
The excitement of joining a business that was chang-
ing the divorce industry, coupled with her own experi-
ence with separation, encouraged Fortin to join Fairway
as the owner of the Southwestern Ontario location serv-
ing Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, and Guelph.
Since its founding in 2006, Fairway has expanded to
eight locations across Canada, and has helped nearly
3,000 couples achieve resolution on all of their issues as
an alternative to court and the traditional system. As one
of the franchise’s top negotiators and mediators, Fortin
is responsible for finalizing 300 of these cases, and her
location has an astounding 95 per cent client completion
rate. She also recently received the 2017 Small Business
of the Year Award during the Greater Kitchener Waterloo
Business Excellence Awards Gala.A typical day
Whether she’s reviewing upcoming cases or planning the
week ahead, Fortin’s days as a Fairway business owner
are non-stop, yet the large workload doesn’t seem to faze
her. Typically, she’ll start her Monday mornings by arriv-
ing at the office bright and early in order to review the
week’s schedule.
Her days are mostly divided between meetings with
current clients and conducting new consultations. On
average, Fortin does six new consultations a week, allow-
ing her to speak with couples during an introduction ses-
sion, where it’s determined if mediation is the right solu-
tion for their separation.
It’s during these sessions where Fortin sets the opti-
mistic tone that makes Fairway so unique. “I always tell
my clients that for mediation to work, they have to be
willing to work together,” she says. “They have to put
their emotions and positions aside, and look towards
the future.”
When it comes to meetings with existing clients, Fortin
implements Fairway’s Independently Negotiated Resolu-
tion model, whereby mediators help couples come to con-
sensus on the issues. These meetings are where detailsA DAY IN THE LIFE
Fairway franchisee Colette Fortin is
transforming the divorce industry, one
couple at a time
By Kristin Di Tommaso