Female Founders
your professional and personal life?
How? Mentorship is a two-way street in
my life. It’s equally important to mentor
others as well as to be mentored. I have
several mentors—women and men, including my husband—whom I can trust
to help me when I need it. I continue
to seek out mentors, too. For example,
when I’m going to an industry conference, I make it a point to know who else
is attending so I can set up meetings in
advance with people I can learn from. I
always have three questions ready so I can
ask the right people when I have a hallway
opportunity. I enjoy coaching others, too,
whether I’m guest lecturing at a business
school or meeting someone for lunch to
talk about a new business idea. I learn a
lot from the people I mentor, including
my kids. They remind me every day about
being playful and present.
Are you involved in any female entrepreneur organizations? Yes: Women’s
Franchise Committee (IFA), Chair Taskforce for Women’s Franchise Network
(IFA), The Women’s Foundation of Colorado, and Emerging Women.
PERSONAL
What does your typical day look
like? Get up, wake the kids, help them
prepare for their day, and get myself
ready for my day. I check emails, sit in
meetings and on conference calls, check
more emails, have more meetings, make
sure that somewhere in between I work
out for an hour—which is a must for my
productivity. Sometimes I get to pick up
my kids and go to activities with them.
I cook dinner, and generally we eat as a
family. When the kids are in bed, I work
until about midnight. Lather, rinse, repeat.
How do you maintain a work/life balance? I don’t believe in work/life balance
on a daily basis, but it can be achieved on
a weekly basis with well-thought-out planning and the right support. Each Sunday,
Rob and I sit down to talk about our plans
for the week. Doing that gives us a sense
of what we’ll be doing and allows us an
opportunity to create a balanced plan for
business and family. The goal is to make
sure one of us is always available for the
“Ultimately
when someone
is asked, ‘What
is your favorite
popcorn?’ The
answer will be,
‘Doc Popcorn!’”
kids. And if that isn’t possible, because
sometimes we are both traveling, we
make sure to leverage family so the kids
feel connected. We also eat with our kids
most nights (with cell phones switched
off), and when we are in town we have a
goal of giving each of our three kiddos
present, undivided attention with a “special mission” for at least one hour a week.
What are your top 5 favorite things
to do? Be with my kids. Be with my husband. Run and be athletic and spend time
outdoors. Eat awesome food. Read selfdevelopment books of all kinds.
What are 3 key words to describe
yourself? Self-disciplined, builder, taskmaster.
LESSONS/ADVICE
What’s the most important lesson
you’ve learned so far? One of the
greatest lessons we have learned since
we began franchising in 2009 is how important it is to anticipate processes and
systems we will need before we actually
need them, and getting those systems in
place to support our franchise family at
the right time. When we began franchising, we established a franchise advisory
board to make sure our franchise partners
could communicate ideas and have a voice
on key initiatives they feel would help
grow their businesses at the local level.
This concept is truly the cornerstone of
how we run our business. We are learning
every day how to work together to drive
the brand and keep our POPrietors, as we
like to call them, smiling. Since we’ve hit
the 100-unit mark this year, I’d say this is
the most important lesson we’ve learned.
What’s the best piece of advice you
have ever been given? Learn how to
say “no” so you can say “yes.” My executive
coach taught me to ask myself a two-part
question before I agree to take on any
project. If I answer “yes,” what do I have
to say “no” to? And if I answer “no,” what
do I get to say “yes” to later? It’s helped
me set boundaries so I can achieve the
greatest results for my life outside of work
as well as for the business. The questions
put me in a position of power that allows
me to keep doing more of what I want
to do and less of what I don’t want to do.
What advice would you give to other
women considering starting their
own franchise brand? This goes for
both men and women: Ask yourself why
you want to franchise and define the
goals you are hoping to achieve through
franchising, not just for yourself, but for
others. What needs do you satisfy by starting one? Everyone’s definition of success
is different. Also ask yourself if you want
to do this alone or with a partner. If you
want a partner, make sure their goals
align with yours.
WHAT’S NEXT
What would you like to achieve in the
next 5 years? I want to see Doc Popcorn
continue on a trajectory to be a household
name with many more points of presence,
smiling guests, and happy franchise owners. Ultimately when someone is asked,
“What is your favorite popcorn?” The
answer will be, “Doc Popcorn!”
What’s coming up that you’re excited about? Doc Popcorn, Dippin’ Dots,
and Crumbs Bake Shop are all owned by
Fisc \