“ Our company is constantly training our new management as well as our existing team . We are proud to acknowledge one of the lowest turnover rates in the industry .”
“ Our company is constantly training our new management as well as our existing team . We are proud to acknowledge one of the lowest turnover rates in the industry .”
Business philosophy : Always be the best and never give up .
Management method or style : Defi ne objectives and nurture people to help them achieve their goals .
Greatest challenge : To ensure that all of the right people are in the right places to help the organization continue to move forward .
How do others describe you ? As an entrepreneur with a vision and an incredible desire to succeed .
One thing I ’ m looking to do better : Improve my golf handicap .
How I give my team room to innovate and experiment : I encourage them to look at different ideas as alternatives to the status quo .
How close are you to operations ? In my current role , I am more supportive than I am in the detail of our operations .
What are the two most important things you rely on from your franchisor ? A clear vision of the direction for the brand and the development of food that is relevant to our guest .
What I need from vendors : We look for partners that are interested in the success of our business , not only their own . We have been fortunate to have long-standing relationships with vendors that have grown through the system with us , and have not only prospered from our success but helped us reach our goals .
Have you changed your marketing strategy in response to the economy ? How ? Yes . We needed to take a deep look into how we
Annual revenue : $ 183 million . 2017 goals : To increase sales and improve profi t margins over 2016 .
Growth meter : How do you measure your growth ? By overall sales and traffi c increases from the previous year .
Vision meter : Where do you want to be in 5 years ? 10 years ? We are constantly evaluating other franchise opportunities , and when and if we are comfortable with those we would look to expand through that vehicle .
How is the economy in your regions affecting you , your employees , your customers ? The consumer has many options in our categories , and right now in our markets they are not as confi dent in the economy as they were a year ago .
Are you experiencing economic growth in your markets ? No , and there is a saturation of restaurants in the category with the consumer having many choices . They are not dining out with the same frequency as they were a year ago .
How do changes in the economy affect the way you do business ? We are much more aligned with value as we recognize the guest is looking for that more than ever .
How do you forecast for your business ? Based on current market conditions , commodity pricing , availability of people , and the economy .
MANAGEMENT
BOTTOM LINE
approach value and discounting instead of focusing on our great food and service . Historically we stayed away from getting into the discounting business , but we are fi nding in this economy that the consumer wants value and we are working on strategic ways to make value propositions profi table .
How is social media affecting your business ? Social media certainly allows for full transparency of our operations , which is mostly a good thing . It allows us to really understand the guest and their experience , which in turn gives us great insights on how we can improve , which is our top priority . From a social responsibility perspective , it helps us to share all the great community work our teams are involved in , and also builds affi nity to the brand when our neighbors see how locally involved we are .
How do you hire and fire ? Those decisions are up to our president and CEO , but as a practice we have always believed in promotion from within and we continue to do that when able , both in our operations and our administration teams .
How do you train and retain ? Our company is constantly training our new management as well as our existing team , introducing new programs that continue to develop our managers at all levels . We are proud to acknowledge one of the lowest turnover rates in the industry .
How do you deal with problem employees ? Our company has policies , and each manager has objectives that are established each year . If someone is not meeting those objectives we will take appropriate action .
Fastest way into my doghouse : Not being honest with me .
What are the best sources for capital expansion ? There are many sources for capital in the marketplace , so that is not a current constraint .
Experience with private equity , local banks , national banks , other institutions ? Why / why not ? We deal with national banks and people familiar with lending to restaurants .
What are you doing to take care of your employees ? We are constantly looking for opportunities to enhance our benefi t package , partnering with outside vendors to provide resources for discounts and other added-value programs .
How are you handling rising employee costs ( payroll , minimum wage , healthcare , etc .)? We always focus on looking for ways to improve productivity . Most recently we used tabletop devices for ordering and payment , but we are also looking at streamlining our kitchens to gain more effi ciency .
How do you reward / recognize top-performing employees ? That is a constant focus for our company . We provide opportunities to have them give us their great ideas , we have employee recognition programs , and we have an annual celebration every year with our whole team to recognize our top performers throughout the year .
What kind of exit strategy do you have in place ? I don ’ t have an exit strategy . I love the business and plan to stay in the business .
30 MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE ISSUE I , 2017