“ I can still throw the apron on and get in and run the line , and my employees know that I can go in and help .”
D O M I N A T O R S
“ I can still throw the apron on and get in and run the line , and my employees know that I can go in and help .”
Business philosophy : Work hard , play hard . When you ’ re working , that is what you ’ re doing . When it ’ s time not to work and have a personal life , it ’ s time to play hard as well . Life is short .
Management method or style : I ’ m a “ do it now ” manager , so if I hear something from the grapevine or there is something I need to talk about , I deal with it right away . I don ’ t beat around the bush .
Greatest challenge : Staffi ng and helping general managers fi nd crew and their management teams .
How do others describe you ? As having high expectations , but fair .
One thing I ’ m looking to do better : See the glass half full and not half empty . As an owner , I tend to go in and see what ’ s wrong fi rst and not what ’ s right .
How do you give your team room to innovate and experiment ? They have to be able to make their own mistakes because sometimes you learn by making mistakes . I want them to learn on my dime . It ’ s okay to make mistakes as long as we learn from them .
How close are you to operations ? Very close . I can still throw the apron on and get in and run the line , and my employees know that I can go in and help . I wish I could do it more , but when I do we have a good time . I came from the operations side and doing dishes in a restaurant and working my way up , so operations is probably my forte .
What are the two most important things you rely on from your franchisor ? Good data ( how we ’ re doing compared with the rest of the stores because I don ’ t want to be average ) and a good support system . I can
MANAGEMENT
talk to the president with a phone call . If you have a question , you can get an answer the same day .
What I need from vendors : Great service and great quality .
Have you changed your marketing strategy in response to the economy ? How ? We ’ re placing more focus on Millennials .
How is social media affecting your business ? We ’ re focusing on social media more in the last year than we ever have . Penn Station launched an app this year and we ’ re doing a lot more advertising on social media .
How do you hire and fire ? I hire my general managers and they hire everyone else . For hiring a general manager , we do a very thorough process . When we have to fi re , I make sure we have the proper documentation . Before fi ring , we try to salvage the employees .
How do you train and retain ? Penn Station has a thorough training program . We do an orientation every week and I personally go to the orientation so every employee meets me . Since all 17 of our stores are centrally located , we do one orientation . It shows a commitment from the employees to take the time to go to a different location early in the morning . To retain , we give proper raises and take care of our people .
How do you deal with problem employees ? Sometimes you know quickly whether they ’ ll make it or not . For someone we think we can work with , we sit down and try to work through problems . Every employee is different . I tell people if they don ’ t enjoy going to work more times than not , they should fi nd something else . Ultimately , I want them to be happy .
Fastest way into my doghouse : Being lazy and not being honest .
Annual revenue : Approximately $ 12 million . 2016 goals : Hiring the right people and growing sales .
Growth meter : How do you measure your growth ? Customer counts .
Vision meter : Where do you want to be in 5 years ? 10 years ? I want to travel more and work a little less , but I don ’ t plan on retiring anytime soon .
How is the economy in your region affecting you , your employees , your customers ? It hasn ’ t affected us as much from a customer standpoint , but wages are rising and we are trying to accommodate that , so it affects our labor costs . Our whole industry is facing a major challenge fi nding employees .
Are you experiencing economic growth in your market ? Yes .
How do changes in the economy affect the way you do business ? We just continue to do what we do the best we can .
How do you forecast for your business ? I do an annual forecast and update it every month .
What are the best sources for capital expansion ? My goal is to self-fund . At this point , I have a line of credit if I need it .
BOTTOM LINE
Experience with private equity , local banks , national banks , other institutions ? I have a line of credit and maintain a good relationship with my banker .
What are you doing to take care of your employees ? We create an ownership mentality with our general managers by giving them a percentage of the profi ts , paid monthly . We try to do things outside the store level , too . I often give advice on a personal as well as a business level .
How are you handling rising employee costs ( payroll , minimum wage , healthcare , etc .)? I ’ ve learned to stop fi ghting it . You can only make up so much of it by raising food costs , so there is a point where it affects the bottom line . We still streamline and do the best we can .
How do you reward / recognize top-performing employees ? Penn Station has a performance evaluation system where an area representative comes into the store and does an evaluation . We take that very seriously . Our general managers get recognized by how well they do in that evaluation compared with their peers . The top-performing general managers from that performance evaluation can earn a bonus of up to $ 10,000 or $ 12,000 .
What kind of exit strategy do you have in place ? At 49 , I ’ m getting closer to that , but currently I do not have an exit strategy . It ’ s in process .
16 MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE ISSUE IV , 2016