Please allow me to brag today.
I apologize in advance.
I want to make a point.
So I'll use my own experience to prove it.
Some call it bragging.
I prefer to chalk it to experience.
In 2005, I lost my job. My boss's boss called it a restructuring. I called it cowardly.
It's funny what happens to cowards. Eventually, they get what they deserve.
I wasn't the first to be restructured, nor the last.
The company is in pain today.
The owner is gone.
The execs have all been removed.
And with it, they've lost almost 20 franchises along the way.
No new growth.
Just restructuring the restructuring every few years.
When I lost my job, I didn't know what to do.
I had a mortgage, a car loan and line of credit.
Aline and I were in the final stages of international adoption.
With no savings, and no income, times looked bad.
We discussed putting the adoption on hold because we were worried we wouldn't get the $25,000 bank loan required to complete the adoption.
I thought about going back to work for another corporation.
But there was this taste of dissatisfaction in my mouth.
The corporate world had lied to me.
They told me to work hard, get a good education, innovate and I'd always have a job.
I decided that along with the addition of a baby, I was going to start a business.
Having worked for a restaurant franchisor, the logical step seemed to be in that area.
As we looked around, there were three restaurant franchises that attracted us in our hometown: coffee, sandwich and breakfast concepts.
The coffee business was monopolized by one franchisee and they weren't accepting any new franchisees in our market.
The sandwich business was monopolized by a few franchisees and were also not accepting any new franchisees in the market.
The breakfast business had one location in the market. There were 8 locations spread out in the same region my previous employer had operated 90 pizza franchises.
We chose the breakfast business. It seemed clear there was potential in breakfast.
Anyone could have done this.
We didn't have any money.
We didn't have an income.
The breakfast franchise's location in our town was busting at the seams. Every weekend, people were lined up outside like an amusement park attraction. The franchisee was an absentee owner but the staff were dedicated to providing a decent service. Every time we went, the demand was off the charts.
With experience in the franchise game, we figured it would be easier to buy out the current owner than build a new location. Through a long process, we couldn't put the deal together. So then, we proposed another idea.
"How about building a second location?". We thought the ability to alleviate the pressure of the current restaurant along with a new location and fresh management might be a good idea.
The franchise accepted our offer along with the money we scrounged together.
It took 22 months from the time I lost my job to the time we opened the doors to the new breakfast franchise.
Anyone could have done this.
22 months of pain, insecurity, mortgage payments, uncertainty, fear, no salary.
In those 22 months of waiting, we also brought two babies into our home.
It took 22 months because we went into a new construction. And construction got delayed.
When we opened, the sales weren't as expected.
We opened at the worst time of year: December.
By 8 months in, having hit summer, we were also busting at the seams on the weekends.
In 2007, there were two breakfast franchises in the market. Same brand. Same food.
Anyone could have bought a third location in the market.
There was room for more.
The third location was an obvious choice next to retailing superhero, Costco.
The third location was my first choice, but we couldn't secure leased space.
We waited for retail development to catch up to our vision.
And when it did, we built the third restaurant.
No one jumped at the third location.
Any one could have.
No one believed the market could hold another one.
Except me and the franchisor.
Even the banks didn't believe the market could sustain another one.
24 months later, I found a bank and the money required to build another franchise.
And overnight, it became the busiest of the three franchises in the market.
Anyone could've built the second restaurant.
Anyone could've built the third one.
But no one did.
There was nothing special about me, except a vision, an inability to accept no for an answer and raw determination.
I didn't have any money.
My parents did not invest in my business.
I didn't even have a job.
Plus we went $50,000 in debt to adopt two kids internationally.
Anyone could've done this,
But they didn't.
Instead, I hear that I was lucky.
That I was a visionary.
That it was a no brainer.
People are right when they say it was a no brainer.
But no one else did it.
I argued 8 years ago there was still room for another breakfast restaurant in my town, but the franchisor didn't want to cannibalize any more sales. They went from $1.1 million in annual sales in 2005 to well over $3.4 million.
If I had owned all three locations, I would have built a fourth one.
But the absentee owner felt a third location would kill his business.
The other two did, so he was probably right.
We sold our restaurants in 2013. Having had a major disagreement with the franchisor and the absentee owner, we felt it was in everybody's best interest to move on.
Recently, I ate at the busiest of the three locations.
Here is what I observed:
The food is still awesome.
The customers still flock to it.
The staff have changed greatly.
Most importantly, I noticed the new leadership.
It reminded me of 2005 when I sat at the absentee owner's franchise.
Customers who lined up, got frustrated and walked out without being served or even noticed.
Customers had to wait, even though there were clean, empty tables.
Dirty tables remained uncleaned the entire 45 minutes I was there.
Staff didn't seem to have the same sense of urgency that I remember.
I'm sure sales are strong.
I'm told shareholders are happy with their return on investment.
I informed the service supervisor what I saw and then realized that I was being too critical.
It wasn't her business, nor was it mine.
She suggested next time that I turn my back to the action so I could enjoy my meal.
Ha! Next time, I will be there to observe again.
For next time, I may be on a fact finding mission.
Because this time, I saw an opportunity.
Just like I did in 2005.
There is still room for more breakfast restaurants in my town.
But I don't think anyone will do it.
Until I decide to do it again.
And I may just do it.
Because I can.
So when you're thinking about opening a business, worry less about what people might do and worry more about what you will do.
I was told about a lady who wanted to open a poutine restaurant. She got discouraged because someone else beat her to it.
There's always room for more.
One idea, if there is demand, will not be limited by one offering.
The market will sort out who's the best and reward them accordingly.
Don't let challenges stop you.
You cannot have what you want if you aren't willing to push through adversity.
It's God's way of asking you if you're serious about what you want.
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