Switch
Hitters
Grow Market Lead
By Debbie Selinsky
Why franchisees make
great franchisors
T
here’s something to be said for having walked
for years in another person’s shoes, for having
come up the ranks to a leadership position. Empathy and understanding come to mind, as well
as the hard lessons that can be gained only from years of
hands-on experience. That’s one big reason so many successful franchise executives agree that their past (and for
some, still current) lives as franchisees have informed the
way they lead their brands. We asked five franchise executives to tell us how their past experiences as franchisees
inform their role as franchisors today.
Lifetime of preparation
Russ Umphenour was an Arby’s franchisee for 32 years
before selling his nearly 800-unit company, RTM Restaurant Group, to Triarc Systems in 2005. During his time as
“Since I still
think a lot like a
franchisee, I could
easily identify with
the needs and
wants of our 1,100
franchisees at
Focus Brands.”
—Russ Umphenour
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