WOMEN AT
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THE TOP
Danna Caldwell
Co-founder and President, Menchie’s
from my father was, “Smart people learn
from their mistakes, smarter people
learn from other people’s mistakes.”
I also am a firm believer that to make
your own experiences better, you must
be open to hearing what worked and
what didn’t from those before you. I
have found that this has helped me
time and time again. I feel that we
were able to get our first location
(and then subsequent locations) open
by using this skill and seeking out all
the knowledge that those around me
had to offer. Now that I have a team,
I try to pass on the lessons I learned
so those around me can benefit from
my experiences as well.
How has your life experience
made you the leader you are today? I think the life experiences that
most shaped me as a leader were the
curveballs, or when others didn’t believe I could do something. Getting
fired was the catalyst that led us to
start Menchie’s, and that idea of turning life’s difficult moments into better opportunities has helped me as I
lead. I often remind those I work with
that things don’t often come easy, but
out of those times the most growth is
achieved. I use those experiences often
to help guide my team.
Role models? My father was one of
my biggest role models—and still is.
My father immigrated to the U.S. with
no money and spoke little English.
Despite these hurdles, he was able to
successfully grow business after business while raising a family, which never
ceases to amaze me. I learned many of
my best lessons from him regarding
business and family life. The belief in
yourself, standing up for what’s right,
being a virtuous person, and knowing
you can do what you set your mind to
do are all lessons I learned from him.
Not everything he did was successful,
but he always got back up and achieved
success again and was always willing
to take a chance.
Management gurus or books that
have deeply affected you: Dale
Carnegie’s How To Win Friends and
Influence People has been an extremely
valuable book for me. I find that success
in my life, and in the lives of others,
often stems from how you treat the
people around you. Additionally, it is
important to be an effective listener,
always seeing those around you. These
are age-old lessons, but people often
forget them.
Has mentorship made a difference
in your professional and personal
life? An important lesson I learned
Other female leaders you admire:
SYSTEM REVENUE: $188 million
NO. OF UNITS: 377
PUBLIC OR PRIVATE: Private
GROWTH PLANS: 1 year: 500 stores, $250
million; 3 years: 700 stores, $350 million; 5
years: 900 stores, $450 million
FOUNDED: 2007
BEGAN FRANCHISING: 2008
YEARS WITH COMPANY: 7
YEARS IN FRANCHISING: 6
INTERNATIONAL LOCATIONS: 95
“Smart people
learn from
their mistakes,
smarter people
learn from
other people’s
mistakes.”
The female leaders I admire the most
are not names everyone has heard of—
they are women in their communities
who do amazing things while trying to
achieve their goals. One who comes to
mind is Jenny Poon. While trying to
create a space to house and grow her
own design company, Jenny ended up
starting a very successful co-working
space, Co+Hoots, in Phoenix. It’s really the community-level leaders, who
rise up in the face of a challenge and
fill a void, that I admire. I think it’s a
difficult role that gets overlooked in
favor of more lucrative C-level positions. These community-level doers
are women I see more and more of,
and admire more and more daily.
What do you like most about what
your brand/legacy represents? I
especially love the connection to family and community our brand has. We
are more than just a dessert place. The
connection we have with our guests is
special, and having a young family of
my own I see the amazing role that having a community place like Menchie’s
has for people. I am so humbled to see
that connection in my own community, and every time I visit Menchie’s
locations around the world. n
Franchiseupdate
Franchiseupdate I S S U E I , 2014
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