Franchise Update Magazine Issue III, 2011 | Page 14

CEO profile: national familiarity and positive name recognition. How has the economy changed your goals for your company?  It actu- ally hasn’t changed the goals but it has changed the timelines. Over the last three years the growth rate has been cut in half, but we continue to grow. It has slowed us down. Where can capital be found these days? It’s hard. The SBA seems like it’s helping out in conjunction with community banks. As a company we’re not really interested in private equity firms, selling off the company. How do you measure success? For me it’s not a specific metric, but rather being satisfied. For the franchisees, if they’re happy, making money, then to me that’s a measure of franchisee success. For me, I ask myself if I feel satisfied. If “If the banks open up a little and start lending again our growth will accelerate. And, hopefully, we’ll add two more new states with Pita Pits in the next year.” there are lots of problems, I don’t feel successful. And I have a fairly high bar to reach to feel satisfied. What has been your greatest success? I think it was the challenge of putting a group together to acquire the company in 2005. And then to grow from 70 to 187 locations. Any regrets? No, not really. (laughs) I had no control over the economy in 2008, so no personal regrets but more of a global financial regret. What can we expect from your company in the next 12 to 18 months? I think we will continue to have positive growth. We have at least four new locations opening up in the next two months. If the banks open up a little and start lending again our growth will accelerate. And, hopefully, we’ll add two more new states with Pita Pits in the next year. n The Wall Street Journal delivers qualified franChise prospeCts. Capitalize on those with Capital to spend The Wall Street Journal is #1 in delivering the affluent with an average HHI of $313,439 and an average value of liquid assets of 2 million+ Showcase your franchise for sale every Thursday in Personal Journal and online every day at WSJ.com/Franchising For more information contact Tamara McHugh 312-750-4053 or [email protected] Sources: 2010 Mendelsohn Affluent; Head of Household Survey, HHI $100k+ 12 ©2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Franchiseupdate Iss u e III, 2 0 1 1 fu3_lead_profile_riggs(10-12).indd 12 8/22/11 1:11 PM