Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue I, 2012 | Page 46

MEGA

Reconnecting: with Tommy Haddock
BOTTOM LINE

Annual revenue: More than $100 million
2012 goals: We want to continue to grow by opening new restaurants,
evaluating our position in our markets, and making sure we maintain the image
we have and the brand awareness we have developed over time. Even though
we’re a franchisee, we’re always evaluating our menu to see if there are things
we can do better or ideas we need to consider. We want to maintain profit levels equal to or bett er than the preceding year.
Growth meter: How do you measure your growth? We look at
numbers for our new units as well as same-store sales. We look at the profits
behind same-store sales because we’ve always believed philosophically that if
we grow top-line sales and grow our gross revenues, the bottom line will take
care of itself.
Vision meter: Where do you want to be in 5 years? 10 years?
We’re the tortoise instead of the hare. Today we have 46 restaurants, and it
took us 32 years to get here. If we could continue our growth at the same pace
for the next 5 or 10 years, I’d be satisfied. In the next 5 years, I would anticipate I will continue to operate the restaurants and be on the job every day,
just like I have for 32 years. In the next 10 years, somewhere along the line,
I’ll be talking about the transition process so
this company will continue doing what we
are now.
How has the most recent economic
cycle affected you, your employees,
your customers? We’re very aware that
our customers are carefully managing their
dollars and choosing where they spend those
dollars. We want to continue to be part of
our customers’ routines on a daily or weekly
basis, and we’re trying to accommodate
them as much as we can. Our employees are
in the same boat, stretching their dollars. Our
business is faring better than a lot of people
in our industry, but I wouldn’t say we’ve
been unaffected.
Are you experiencing economic
growth/recovery in your market?
Seems to be negligible, flat.

Where do you find capital for expansion? We have been fortunate to
have a great relationship with our bank for a long time. They have been good
to work with.
Is capital getting easier to access? No. Out of necessity, banks are
looking more closely than ever at who they lend to. Successful, established
companies like ours are able to continue, but it’s extremely difficult for young
companies and startups.
Have you used private equity, local banks, national banks,
other institutions? Our relationship is with a national bank. We have opportunities to use local banks who have expressed interest in working with us,
but our primary bank has taken such good care of us over the years that we’ve
stuck with them.

“We’re not cutting
back employees on the
restaurant level—but
we haven’t added to
upper management and
we have a lot of people
going beyond the call
of duty to help us.”

What did you change or do differently in this economy that you
plan to continue doing? We have become more cost-conscious than we
were. We have learned that we can operate more efficiently than we have in
the past. We’d gotten a little fat and sassy with all the good times, but we’ve
learned that we can trim some fat and operate just as efficiently. We’re not
cutting back employees on the restaurant level—we have about 2,500—but
we haven’t added to upper management and we have a lot of people going
beyond the call of duty to help us.

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How do you forecast for your business in this economy? We’ve
been in this economic rut for enough time now that if there’s any optimism, it’s
that we think things won’t get worse and that we can at least maintain where
we are. So for a number of years, our forecasts and projections have been to
remain flat or slightly down. Bojangles’ does a good job on the purchasing side,
keeping us informed as to what is coming down the pike, and what we can
expect as far as commodities prices and how they affect the P&L statement.

Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s ue I, 2012

What kind of exit strategy do you
have in place? I’ll let you know in 10 years.
What are you doing to take care of
your employees? We have a 401(k)
plan and our management people share in
our success through a nice commission system that we put in place many years ago. We
have a lot of long-term employees—one has
been with us since the first day we opened.
She has grown with us and is now one of
our area directors supervising seven or eight
restaurants.

How are you handling rising employee costs (payroll, healthcare,
etc.)? Unfortunately, with healthcare, we
have had to pass some costs on to our employees. We continue to pay the bulk of the cost. The only other place we can
offset is through menu board items. Sometimes we get squeezed in the middle
and sometimes we have to take less profit.
How do you reward/recognize top-performing employees?
About 25 years ago, we started what we called the Biscuit Banquet, where
we’d have a biscuit-making competition and recognize the winner. That has
grown into an annual banquet where we recognize manager of the year and
assistant manager of the year. In addition to the public recognition, we reward
them with a monetary gift.