Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue I, 2014 | Page 44

MEGA

“Thanks to my family. I look forward to
many more years of success.”
the franchisor and is eager to see what
lies ahead.
One of the things Griffin says he
has learned over the years is that “Opportunity almost always never comes at
a convenient time. It’s staying focused
on the long term and the future that
makes today’s opportunities work out
in the end.”
Despite the challenges and the expense of turning around those stores
and expanding his business in today’s
economy, it’s easy to believe Griffin
when he says, “I’m having more fun
now than I’ve ever had.”

BOTTOM LINE
Annual revenue: North of $32 million.
Growth meter: How do you measure your growth? How many
stores we’ve added and where’s the targeted area for our next 2, 3, 4, 5
stores. Improving the footprint overall. Improving the talents and abilities of the
management team. We’re always evaluating the customer experience.
Vision meter: Where do you want to be in 5 years? 10 years?
First and foremost, have all the stores reimaged with all buildings having the
same new-age Jiffy Lube made clear. I want a better-trained employee working
in a new and improved facility. Even if we do not get any opportunity to open
other markets, we can still add 25 to 30 more locations.
How is the current economy affecting you, your employees,
your customers? Our employees have been inspiring us as a corporate
team and customers feel the inspiration as well. The stats verify that. We’re
one of four front-runners for Jiffy Lube International. We’re climbing, and that
filters down into our customers.
Are you experiencing economic growth in your market? I’ve seen
a kind of a settling in the market. We’ve had a lot of car dealers close, and it’s
lifted us. But I don’t think we’re going to see any more major turnovers. People
are starting to get their feet underneath them again.
What did you change or do differently during the economic
downturn that you are continuing to do? We got more aggressive.
When others duck their heads, we lift ours.
How do you forecast for your business? Forecasting becomes a little
hard to determine if you look at it in broad geographic areas. When you drive
around and identify a need in a county, then it becomes clear. Statewide, it’s
hard to apply it. You have to break it down into a county, get in a car, and go
with your people. Then you can see what you need to do to lift your market.
Is capital getting easier to access? Why/why not? No. Aside from
opportunities from Jiffy Lube and Shell, our internal cycle comes from savings

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Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s ue I, 2014

and we don’t even approach the bank on those items. If you wanted to acquire
just the franchise and lease the facilities, very few banks right now, if any,
would even consider that. The banking industry is not built to loan money on a
straight franchise unit. You need dirt, brick, or mortar.
Where do you find capital for expansion? That comes as a result of
developing trusting relationships with your franchisor and your suppliers. For the
most part banking and loans are difficult or nonexistent. Your greatest opportunity is to have a trusting supplier and franchisor.
Have you used private equity, local banks, national banks,
other institutions? Why/why not? We have used some lightly.
What are you doing to take care of your employees? Our management team participates in profit-sharing from the locations they operate for us.
We provide them with a clear understanding of the profit-and-loss statement.
How are you handling rising employee costs (payroll, healthcare, etc.)? We’re paying for health insurance. At this point the biggest thing
in a down economy is to lift the quality of our overall employment. There’s a lot
more unemployed and we can be a little more selective and we can upgrade,
become a better performer. By hiring better we can improve our situation.
How do you reward/recognize top-performing employees? We
evaluate key focal points for each manager and assistant manager and we do
a lot of “attaboys” when we’re out there. We make sure to recognize them in
the leadership retreat.
What kind of exit strategy do you have in place? This business of
ours is driven with a heart and soul of a family spirit. Joye and I have worked
for three decades. With our sons D.J., Jeff, and John, their added leadership has
allowed us the ability to keep growing. I hope with this we can shed light that
this company is and has been a family success story. Growth in difficult times
comes from a united family making difficult choices, staying still in rough storms
of growth. Thanks to my family, I look forward to many more years of success.