Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue I, 2015 | Page 36
to an entrepreneur in Phoenix where the
stores were located. All of this gave Gala
a renewed sense of focus and a chance
to spend more time strategizing for his
business, whose units are now all located
in California.
“When you have a large business you
are deeply involved in running that busi-
ness daily,” he says. “By selling off and
now focusing exclusively on only Famous
Dave’s, I have more time to think and
plan strategically.”
In the past five years he has doubled
his Famous Dave’s locations from 5 to
10 in Northern and Southern California. He expects to add two more Famous
Dave’s in 2015, perhaps more. “I’m always looking at opportunities to create
value in my organization,” he says. “I’m
constantly looking at potential acquisitions within my brand and, possibly,
elsewhere.” Gala says he loves the Famous Dave’s brand because it is “a clearly
differentiated concept and the brand is
a master at barbecue.”
Business played a major role, but his
downsizing strategy wasn’t just a dollarsand-cents decision for the married father
of two. “This has all given me more time
to spend with my family, and that’s the
most important part of life.”
Moving forward, he says, “I have the
luxury of being more strategic with my
business right now since I have downsized, but that doesn’t mean I won’t
grow again.”
BOTTOM LINE
Annual revenues: Private.
such as crowdsourcing debt and equity financing.
2015 goals: Continued focus on improvement and efficiency.
Have you used private equity, local banks, national banks,
other? Why/why not? We have historically had experiences with local
and national banks as well as franchise finance companies. I prefer the local
banks and those options with a special focus on franchise finance as they understand the business better, as well as the needs of the shareholders. I do not
use private equity.
Growth meter: How do you measure your growth? If we are
achieving or beating our traffic targets while achieving or beating our guest
satisfaction goals. If we take care of the guests, they come back more often.
Sales and profits are a by-product of doing the basics correctly.
Vision meter: Where do you want to be in 5 years? 10 years?
Our vision is not measured in store count, sales, or employee count, but rather
by a very well-run business and guests who are evangelists for our business.
We do aspire to win the Baldrige Award in 10 years or sooner.
How is the economy in your regions affecting you, your employees, your customers? As the economy improves, we see the opportunity for increased frequency because of an increased customer confidence.
We also see continued challenges that cannot be timed with the economy or
market, and so there are many cost pressures that make business challenging.
Are you experiencing economic growth in your markets? Yes,
things are getting better, slowly but surely.
How do changes in the economy affect the way you do business? They recently have been motivating to accelerate the way we innovate
in our business. There are always various pressures or changes that require any
business to be in constant change and engaged in innovation.
How do your forecast your business? We are very focused on how
we continue to improve against ourselves. We consider the competitive set, but
they are not our benchmark, only a point of reference.
What are the best sources for capital expansion? We have expanded with our own capital and traditional bank financing. It is a slower method of
growth. There are some very innovative platforms for financing coming soon,
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What are you doing to take care of employees? We offer many
benefits, incentives, and options for top performers as well as career options
for so many who are interested, and we provide a great deal of training and
education.
How are you handling rising employee costs? This is why we need
to continue to educate ourselves and innovate. The economy, labor costs, and
regulations are not the same as they were 10 years ago. Therefore, neither
should the way that we run our businesses. Technology has and will continue
to play a role in innovation, but we are also required to reimagine what we do
to run a restaurant and how we do it. It is uncomfortable at times as change is
hard for all of us.
How do you reward/recognize top-performing employees?
Through strong financial incentives. Most recently, we have a program that provides a leased BMW for our top-performing general managers.
What kind of exit strategy do you have in place? I do not think of
the business in terms of exit strategy, as this tells our company and its employees that I am not committed to them. Instead, I focus on succession planning.
This focuses on developing strong leaders in the company to continue to outperform and provides opportunity and incentive to them for their commitment and
performance. Great businesses are built over time with a strong, long-term focus. Short-term strategies never create value or sustainable businesses that last.
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