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, 34 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. MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE IS S UE I, 2015 MUF15-1_gala(32,33,34).indd 34 1/15/15 3:29 PM