Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue II, 2015 | Page 20

MULTI-BRAND 50
ness owner at age 30. At 29, with his selfimposed deadline looming, Taylor turned
his focus from selling medical supplies to
franchising as the smartest and swiftest
route to achieve his dream.
Armed with loads of confidence, but zero
ownership experience and just $30,000 in
the bank, Taylor turned a business cold call
with a large Subway franchisee into a life
and career game-changer. The franchisee
group, which was looking to invest in a
young entrepreneur, liked what they saw
in Taylor—and fronted him $400,000 to
open a franchise of his dream restaurant
brand. Taylor’s first Moe’s Southwest franchise opened 11years ago at the University
of South Carolina in Columbia, his alma

mater and hometown. With help from
Smith—and a college town location—the
restaurant soon became the top Moe’s unit
in the state.
Smith’s journey into franchising came
after his own career epiphany before turning 30. He had quit his corporate banking
job and moved to Austin to try his hand at
music… when business beckoned.
“ I burned out quickly on the corporate
world and made a pledge to myself either
to quit and start my own business or become a professional singer/songwriter,”
says Smith. “After a couple of years and
still struggling, Steve presented a great
opportunity to partner up and try our
hand at the restaurant business.”

Steven Taylor

PERSONAL
First job: Taylor: age 15, worked in a snow cone hut selling shaved ice.
Smith: age 16, a shoe salesman at Houser Shoes.
Formative influences/events: Taylor: My father, Tom Taylor, and my
mother, Nancy Taylor, for instilling in me confidence, morality, and a desire to
succeed. Smith: Working in and leaving the corporate world.
Key accomplishments: Taylor: 40 under 40, Charlotte Business Journal;
Moe’s Franchise Partner of the Year (2011); Smashburger Rookie of the Year
(2014); Moe’s Franchise Advisory Council Member (2008–2011); youngest
Moe’s Franchise Advisory president at 35 (2010); Moe’s Menu & Food Committee chair (2008–2011); Moe’s Market of the Year Award, Columbia, S.C.
(2006); assisting with the start-up of Friends of Epworth.
Biggest current challenge: Taylor: Obamacare and rising food costs.
Smith: Growing and shaping Smashburger to the point that it predictably runs
systems and profitability like our Moe’s. We get better every month.
Next big goal: 50 units or $50 million in sales by age 50.
First turning point in your career: Taylor: Forcing myself to start my
own business by age 30 and finding someone to invest $400,000 in me at
such a young age. Smith: Moving outside our home base (Columbia) and purchasing the Augusta market.
Best business decision: Taylor: Believing in Moe’s Southwest Grill and
the emergence of Americanized Mexican as a food category. Smith: Partnering
with experienced franchisees. When we started, we had two great, quasi-silent
partners who were great mentors. They were Subway franchisees with 40plus units who loved Moe’s as well. After three years, we bought them out of
Moe’s. Working with them was like being given a playbook on how to be successful restaurant operators.
Hardest lesson learned: Taylor: You can’t do it all yourself. Smith:
Thinking that the work chemistry Steve and I have can be replicated with other
partners.
Work week: Taylor: 50 to 60 hours a week. Smith: Consumed with weekly
meetings on Mondays and Tuesdays with our various teams within the organization. By Wednesday, I’m able to start working on more strategic activities.
I am usually in my home office or stores 50 hours a week. Plus, I’m usually
checking email or taking the occasional call at night and on the weekends. I do

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my best though to “turn it off” from Friday night through Sunday night.
Exercise/workout: Taylor: Addicted to CrossFit. Smith: As a data nerd,
I’m currently all about my Fitbit. I’ve learned that I’m a horrible sleeper and I
don’t take enough steps in the day. On a good week, I can get 3 or 4 workouts
in. My preference is running.
Best advice you ever got: Taylor: Rules without relationships lead to
rebellion!
What’s your passion in business? Taylor: Establishing successful new
locations while seeing people flourish and blossom in our existing business.
Smith: Data, analytics, technology. We are using all of that to build a smarter,
more enjoyable, more profitable operation.
How do you balance life and work? Taylor: Enable, empower, and
entrust people to make the right decisions. Smith: Developing systems at work
and getting people to buy in to those systems allows us to step away when
non-work life needs to begin.
Guilty pleasure: Taylor: Häagen-Dazs chocolate and peanut butter.
Favorite book: Taylor: Philosophies and Traditions by Russ Umphenour.
Smith: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.
Favorite movie: Taylor: “Caddyshack.” Smith: “Star Wars.”
What do most people not know about you? Taylor: I was terminated from a restaurant while in college. Smith: I had perfect attendance from
kindergarten through my senior year of high school. My grandmother called the
high school principal to make sure he knew of my attendance. Embarrassingly,
she told this story at an awards banquet. Not my coolest moment.
Pet peeve: Taylor: Dirty tables and apathetic employees.
What did you want to be when you grew up? Taylor: A smallbusiness owner like my father. Smith: At age 8 or 9, I remember wanting to
become a professional basketball player.
Last vacation: Taylor: Took my family skiing to Snowbird/Alta, Utah.
Smith: China for two weeks in the summer of 2014.
Person I’d most like to have lunch with: Taylor: My wife. Smith:
Stephen Colbert.

MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE IS S UE II, 2015

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