Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue II, 2015

MULTI-BRAND 50 understanding of how many guests truly get that 3-minute, 30-second promise.” This kind of operational savvy is just a sample of what Smith and Taylor have been cooking up that has caught the eye of the entrepreneurial world and earned them numerous awards. Taylor and Smith also are minority owners of 13 Moe’s stores in the Washington, D.C. area—–a venture launched with two other Moe’s franchisees in 2012 under the name Guac N Roll LLC. The group has secured the rights to develop 20 additional Moe’s restaurants in the D.C. area, with a particular focus on northern Virginia. Looking back, Taylor still “can’t believe they loaned me $400,000” to achieve his career dream. Taylor and Smith eventually bought out their angel investors in a “sweet deal” that allows them to repay the loan over 10 years with a low interest rate. The partners expect to easily meet their next career target of 50 stores, and will just have to ratchet up their goal when it happens. “We are trying to build a brand,” says Taylor. “It hasn’t been easy. It takes time and tenacity.” BOTTOM LINE Annual revenue: We will do more than $20 million in sales in 2015. 2015 goals: Greater than 5 percent same-store sales growth, and keeping The 4 Disciplines of Execution (Chris McChesney) top of mind for employees. Growth meter: How do you measure your growth? New starts and same-store sales. Vision meter: Where do you want to be in 5 years? 10 years? 50 units or $50 million in sales by the age of 50. 5 years: 40-plus units 10 years. 10 years: 50-plus units. How is the economy in your region affecting you, your employees, your customers? The economy has been strong in our area for quite some time now since the Great Recession. We are starting to see more competition for the same spaces. Hiring has become more challenging because of increased competition. Customers will start to have more choices, making competition for stomach space ﬁercer. Are you experiencing economic growth in your market? Yes. There are two ways to grow: 1) grow an existing concept in other markets; or 2) take on a new concept in your existing footprint. We are doing both. How do changes in the economy affect the way you do business? Less aggressive business decisions in a looming recession. But about 2½ years ago we started making more aggressive business decisions based on a speech by economist Brian Beaulieu at a Vistage meeting. I’m very happy we acted on that advice. How do you forecast for your business? Drive same-store sales and create a road map with milestones for new store openings. Follow the road 24 map. Remember that it takes 9 to 15 months to open a new location from start to ﬁnish (LOI, lease, architectural planning and permitting, construction, etc.). It is a long process. What are the best sources for capital expansion? Small, regional, relationship banks. My experience has been that large banks don’t like restaurants because we don’t have a lot of assets (but we do have signiﬁcant EBITDA). What are you doing to take care of your employees? We offer signiﬁcant bonus plans plus great beneﬁts: 401(k), paid vacation, health insurance, life insurance, etc. We build relationships with our employees. How do you reward/recognize top-performing employees? Taylor: Celebrate success! We have recurring yearly competitions such as The White Glove Inspection, where the cleanest store in our system wins $100 gift cards fo r all store employees and the GM gets an extra week of paid vacation. We also pay $1,000 extra bonus for the highest Steritech Food Safety audit score, franchisor inspections, and secret shoppers. Smith: General managers who have been a GM for at least two years become eligible for our Operating Partner program. If we invite them to join as an Operating Partner, they earn a certain percentage of EBITDA on a quarterly basis. Additionally, we have all kinds of contests for same-store sales growth and QSC scores. What kind of exit strategy do you have in place? Taylor: Once we achieve the $50 million in revenue or 50 units, we intend to sell to a responsible buyer. We are starting to own more and more of the real estate we occupy, so the intent would be to collect rent from a future buyer. Smith: Why, are you interested in buying us out? MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE IS S UE II, 2015 muf2_c_taylor_smith(16,18,22,24).indd 24 3/16/15 12:44 PM

Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue II, 2015 | Page 26