Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue II, 2016 | Page 34

MULTI

BRAND

in 2005,” Jesse says.
Within 3½ years they opened four Little
Caesars in Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky. “That was a great choice,”
Charles says. “Even though 2008 and 2009
were rough, we still excelled. Little Caesars
has created such a niche for itself, serving
everyone from a single person to a large
family—and they’re committed to value.
For the last 7 or 8 years, they’ve been voted
the best value in America in QSR surveys.”
After they opened their fourth Little
Caesars, Jesse’s wife at the time wanted
to move from the medical field to being a
Valpak franchisee. Jesse worked with her,
doing cold calls on hair salon owners and
trying to discuss their advertising options.
“Every owner I called was extremely rude,”
he says. “I thought that if they’re this rude
to the public in general, they’re probably
not meeting the needs of their customers.”

The brothers’ response was to sign a
contract in 2010 with Sport Clips to open
26 units in 5 states (Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Michigan, and Indiana). They’re
now more than halfway to that goal and
are in the process of relocating to the St.
Louis area to make that rapid growth more
manageable.
“Hair salons are in a completely different market from Little Caesars,” says
Jesse. “Sport Clips is not the lowest-priced
product, but you have a more personalized,
one-customer/one-employee relationship.”
The Keysers were attracted to their third
brand, Oxi Fresh, because of the “brand
recognition with the word Oxi,” the very
specific answers they received to their questions from the franchisor, and the company’s
technological savvy. “What they’re doing
on the back end from the tech perspective
is light years ahead,” says Jesse. In Septem-

ber 2014, the brothers bought out the St.
Louis market, which dovetailed nicely with
what they were already planning for their
other two brands.
Asked why they chose three such diverse brands, the brothers say the answer
is simple. “Charles and I learned early on
with our first restaurant location that the
fundamentals people taught us about how
a real business runs and looks could apply
to any type of industry,” says Jesse. “It’s like
plug-and-play for us at this point. We offer
amazing customer service and added value
to what we’re charging.” One key to their
success has been the philosophy that they
can’t be at all locations all the time, he adds.
“That’s why we find inspired people to live
out our mission when we’re not around.”
They also credit their multi-unit, multibrand success to their use of social media.
“When we talk about social media, Twitter

MANAGEMENT
Business philosophy: “Up-N-Out” is the philosophy we have developed where
we are constantly developing people to move up in our organization—or out of
our organization to pursue great opportunities with another organization. They
never leave to work for a competitor because the skills we teach them are so applicable that the opportunities with us are huge for them. If you think of how an
organization is structured, almost always like a pyramid, everyone at one level
can’t move up to the next level—there isn’t room for everyone. So we have the
culture that if you give us your best while you are with us, we will invest in you
the same as we would for someone who professes to be a lifer. Does this cause
us to spend time and money on people whom we may not get the best return on
investment from? Possibly, but when you get a phone call a year after someone
leaves your organization to pursue a great opportunity and they call to personally
thank you for teaching them things they wish their parents did, it is by far the
greatest accomplishment we could think of—not to mention that while they are
with us they kill it with customer experience and leadership!
Management method or style: Create systems that make the majority
of the work force look like they are top performers when initially they joined our
team as average players. Then develop those people to realize their full potential
and truly become top performers.
Greatest challenge: Staying ahead of the curve in leadership development.
We constantly are reading and meeting with people we can learn from on the
subject. As you feed your team members with more knowledge and skills, their
appetite grows and the questions they ask become more complex and deeper. We
have to constantly sharpen our ability to broadcast a vision that inspires and drives
people to grow and thrive.
How do others describe you? Jesse: Driven, well-read, with lots of bravado. Charles: I had to ask some others this question. They said I am a great listener
who holds others accountable but still makes them feel like I have their back.
One thing I’m looking to do better: On-boarding all our team members better. The first 15 percent of the process determines 85 percent of the overall success.
How I give my team room to innovate and experiment: We are rigid

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with following systems, but we have regular meetings that are frank where we simply ask, “What is working and what isn’t?” If a good idea comes up, we talk about
it and make the decision to pilot it before we roll it out company-wide. If it’s successful, we roll it out company-wide, giving credit to the team member who came
up with the idea, how it has evolved, and how it has been tested and proven.
How close are you to operations? Jesse: I am actually proud to say that
we don’t do site visits very often. I do have face-to-face meetings with every team
member who has a key to any of our locations every four weeks. I rely on area
managers to make frequent site visits and manage day-to-day operations. I focus
exclusively on leadership development and grand openings.
What are the two most important things you rely on from your
franchisor? A strong marketing plan and support, and R&D of new products
and vendors.
What I need from vendors: Streamlined processes to order and support.
Have you changed your marketing strategy in response to the
economy? How? Jesse: Yes. We focus so much on Internet marketing now.
Print, while not dead, isn’t getting the same ROI as it once did. Charles: Great
operations is also key to our success.
How is social media affecting your business? It’s allowing us to have
direct contact with more of our customers. We have learned that when it’s handled
correctly, we have the power to turn issues into opportunities.
How do you hire and fire? We fire very few people. Most who leave us do
so because they are not a good fit, and it’s painfully clear to everyone. When we
hire, we are looking for people who like to be challenged and want to grow.
How do you train and retain? When training, we teach “reasons, not
rules.” We found that when a new team member understands the “why” behind
a policy first, the rule becomes easy to manage.
How do you deal with problem employees? We’re quick to address
issues.
Fastest way into my doghouse: Treat a fellow team member or customer
poorly.

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