Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2011 | Page 22

“No matter what the brand or business,
I want my stores to be reflective of the
market they’re serving. Diversity
just makes good business sense.”

was probably highly overleveraged for several years leading
right into the recession. He’s had to work hard to keep the bills
paid, and doesn’t mind in the least to say that sometimes that
took some skillful juggling—at least until this year.

Today he’s pretty much debt-free, has built some cash flow,
and things are much better. But he’s still going full speed ahead
with new ventures, both in business and in life. That’s the
Thomas way. He wouldn’t have it any other.

MANAGEMENT
Business philosophy: I talk with my employees about where they want to
go, where they want to be in five years, and what it will take to achieve that. I realize that many of my employees want to be Indians, not Chiefs, and that’s fine.
Regardless, I give them all the numbers. I share everything. The more they know
about making money, the better they’ll run my business. And if someday my best
employees leave and start their own business, that’s great.
Would you say you are in the franchising, real estate, or customer service business? Why? I’m in the people business. Great service
and operations are the backbone. Also, I’m very respectful of my customers’ time.
Whether it’s haircuts, smoothies, or carwashes, no one likes to wait.
What gets you out of bed in the morning? Last year, the stress of
knowing whether or not my checking account went negative. This year, having to
get my kids on the bus.
What’s your passion in business? To chart my own course. To be different. To be out of the box and try things that others would never even contemplate.
Management method or style: I believe strongly in diversity. While
some men might like a store filled with bombshell blondes, I think that’s bad for
business. I want someone black, someone white, gay, straight, Hispanic, Asian,
Persian, young, old, fat, and skinny. No matter what the brand or business, I want
my stores to be reflective of the market they’re serving. Diversity just makes good
business sense.
Greatest challenge: Up until 2011 my biggest challenge was simply juggling money to keep from bouncing any checks. Yes, I swapped money from
one business to the other. I robbed from Peter to pay Paul. For years, my stores

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Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s ue III, 2011

“had to” grow at 20 percent just for me to be able to make the debt service.
Fortunately they did, and then some. As of today, most all my debts have either
matured or been paid off early. And now that I don’t have those headaches, I’m
not too stressed.
How close are you to operations? Very. I issue paychecks weekly.
And with each check they get a newsletter. One side of that newsletter is stories,
guidance, concerns, incentives, upcoming events, etc. The other side is the store
rankings. I share everything. And I sort it from best to worst. Everyone knows
where they stand, and stores and employees who are lagging tend to get fixed or
fired rather quickly. No one likes to see their name at the bottom of the list in any
category.
How do others describe you? Lots of energy, 99 mph.
How do you hire and fire? We hire quickly (sometimes on the spot).
Why? Because the very best applicants land a job in one day. If we don’t hire
them on the spot, a competitor will. So we have to be a quick judge of character.
Oh, and we fire just as quickly: 90 percent of all our firings take place the first
week. But if they make it past that, they stay on for a long time. We have very,
very low turnover. I think it’s my job to keep the employees motivated and
productive. We pay “above par,” but keeping employees takes more than just
money. It takes mutual respect, motivation, etc.
How do you train and retain? Being that I don’t know how to cut hair,
make a smoothie, or wax a car, I leave training to my GMs.
How do you deal with problem employees? We fire them as quickly
as possible. And then we help them get a job with our competitors.