Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2013 | Page 46

2013 MVP
MANAGEMENT
Business philosophy/management style: I am not a micro-manager. I
try to hire the best people in the business and let them shine. They know their areas of expertise and don’t need me getting in the way. As long as they keep me
updated, and we can problem-solve together when necessary, things are good.
Greatest challenge: Recently, food cost has been a major challenge because of the high cost of bone-in chicken wings. Our team has been extremely
diligent in managing all of our inventories and promoting items such as boneless wings to help us through this period. Our ongoing challenges remain finding and developing strong sites for future locations in Southern California and
managing food costs.
How I give my team room to innovate and experiment: The
teams I’ve put in place are the experts in their respective areas. Each team
member can come to me with ideas or recommendations, whether it’s on controllable costs, HR policies, or systems to manage back of office and accounting
tasks. I’m open to any good ideas and encourage my employees to bring new
ideas and best practices to the table.
How close are you to operations? I rely on my operations team for
the day-to-day tasks. Even though I am not in the restaurants daily, I’m always
in the loop on what is going on, including reviewing daily sales and food cost
numbers.
What do you rely on/expect from your franchisor? The relationship between the franchisor and the franchisee must be built on communication
and honesty.

What do you need from vendors? With more than 20 restaurants, 400
staff members, and loyal guests who expect a quality, made-to-order product,
we rely on vendors for timely service and solid communication.
How is social media affecting your business? From a traffic-driving
standpoint, we are using Facebook and other tools to better engage with our
customers at the market/ad association level, and to build additional occasions
through offers. On the feedback side, we are constantly on top of Yelp and
other reviews. That has become an area we need to continually manage. We
are alerted to each review as it comes in and share them with the team. We respond when necessary to gain more information so we can continue to improve
our operations. Despite it being an open forum where customers can share their
gripes, we try to see social media as a positive that we can learn from.
How do you hire and fire? I have an excellent team in place to run the
day-to-day in the restaurants, so I deal with management at the top level. My
senior team manages the rest of our employees. When we have to make tough
personnel changes, I believe in giving people a second chance, and making
sure there aren’t ways to better coach and develop. If that is not the case, then
we have to part ways. It’s also important and standard practice to properly
document each employee.
Fastest way into my doghouse: I value honesty and genuine people
above all else. If someone is not being honest, that’s the fastest way to ruin a
business relationship.

“We are currently in a growth mode. Despite
continued tough economic times, our food is still
relatively affordable and guests crave the product.”
BOTTOM LINE
Annual revenue: $25 million
2013 goals: To open three new Wingstop locations in Southern California
and grow comp sales by 10 percent at my existing locations. I’m also working
to become a developer with another concept. We are currently in discussions
to bring a national brand to Southern California.
Growth meter: How do you measure your growth? The most important measurement is guest count, and the second is average ticket. Guest
counts allow us to see how our stores are performing, isolated from price
increases.
Vision meter: Where do you want to be in 5 years? 10 years? I
intend to be operating more than 35 Wingstop units, in addition to becoming
a multi-brand operator.
Are you experiencing economic growth or recovery in your market? We are currently in a growth mode in our market. Despite continued
tough economic times, our food is still relatively affordable and guests crave
the product. We also focus on carry-out service, which adds to our value, and
it’s a great way to feed a family.
How do you forecast for your business? We rely on data from our

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Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s ue III, 2013

POS and accounting systems to look at trends from the previous year and
weeks, factoring in seasonality, sports games, promotions, and other factors
that may have influenced sales.
Where do you find capital for growth/expansion? We are primarily
funding new locations through cash flow, but also use bank financing.
What are you doing to take care of your employees? We start
by offering more than minimum wage. We pride ourselves on promoting
from within, and have created dozens of opportunities for employees to
become shift managers, general managers, and even regional managers.
We have also put in place many incentives for our employees at all levels of
the organization.
How are you handling rising employee costs (payroll, healthcare,
etc.)? By planning ahead, researching changes in laws, and meeting with
vendors early, so that we can be prepared.
How do you reward or recognize top-performing employees?
Managers are eligible for weekly bonuses. We also host a year-end dinner for
the Employee of the Year at each store and all general managers. The Employee of the Year is selected by their teammates.