Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue IV, 2011 | Page 46

DOMINA
TORS
there when they needed him. While he
certainly continued to work, he put the
business world on the back burner.
When his eldest child graduated
from high school, and with the younger
two more grown-up, Selden decided
that maybe it was time to start thinking
about growing his franchising business
once again. “I jumped back in during
2003,” he says. “I talked to my wife
and children, and they agreed. And
it just took off. The key to this was
operational.”
He lined up with two key partners—
Jeremy Roy and Chuck Schrick. Today
he and his partners oversee 35 locations
that include 7 franchise concepts. They
have an ambitious development agreement in place with Jersey Mike’s for
Central and East Texas and have plans
to grow the other brands as well.
Not everything has been a stellar

success for him. The full-service hamburger concept he tried didn’t live up
to expectations. But he’s had a lot more
successes than failures along the way.
Today, Selden can look back and smile
when he thinks of the time he opened
and closed his own cookie franchise.
Today he has about 500 employees on
the payroll a nd a multimillion-dollar
operation.
Being bigger hasn’t changed any of
Selden’s original ideas about being the
best at whatever he does. Five years down
the road he and his partners plan to have
their current development agreements
wrapped and running. But in a world of
franchising opportunities, Selden expects
that new challenges will appear.
He plans to tackle them all head-on.
And if any don’t work out, it won’t be
for lack of him giving any less than 100
percent.

BOTTOM LINE
Annual revenue: North of $25 million
2011 goals: We added Jersey Mike’s a few months ago. I am very excited
about the concept and trying to learn all I can about that brand. As to our goals
for expansion, we are adding units in Wingstop, Smashburger, Jersey Mike’s, and
TCBY self-serve.
Growth meter: How do you measure your growth? They say
volume is vanity, but a strong top line sure makes the rest easier.
Vision meter: Where do you want to be in 5 years? 10
years? In five years we will have completed all our present development agreements, but I would be shocked if we had not added something new. In 10 years I
would like to be somewhere cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
How has the most recent economic cycle affected you, your
employees, your customers? The downturn has presented us with many
opportunities that we might not otherwise have had. We have been able to attract
some great people from other brands and also some great real estate.
Are you experiencing economic growth or recovery in your
market? Texas has remained pretty stable through the downturn.
What did you change or do differently in today’s economy
that you plan to continue? We are operating leaner and are very particular
about locations.
How do you forecast for your business in this economy? Once

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again, we have grown through the tough times. We are cognizant of the overall
economy, but we are finding great opportunities.
Where do you find capital for expansion? Internal cash flow, partners, and banks.
Is capital getting easier to access? Why/why not? I see no
change so far other than the bankers are having to adjust to tighter regulations.
Have you used private equity, local banks, national banks,
other institutions? Why/why not? As far as financing goes, we have
always used local or small regional banks. We have long-term personal relationships with the bankers and they understand our needs.
What kind of exit strategy do you have in place? I don’t really
want to exit.
What kinds of things are you doing to take care of your employees? There is a lot of opportunity for advancement in our companies right
now, and even possible equity in some situations.
How are you handling rising employee costs (payroll, healthcare, etc.)? Taking price increases when we can, which is not often, and trying
to eliminate waste wherever possible.
How do you reward/recognize top-performing employees?
Financial rewards, game tickets, and most of all opportunity.

Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s ue IV, 2011

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