Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue IV, 2015 | Page 40

D OM I N A T O R S
in 2012 by the South Asian Chamber of
Commerce in Houston.
“In our business, my mother is the
decision maker, and my father executes
those decisions,” says Annie, an attorney
who handles legal issues for the company. “I’m not surprised that she is a good
businessperson, though some of the extended family might have been at first.
She’s such a strong role model. In our
family, she is the powerhouse. She has a
lot of guts. She is not afraid of anything.”
Renu insists that the success of the
family business is due both to family
members employed by the business (her
husband, daughter, and son, Keshuv) and
the more than 300 employees who have
become like a second family to her. “I
treat the staff like family. Whenever they
need help, I help them. They don’t steal
money from me because I will help them
with family problems and they can pay
me back when they have the money,”
she says.
“She really cares for the staff and
some have worked for her for more than
a decade and are continuing to grow,”
says Annie. “When we opened our Wing
Zone, they worked above and beyond
for us because they are so attached to
my mother.”
Annie, who graduated from the South
Texas College of Law in Houston, is

“In our family,
she is the
powerhouse.
She has a lot of
guts. She is not
afraid of anything.”
—Annie Aggarwal

gratified that the entire family can work
so well together. “My brother, who has
a degree in entrepreneurship from the
University of Houston, is working to take
on my mother’s role, managing operations
and people and making sure we have the
infrastructure to run smoothly. He has
also created his own internal software
to increase data efficiency and analysis.
We’re incorporating that into our daily
operations so managers can conduct
some operations in their stores by cell
phone,” she says. “I work with legal issues
that come up, and since I also have an
accounting degree, I look at financials,
bringing in capital, and making the network connections we need.”
When Renu’s son and husband were
researching possible new brands for
diversification, they came across Wing
Zone. “We flew to Atlanta to try it and
liked it very much,” she says. “It’s a simple
concept that we can easily incorporate
into our infrastructure.”
Now 51, Renu talks about retiring
and letting her children operate the business. But they question that idea since
she still has great ambition for her two
brands. “I’d like to have 100 stores and
a lot more people in the next 5 or 10
years,” she says. “I may retire, but I’ll
still be making the decisions. I’ll just call
on the phone.”

PERSONAL
First job: Jewelry wholesaler.
Formative influences/events: I bought my first Subway with savings in
1997, which led to my now owning and operating 55 Subways and 1 Wing
Zone.

Exercise/workout: I exercise every morning like clockwork for 30 minutes, followed by 30 minutes of prayer.

Key accomplishments: I didn’t even know English when I arrived in
Houston in 1989. I learned English and transitioned from being a housewife to
being a business owner. My husband quit his job and joined me in establishing
the business.

Best advice you ever got: Do what you love and work with those you
love.

Biggest current challenge: Expansion and development. The Subway
market in Houston is saturated, so the challenge is growing the company to the
next level. That is why we are expanding into different brands such as Wing
Zone. They are a growing brand and give rights to develop a whole market.

How do you balance life and work? We do not discuss business after 6
p.m. in our house. It’s off limits. It’s hard not to talk shop all day long since we
all work in the family business, but that is our rule.

Next big goal: To grow and develop Wing Zone in Houston.

What do most people not know about you? I am a religious and
spiritual person.

First turning point in your career: When I purchased my first Subway
in 1997.
Best business decision: To bring my children into the business. They bring
a different perspective and focus on using technology to increase efficiency.
Hardest lesson learned: Retention. A company like ours runs on the support of key staff members. It is easier and quicker to develop when you retain
your employees and keep them happy.

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Work week: I spend most of my time in the office reviewing financials and
making key decisions.

What’s your passion in business? My team. They are like family to me
or are actually in my family. That is why we call this a family business.

Guilty pleasure: Indian soap operas.

Pet peeve: People not showing up on time, tardiness.
What did you want to be when you grew up? Honestly, I didn’t
think I would run a business. I was going to be a housewife, but then the opportunity presented itself and I ran with it. I would s [