Multi-Unit Franchisee Insight – Career Turning Point & Hardest Lesson Learned

We talk to successful multi-unit operators regularly here at Franchise Update Media. These busy on-the-go people share great insight and wisdom with us through our profile stories in Multi-Unit Franchisee magazine. Here, from our archives, are some insightful responses from some of these franchisees.

What was a major turning point in your career? Glen Johnson: When I changed my perspective about how to measure success. When I started believing that success should be measured by the opportunities we can create for other people, it allowed me to think differently about business and life.

Nick Crouch: The first big turning point in my career was when I met Glen Johnson, my business partner. I believe we were meant to build businesses together and we were going to do something really great. He is a very smart guy and I am extremely grateful to learn from him and his approach to life and leadership.

What’s the best business decision you’ve made? Glen Johnson: Partnering with Henry Investment Group and merging with Nick to form DYNE Hospitality Group. Nick Crouch: Deciding to get into franchising.

I strongly believe in a systematic approach to business and multiplying something that is working. I think the franchise model is going to continue to grow and be a very attractive and healthy investment. Interest from private equity and other successful investment groups in the franchising space is a testament to the model and the success and returns you can achieve.

What is the hardest lesson you’ve learned? Glen Johnson: Going from six to 24 cafes in three states in two years was very hard to do the right way. I’m glad we scaled quickly, but looking back I put our team through an incredibly demanding two years.

I realize we should have invested more on the “people side” ahead of time to make the growth more manageable. Nick Crouch: That you cannot do it all yourself. At one point I had 10 cafes open and one person on my G&A corporate team.

I handled real estate, operations, marketing, finance, lease negotiation, etc. I was stretching myself too thin and realized it was time to build a solid corporate support team. I was fortunate enough to understand this early enough, but it was certainly a lesson I wish I would have learned even sooner.

Building infrastructure ahead of time to support growth is vital to long-term success.