--- title: "The Great Franchisee: Michelle Duncan-Wilson, BIGGBY® COFFEE, Ohio" url: https://burnaze.com/article/9da10795-4834-486c-8890-343cd7cbe7f1 source: "1851 Franchise" original_url: https://1851franchise.com/the-great-franchisee-michelle-duncan-wilson-biggby-coffee-ohio-2718110 category: "Coffee & tea" industry: "Restaurants" segment: "Coffee & tea" published: 2022-03-01T16:11:00.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T01:40:20.177Z image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/03f539d7607c4e7bba0e2278d88d85d85534.jpg --- # The Great Franchisee: Michelle Duncan-Wilson, BIGGBY® COFFEE, Ohio **TL;DR:** Michelle Duncan-Wilson, a franchisee of BIGGBY COFFEE in Ohio, shared her experience with the coffee shop franchise and its business model. She was impressed with the company's values and principles, and felt confident in choosing BIGGBY COFFEE after watching her friend's success and doing her own research. *originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2022-03-01. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/the-great-franchisee-michelle-duncan-wilson-biggby-coffee-ohio-2718110).* ## Story Michelle Duncan-Wilson, one of the newest owners with fast-growing coffee shop franchise BIGGBY® COFFEE, was no stranger to the business before she signed on as a franchisee. Duncan-Wilson got her first job as a barista at the age of 16 and went on to manage several coffee shops over the next decade before taking some time off to raise her children. When Duncan-Wilson decided to get back to work, she wanted to take her career to the next level. With BIGGBY® COFFEE, she says she found an opportunity for ownership with a brand that supports its franchisees and cares about its people. - She started as a barista at 16; it was one of her first jobs. - She eventually managed several different coffee shops in the area before BIGGBY ® COFFEE came to town. - She stopped working 12 years ago when she started growing her family. - Now that her kids are a bit older, she decided to start looking at different careers and investment opportunities. Duncan-Wilson was familiar with BIGGBY ® COFFEE and decided to meet up with the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area representative, Shanna Novosel. She had a great experience with the brand, and it further solidified her decision. Duncan-Wilson was very comfortable with the corporate model and skeptical about the franchise model. She had her own preconceived notions of what a franchise would be like for customers and owners, but she didn’t know much about it. She thinks so many different franchisors run their companies in different ways. She’s been very impressed with BIGGBY ® COFFEE and how they support their franchisees. A friend of hers opened a BIGGBY ® COFFEE in the area eight years ago, and she told her about her experience. Duncan-Wilson knew how much work it takes to open a coffee shop and that it is a big investment. That same friend opened her second location, and she just watched as her stores grew. She was impressed by the positive experience she had. After watching how her businesses did through lockdown while many businesses were suffering, she realized that this could be a viable option for her too. Duncan-Wilson didn’t look into any other franchise brands. She wasn’t ever before interested in opening a franchise. It was only after seeing her friend’s positive experience that made her want to do it. As for researching BIGGBY ® COFFEE, she did a lot of online research to get a sense of the brand’s history. Throughout her research, she was impressed with the company’s values and principles. She spoke with a few other franchise owners briefly, and she could tell that BIGGBY ® COFFEE really supports its franchisees and cares about its people. Duncan-Wilson felt confident in choosing BIGGBY ® COFFEE after watching her friend’s success and doing her own research to get a sense of the brand. Everything about BIGGBY ® COFFEE resonated with her. She’s most excited to start working with people again and start building relationships with customers, baristas, and employees. She truly loves connecting with people over coffee, and she’s thrilled that she gets to provide that service. Duncan-Wilson advises others looking at buying a franchise to be sure that they are both mentally and financially prepared. There will be surprises along the way, but if you expect them, they won’t be so intimidating. ## Entities - 1851 Franchise (publication) - Restaurants (sector) - franchise ownership (topic) - business model (topic) - Biggby Coffee (company) - franchisee experience (topic) - coffee shop franchise (topic) --- Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/the-great-franchisee-michelle-duncan-wilson-biggby-coffee-ohio-2718110). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/9da10795-4834-486c-8890-343cd7cbe7f1).