Port City Java’s Sarah Meriam Discusses Franchise Operations

• Our entire operations team is made up of six people and covers both franchise and corporate operations.
• On the corporate side, we have three corporate district managers who oversee 14 locations and report to our CEO.
• On the franchise side, I am our director of franchise operations and there are two franchise business consultants who report to me.
• Samantha Stroupe, our CFE, oversees our six traditional franchise locations, and Erik Maasch oversees our seven non-traditional franchise locations, all of which are located on university campuses.

Meriam: I have worked in franchising since 2012, but I really developed a passion for it after our team rejoined the IFA in 2015. The network I have built from that community has not only helped me grow professionally as an individual but also provides access to the knowledge and experience of tenured franchise employees who have helped guide our brand towards success.

• I think all franchise brands should be concerned with building a strong system, effectively training and supporting that system and coaching franchisees to achieve consistent compliance with brand standards.
• To me, these are the fundamental ideas behind successfully operating a franchise business and often what differentiates brands in the eyes of the active and/or potential franchisee.

Meriam: Definitely all of the above applies to us as we are constantly assessing and reassessing what we are doing in our operating systems. A unique challenge for us currently, though it is definitely not unique in franchising, is finding the balance between building our support staff strategically.

• In my specific role, I am primarily focused on the operations of our system as a whole and allow my team of FBC’s to focus on individual unit operations.
• Along with regular site visits and contact with our operating units, we have added several tools, particularly auditing software, which allows me to quickly and easily assess our overall operations and identify any areas that may need attention.

Meriam: I think the two biggest lessons I learned after getting into franchising were how to celebrate the small victories and the value of answering the question, “why?” Having grown up with the PCJ brand in Corporate Operations, I came to our franchise operations department with an unrealistic ideal of what it was going to be like working with franchisees.

• I think that the most important thing is for a franchise brand to isolate what they do well and determine what it will take to capitalize on that.
• Make sure training programs are digestible and measured for effectiveness; talk to your operators and find out what their pain points are, but use hard data as often as possible when making decisions and make sure the franchisor team is unified and on the same page.