6 Lessons Gained From Franchisors Who Released in 2020 888011000 110888 Years ago, Samuel Baroux, a European restaurateur, befriended a llama named Dolly. She lives on a farm near Baroux’s house in the South of France, and like numerous llamas, Dolly is a soothing presence. She always seems to be in a great state of mind. When Baroux started talking with his good friend Eric Shomof (pictured), a realty designer in Los Angeles, about partnering together on a waffle and ice cream business, they chose that Dolly needs to be their mascot. In 2017, the 2 creators opened The Dolly Llama, and Dolly’s likeness, sporting a set of teal sunglasses, appears on the marquee. After growing three successful areas in L.A., Baroux and Shomof chose they were ready to start franchising. What cofounder Eric shomof discovered last year: 1. Crisis is the supreme stress test for an emerging principle. “We started franchising in January, and by April, we recognized the pandemic wasn’t going to end anytime soon. The future looked bleak, and a lot of people were losing their jobs. We made the tough choice to put the franchising on hold. Then, to our surprise, things began to select back up. Thanks to to-go orders with online platforms, our numbers shot up to 30 to 40 percent greater than they were before, which is remarkable. We’re really doing better now than we were before COVID, and we have a lot more self-confidence in individuals’s cravings for waffles and ice cream. In early fall, we started franchising once again.” 2. Listening to customers can make you future-proof. “Throughout the early days of The Dolly Llama, when people would make requests about what they wanted to see on the menu, we ‘d listen. That resulted in more choices for vegans, and it was so typical for individuals to purchase a shake along with their waffle that we started offering the duo as a combination order. Some of the suggestions even originate from kids– a 6-year-old tells us we should add something, and we talk about it in our managers conference. We listen to consumers, and I think that has actually helped us keep sales strong.” 3. An easy concept provides insulation from complicated times. “Almost anybody could run this service. In truth, I at first operated it as a side hustle. My primary business is property advancement, but when The Dolly Llama started removing, I began approaching it more seriously. Consumers were asking how many locations we had, and we were receiving interest from people who wished to help us expand. When we decided to franchise, that’s. It’s an extremely basic principle, so I’m confident we’ll have franchisees quickly.” Related: Rotating During the Pandemic: How These Organizations Was successful
In the days before Covid-19, a new crop of companies were just starting to franchise. Meet six entrepreneurs whose first year didn’t go exactly as planned … but who made the most of it anyway.
Article curated by RJ Shara from Source. RJ Shara is a Bay Area Radio Host (Radio Jockey) who talks about the startup ecosystem – entrepreneurs, investments, policies and more on her show The Silicon Dreams. The show streams on Radio Zindagi 1170AM on Mondays from 3.30 PM to 4 PM….
Recent Comments