Experience

Brand Experience

Yes, I was complicit in pushing the stores to sing for tips, and yes, I did write a couple of the songs! After opening our first stores in California, my experience at Cold Stone Creamery was truly the experience that set my entrepreneurial spirit on fire. While in California I got a call from our new VP of Development, Doug Ducey (the current governor of Arizona) and he asked me to move back to Arizona and help build The Franchise Company. I took him up on his offer and was lucky enough to be instrumental in building the entire franchise system.

What a wild ride.

We built Cold Stone Creamery the right way, a good to great story. I am proud of my time and the incredible growth we had at CSC.

No, I will not sing anymore.

Branding
Training
Original Taste Master
Field Operations
Store Development
Product Development
Pricing

“Welcome to Moe’s” - The funny part is when we yelled that some customers thought we were saying “sorry we’re closed” - but the saying stuck and became a branding icon. Being a part of the team of characters that started and grew Moe’s was amazing. Sales, Operations, Legal, Real Estate . . . it was a fast-paced textbook entrepreneurial experience. Definitely not for the faint of heart. The good, bad, and ugly all served as a robust education of do’s and don'ts. We were able to grow this brand and position it for $100 million-dollar acquisition in under 10 years.

Branding
Franchise Sales
Legal
Real Estate
Process

Sometimes the phone ringing is more than just the phone ringing and the call that came from my business partner and best friend saying, “Dude, I found the coolest concept ever!” was one of those calls. And what followed was truly one of the greatest times of our lives. We built the first ever global system of retail shops focused solely (no pun intended) of Flip Flops. Even though the concept was cool, we started the business when the worst economic downturn short of the Great Depression had just hit. So, we created a strategic plan of going after the most premier, the most iconic real estate we could and then positioned FFS as a lifestyle brand. Universal Studios Hollywood, State Street Santa Barbara,California, Panama City Beach Florida, Mandalay Bay Resort Las Vegas. With a focus and commitment to lead generation and real estate, we created a powerhouse company selling the hottest brands and the latest styles. Because we had previous franchise-building experience, my business partner and I understood from the beginning that we needed to build in an exit strategy so we could move on to building the next "coolest concept ever." Our strategic planning paid off when we sold Flip Flop Shops and were able to exit the business with great terms and profit.

Branding
Real Estate
Lead Generation
Operations
Preparing for an Exit

When we decided to create a different style consulting company, one that could break out of the crowd, the conversations always led back to the challenges systems of all sizes were having managing all their critical data, documents and processes. And while the industry does have a few technology solutions the feedback we received from big and small operators alike was that the systems were old and a bit clunky. They said that information was not updated seamlessly across the board and that the search was inadequate and worst of all, nobody really understands the franchisor business and anything extra always came at a price. So we created our own software called FranDash® Lead generation CRM, electronic FDD delivery with automated time and date stamp for FDD and Item 23, franchise agreement automation and delivery, detailed task checklists for franchisees and corporate, real estate abstracts and development planning tools and robust financial integration into your system for vital reporting as well as the ability to build out accounting functions.

We are doing things different, we will not take advantage of you on the pricing. Our system addresses all the requisite functionality you need, and customization is in the price, so we address your specific needs.

We have special pricing for brands that use any of our consulting services.

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As part of the strategic leadership team at Raving Brands, I was given an opportunity to creat a brand from scratch and run with it. We started with dreaming up a name, designing the logo, hiring a great kitchen team and serving food that made P.F.Chang’s nervous. Literally, on opening day one of our chefs recognized an executive from Chang’s. When I went over to say hello, he gave me a tongue lashing on how our beef and broccoli tasted like theirs (LOL). This start up concept had great traction, but we made some real estate mistakes and decided to sell to a franchisee that has taken a great concept and made it better – 20 units OPEN. I'm sure the current owner is still making P.F. Chang's nervous.

Ideation
Logo
Prototype
FF&E
Menu
Supply Chain
Franchise Sales
Operations

I started OfficeZilla as a consumer facing e-commerce play and after meeting with the president of the country’s largest office products supplier, we decided to turn OfficeZilla into the first ever office product franchise. We built the website and backend management system from scratch and owned the source code. The franchise piece being a new concept struggled to get the momentum we had hoped for, but at the end of our 5+ year run we had created a site and system that seamlessly transacted 10 million-dollars' worth of sales a year. While not the most profitable exit, we did end up selling the business and not disrupting the franchisees or our employees. Sometimes your vision doesn’t work, but I was proud of doing the right thing with my franchisees and my team.

Technology
Service Franchise
Competing In A Huge Category
The Power of Partnerships
5 Billion Dollar Company
Changing Course
Following Your Gut

When we founded the parent company of what would grow into a home for our stellar brands (Moe’s, Mama Fu’s, Doc Greens, Boneheads, Flying Biscuit, Monkey Joe’s, and Shane’s Ribshack) we were doing something unique in the industry. Not many other super-brand parent companies existed and we were a leading player in the way we structured the enterprise and leveraged economies of scale for all function areas. Our VP of Operations used a book in training called "Raving Fans" (great book) and that was the inspiration for the name. The multi-brand concept has proven very successful. Shared services really can create great efficiencies, but you must have dedicated management at the brand level. Shared services yes, shared focus, no. We created, partnered and acquired our way to seven unique brands. Creating the overarching process for the company was an internal challenge but one we met head on.

Company Legal Structure
Franchise Sales System
Franchise Documentation
Real Estate Strategy
Compliance

I was asked by the founder of this commercial millwork company to come in and look at his business and let him know what I saw. What I saw was an opportunity to refine and improve the day-to-day operations of 110 employees in a 133,000 square foot facility with a 9-million-dollar book of business. After a 2 and ½ year consulting role as the interim CEO, I learned that business is business and the same principles I developed in franchising applied to millwork. During my time helping DMA, I was able to put fresh eyes on a 25-year-old business and was able to see immediate changes that set the company on a new path. A big take away from this long-term assignment was that not having any knowledge of the industry served as a distinct advantage in assessing the business. After implementing numerous strategic and tactical changes, I helped put DMA on a run rate of 20+ million for 2019, helping to land a 5 million-dollar job for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

Manufacturing
Scheduling
Rebranding
Strategic Hiring
Systems and Process

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Thank you for visiting our website. We look forward to learning more about how we can take your concept to the next level. Please reach out via this form – or call us directly: 404-732-4600