Franchise Update Magazine Issue IV, 2012 | Page 22

Grow Market Lead

Leadershipguru:
Juice It Up!

Changing Course
“Change is hard, but it doesn’t have to be painful.”
By Frank Easterbrook

L

ike most U.S. business sectors,
the smoothie industry was hit
hard during the recession. To
remain competitive in a growing market we needed to start 2012 with
new initiatives to ensure we were a key
player. As president and CEO, I can tell
you that reinvigorating a brand is tough.
To successfully implement changes and
set up your franchise for long-term
growth, it’s vital to be accessible to your
employees, honestly analyze every aspect
of your company, and set realistic goals.
Analyze the situation. Evaluate your
company’s strengths and weaknesses and
focus on leveraging what you do best.
Figure out what sets you apart from the
competition and capitalize on that. For
example, consider selecting one or two
of your current offerings to improve
upon and eliminate the excess. To get
an idea of brand perception, do market
research and listen to both the potential
customer and someone who is not likely
to use your product. When developing
new products, we use sensory panels
and other focus groups to get feedback
on what works and what doesn’t from a
consumer perspective.
Create new initiatives. Put new ideas
into place to differentiate your brand from
the competition. For example, our Raw

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Franchiseupdate Iss u e IV, 2 0 1 2

Juice Bar initiative reflects our healthful
approach to food, and we hired a brand
ambassador who embodies our values and
provides a way for customers to relate to
us on a very human level.
Learn from your past. Everyone makes
mistakes—no business venture is perfect.
Look at your previous failures to avoid
falling into the same patterns. Juice It Up!
closed 79 stores between 2008 and 2010
because of the struggling economy. I look
at this as a positive experience: it allowed
us to rethink our expansion strategy and
showed us where we went wrong. For us,
aggressively breaking into new markets
was not the best decision, and we are now
going in a different direction. For your
company, another approach might make
sense. Maintaining a positive mindset
during challenging times will show others, especially your franchisees, that you
believe in the company and will do what
it takes to succeed.
Clearly communicate the goals.
Share your expectations and project a
long-term vision with short-term milestones to keep employees and franchisees
in the loop. Encourage open and honest
communication and provide positive feedback. Juice It Up!’s corporate headquarters has an open office concept, meaning
that everyone works in the same space.

This is great because I’m able to interact
with my staff, answer questions, and get
input from others. For small companies,
I highly recommend this setup. If it isn’t
feasible for your company, find other
ways to make yourself accessible. This
will go a long way in establishing trust
and creating a collaborative environment.
Believe in your company and new
initiatives. Consistently projecting the
idea that “We are all in this together” will
go a long way in motivating employees
and boosting morale during difficult periods. This works the same way on the
franchisee level. In my experience, the
stores that do best are run by truly passionate people. In my first 12 years of
franchising, successes were hit and miss.
The common thread among the highperforming stores wasn’t the amount of
startup capital they had, or the owner’s
previous business experie nce. It was a
passion for the products we offer and a
desire to see the company succeed. When
considering franchisees we now look for
that zeal, because it’s a key indicator of
future growth potential.
In the end, all the textbook advice in
the world won’t make a difference if you
don’t take a practical approach in your
business strategy. Make sure that franchisees maintain their required liquidity
from signing all the way through opening. This will ensure a higher degree of
stability and a greater chance of success
in the future. If franchisees don’t have
that liquidity when they open the store,
they will run out of money fast.
Change is hard, but it doesn’t have to
be painful. By maintaining clear lines of
communication, analyzing your brand’s
position, and being realistic about your
goals, you will set up your company,
employees, and franchisees for longterm growth and successfully revitalize
your business. n
Frank Easterbrook is the president and CEO of
Irvine, Calif.-based Juice It Up!, a franchised
smoothie and juice bar chain that specializes in
blended-to-order fresh fruit smoothies, freshsqueezed juices, and other healthy beverages
served in a relaxed, family-friendly environment. Following their recent initiatives, sales
are up 600 percent. For more information,
visit www.juiceitup.com.