“ Any company that doesn ’ t adapt to the younger generation won ’ t have dominance in their market . If you ’ re green , you ’ re growing . If you ’ re brown , you ’ re dead .”
“ Any company that doesn ’ t adapt to the younger generation won ’ t have dominance in their market . If you ’ re green , you ’ re growing . If you ’ re brown , you ’ re dead .”
Annual revenue : $ 280 million .
2017 goals : To grow the company organically with 10 new restaurants per year .
Growth meter : How do you measure your growth ? One restaurant at a time .
Vision meter : Where do you want to be in 5 years ? 10 years ? In 5 years , I want to be retired and on executive boards to help build better companies . In 10 years , I want to be traveling , watching the next generation grow the business , and making sure the DNA of the company stays true to its values .
How is the economy in your regions affecting you , your employees , and your customers ? Competitive , but most of our market is a gateway to Latin America , so it ’ s healthy and robust with lots of opportunities .
Are you experiencing economic growth in your market ? Absolutely . Miami and Fort Lauderdale have so much to offer in terms of growth from Latin America .
How do changes in the economy affect the way you do business ? We do more research on customers and employees in order to be effective and have more fl exibility .
How do you forecast for your business ? We monitor the business daily , weekly , and monthly . Although we have a budget , we monitor it daily .
What are the best sources for capital expansion ? Internal cash fl ow ; 30 to 40 percent of cash fl ow should be used for capital reinvestment .
Experience with private equity ,
BOTTOM LINE
I built a team that had a lot of corporate memory ,” he says .
JAE President Ed Austin had spent 39 years at Wendy ’ s , leaving as SVP when he joined JAE in 2015 . COO Ben Mansoor had been a regional vice president for Wendy ’ s for Latin America and the Caribbean . Jim Christopherson , who served as CFO for 2 years until this past October , had worked with Rodriguez previously at Burger King ( where Rodriguez began his career in fast food ) and became wellversed in restaurant acquisitions during his 20 years at The Cypress Group .
Rodriguez says he relies on his franchisor to strengthen the brand responsibly . Part of that strategy includes closing or selling unsuccessful units to top operators to improve and protect the brand . “ The franchisor makes money from the top line and the franchisee makes money from the bottom line . Both need to be successful for the economic model to work ,” he says . “ That ’ s why you can ’ t overbuild .” Successful brands also need to have a good procurement program , he says .
A fatal mistake some franchisors make is getting caught up in confidentiality and creating decisions in a tunnel . “ I see franchisee owners as little CEOs , and they need the opportunity to give feedback [ to the franchisor ] because they ’ re on the firing lines with the customer every day ,” he says . “ Together , companies can make better and stronger decisions .”
Rodriguez says his greatest challenge today is adapting to changes in society and appealing to the next generation . “ This is the biggest dynamic cultural change I ’ ve ever seen . I ’ m a Baby Boomer , but the next generation thinks differently . They want to be part of something big , and they want to give to organizations like the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption . They are all about being more inclusive and helping their communities ,” he says .
“ Gen X is different . They believe in constant growth . So we ’ ve added self-serve kiosks and wi-fi bars to appeal to the customers of tomorrow . Any company that doesn ’ t adapt to the younger generation won ’ t have dominance in their market . If you ’ re green , you ’ re growing . If you ’ re brown , you ’ re dead .”
In the next 10 years , Rodriguez will be considering his exit strategy . He would love to see his family carry on the business , but even if they don ’ t he knows he has options . “ If you ’ re a great franchisee with a great company , there ’ s always demand for your business . You can sell to another franchisee or you can sell to the company ,” he says . “ How many people can go into a business knowing you ’ ll come out stronger than when you started ?”
Rodriguez believes JAE ’ s growth is proof that Dave Thomas really did have the best advice : to take care of your business and it will take care of you . And it has . JAE ( named for Co-Chairs Jhonny Mercado and Andres Garcia , and CEO Eddie Rodriguez ) has been recognized for its achievements with the Wendy ’ s Award for Best Operator in 2002 , the Dave Thomas Award for Best Overall Franchisee in 2003 and 2012 , and Rodriguez was recently inducted into the Wendy ’ s Hall of Fame .
local banks , national banks , other institutions ? Why / why not ? Absolutely . In today ’ s business environment , you need to have relationships with a number of fi nancial institutions . You also must have a great management team and not just invest for today , but invest for tomorrow . It ’ s not about what you want , it ’ s about where the company is going to go .
What are you doing to take care of your employees ? We host a big holiday party every year in every market . We ’ ve increased vacation time ( four weeks after 10 years ) and we ’ ve tried to create an environment that enforces happiness by giving lots of recognition for hard work .
How are you handling rising employee costs ( payroll , minimum wage , healthcare , etc .)? We look at this as a cost of doing business . While it does affect the bottom line , we provide our employees with the best healthcare insurance and 401 ( k ) plan , and we pay top dollar for great talent . Although costs are rising , we stay ahead and make sure we are paying better than the competition .
How do you reward / recognize topperforming employees ? We give monthly recognition of the employee of the month at the offi ce , parking spots , holiday parties , and hold GM rallies twice a year where we bring all the GMs together and give rewards based on performance , sales profi les , and people development .
What kind of exit strategy do you have in place ? I plan on turning the business over to the family by creating value and creating demand for the business . If you have a successful business , you will always have an exit strategy and never have to worry about it .
24 MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE ISSUE I , 2017