Stories

Magic Johnson

Showtime on the Court, Mogul in the Boardroom

Many know Magic Johnson for his pizzazz on the court, but few know of his successful business ventures after basketball. It wasn’t until after his illustrious NBA career that he embarked on a career in franchising. Magic Johnson Enterprises, Magic’s investment firm that launched in 1989, owns multiple branches of Burger King, 24 Hour Fitness, Starbucks, and TGI Friday’s. The firm currently holds an estimated $1 billion in investments across various industries. The key to his success was surrounding himself with the right people.

  • “Many athletes, most retired, have made investments in franchising with mixed results. Those that failed did so because the athlete listened to the advice of a lawyer or agent with little experience in franchising. Those that succeeded did so because they undertook careful due diligence by experts. In all his business dealings, Magic Johnson understood that well,” said Edward Kushell, CEO of Franchise Consulting Group (FCG).

    After retirement, Magic’s team contacted FCG in efforts to purchase an undisclosed hamburger chain. Kushell and his team thoroughly analyzed the company’s financial history, management, and the relationships they had with their franchisees. After weeks of careful evaluations, Kushell advised against the acquisition, which Magic followed. The hamburger chain ran out of business a few years later. Much of Magic Johnson’s franchising success came from following the right people.

Junior Bridgeman

Milwaukee Bucks, Still Making Big Bucks

Would you be able to guess that Junior Bridgeman is the 2nd richest basketball player ever? His net worth checks in at $600 million, only behind Michael Jordan. Bridgeman spent 12 years in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers, reeling in roughly $4 million dollars. Where did the other $596 million come from? Franchising.

“You have to understand that just like in sports, unless you have a one-person shop, you’re only going to do so many things or be so successful as one person. You have to build that team, so it’s a lot of going back to the same principles I learned as a player and now applying them to the business world,” said Junior Bridgeman in an interview with the Founders Series.

  • Throughout the off-seasons of his basketball career, Bridgeman worked at his local Wendy’s. This proved to be quite beneficial, as Bridgeman acquired valuable knowledge in business and the food industry. He would use this knowledge to accelerate in the business world after his athletic career. Bridgeman went from working at Wendy’s to owning more than 400 of them. In addition, he owns 125 Chilli’s restaurants, making him the largest and most successful NBA player who saw the wisdom of investing in franchising.

Shaquille O’Neal

Shaquile O'Meals...Whaaaat

Shaquille O’neal, or just “Shaq”, is a dominant force in both the world of basketball and business. As a player, “The Big Aristotle” won 4 championships and made 15 all-star games. Although Shaq is widely recognized as one of the greatest centers ever, he knew his playing career wasn’t going to last forever. Since retiring, we’ve come to know Shaq as one of the biggest TV personalities, but most of his money has come from savvy investments in franchising. Today, his franchising empire is worth an estimated $127 million dollars.

  • “I heard Jeff Bezos say one time that he makes his investments based on if it's going to change people's lives, and once I started doing that strategy, I think I probably quadrupled what I'm worth," Shaq told The Wall Street Journal.

    The bulk of Shaq’s investments are tied up in the food industry. He currently owns 155 Five Guys Burgers, 17 Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, 9 Papa John’s, and 1 Krispy Kreme donut shop. Shaq is always looking to expand his food empire, publicly stating that he eventually wants to own 100 Krispy Kreme’s. Naturally, Shaq calls his franchise empire “Shaquille O’Meals”. It can be very advantageous to invest in something you're passionate in. In Shaq’s case, it’s food.

Lebron James

NBA GOAT Contender, Pizza Investor

Lebron James has never been afraid of taking risks, which has paid huge dividends for him throughout his career. Lebron went straight to the NBA after high school, deciding not to play basketball for a college team. This turned out to be the right decision as Lebron became the greatest basketball player of his generation, capturing two Olympic gold medals and four championships. The potential he saw in himself from an early age was the same potential he saw in franchising.

“You can’t be afraid to fail. It’s the only way to succeed,” said Lebron James.

  • In 2012, Lebron and his team saw the expansion possibilities in Blaze Pizza, a custom pizza fast food chain. He made an investment of almost $1 million dollars into the startup. Today, that same stake is worth $25 million dollars, with more room to grow. According to Forbes, Blaze Pizza has become the fastest growing chain ever after it opened its 200th location in Mentor, Ohio. Fear is the biggest deterrent to success, which Lebron lives by on a daily basis. He was confident in the potential of the pizza company and wasn’t afraid to pull the trigger on an investment, which has paid off huge for him.

Venus Williams

Tennis Hall-of-Famer, Multi-Unit Franchisee

Venus Williams is one of the most famous tennis players of all time, known for bringing a new degree of power and athleticism to women's tennis. She was formerly ranked No. 1 in the world in both singles and doubles with her sister Serena. Venus was born in Lynwood, California and turned professional at the young age of 14. She was just 20 when she became an Olympic gold medalist, winning in both singles play as well as doubles play. She would later tack on two more doubles gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics.

  • "On the tennis court, it's just me. I'm very hard on myself, because I have to get the whole job done. In business, I'm not as hard on myself or the team. In tennis, I believe in one winner. That's the great thing about business. There isn't just one winner. There's room for everyone to win. I love that,” said Williams in the February 2017 issue of INC. Magazine.

    Williams first got involved with franchising back in 2011 when she partnered up with Jamba Juice to become an owner and a spokesperson for the company. She currently owns four locations in the Washington, D.C area. The average Jamba Juice location generates roughly $700,000 in revenue each year. Her other business ventures include owning an interior design business, an active wear clothing line, and being a part NFL owner of the Miami Dolphins football franchise

Kat Kole

College Dropout, Billion Dollar Executive

Katrina “Kat” Cole is a certified business mogul. Cole was born in Jacksonville, Florida as the eldest of three sisters. After dropping out from her engineering program at the University of North Florida, she embarked on a global career at Hooters. She worked multiple positions early on, from hostess to cook to manager, before the company sent her to Sydney to train new workers at the first ever Hooters Down Under. She continued traveling overseas to different locations to train employees before being promoted to vice president at 26 years old. During her time as VP, the company grew from 100 locations and $300 million in revenue to 500 locations and $1 billion in revenue.

  • “I help people realize they’re capable of more than they know, and I do this in three ways: by being positive and hopeful, by creating comparisons, and by getting my hands dirty,” said Cole in a TIME interview.

    In 2010, Cole was hired by Cinnabon Inc. and became president of the company a year later. During her first three years, Cinnabon added 200 bakeries and became a global brand in 56 countries. In 2013, Cinnabon’s sales were estimated at $1 billion dollars. She was ranked in Fortune’s 40 under 40 top young business stars the same year. In addition, her humanitarian work includes generating sustainable development for women and children in need in Africa and volunteering for many food service related organizations in the region.

Dina Dwyer-Owens

Multi-Brand Maven, Author Motivator

Dina Dwyer-Owens is an ambassador of franchising. Not only did she have an illustrious career as a franchisor herself, but she helped others reap the benefits of franchising. She was born in New York, but her family moved around quite a bit before finally settling down in Waco, Texas when she was just eight years old. Her father opened up a couple restaurants and some car washes there. After attending Baylor University, Dwyer-Owens helped expand her fathers empire, with a goal in mind of acquiring companies that complemented each other. They launched Air Serve, a heating and air condition company, started Mr. Appliance, and acquired Glass Doctor.

  • “It’s not about money initially. At the end of the day, yes, we are in business to make a living. But it’s about how we treat one another with respect and dignity,” said Dwyer-Owens in an interview with Truth At Work.

    After her father’s death in 1994, Dwyer-Owens became the CEO of the family business. The Dwyer Group now represents over 1,600 franchises and over $800 million in system-wide sales. Her success in franchising led her to work on the board of the International Franchise Association (IFA). She brought back their Vet Fran Program, which includes nearly 500 franchises that provide franchising financial incentives to veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. Over 4,000 military veterans now own a franchise through the Vet Fran Program, and The Dwyer Group provided more than $1.3 million in financial donations. Then in 2010, Dwyer Owens was elected by her peers to be the Chairperson of the International Franchise Association.

Florence Francis

Courage Under Fire, Philanthropist

Behind every successful man is a strong woman. Florence Francis was exactly that for her husband Joe. Together, they created an empire of barbershops. Joe was the youngest licensed barber in Minnesota at the age of 17. He opened up his own barbershop a year later, introduced razor cuts to Minnesota in 1963, and sold his first franchise in 1970. They eventually had over 700 salons in 40 different states and five foreign countries. When he passed away in 1994, Francis was devastated, but she knew she had to take over the reins as the company’s chairperson.

  • "That company had taken 35 years of my life and there was no way I was going to let it go down the drain," Francis said in the company’s convention. "I wrote a speech sitting in bed crying. My bedroom was full of wadded up paper."

    The company thrived under her leadership. In 1997, the total number of salons grew to 942. Florence was inducted into the International Franchise Association's Hall of Fame in 1999. After selling the company the same year, Francis shifted her attention to The Joe Francis Haircut Cosmetology Scholarship Foundation. Their goal is to help deserving students receive financial aid for degree programs required to build successful and long long-term careers in the cosmetology industry.

J. Willard Marriott

Franchisor OG

J. Willard Marriott was born on a Utah farm in 1900, and spent his days as a child helping his family by raising sheep, sugar beets, and lettuce. At the age of 19, Marriott went on a two-year religious mission to New England and as he stopped through Washington, D.C, he observed tourists buying out beverages from street vendors. This inspired him to purchase root-beer franchises, securing the rights to A&W Root Beer in three locations on the East Coast. While operating franchises, Marriott placed a great emphasis on treating workers like family.

  • “In establishing the culture of the company, there was a lot of attention and tender loving care paid to the hourly workers. When they were sick, he went to see them. When they were in trouble, he got them out of trouble. He created a family loyalty,” said Bill Marriott Jr., son of J. Willard Marriott and current CEO of Marriott International.

    Eventually, Marriott moved to Washington to open up his own root beer stand. After adding Mexican food to the menu, the joint became known as The Hot Shoppe, which became a franchise. The food chain grew to around 75 locations in the mid-1960s. In all of his ventures, Marriott emphasized making his workers happy, which in turn would make the customers happy.

Frank Carney

Pizza Hut Founder, NASCAR Owner

It’s safe to say that Frank Carney was the “Pizza Guy” in the franchising world. In 1958, Frank and his brother Dan borrowed $600 dollars from their mother to open their first pizza shop on the campus of Wichita State. After realizing instant success, the two brothers decided to launch a franchise, opening the first ever Pizza Hut a year later in Kansas. The chain grew to over 18,000 restaurants worldwide, making it the world’s largest pizza chain.

“When you are starting a business that’s going to pay your way through college, you don’t even think about what the economy is doing. We didn’t care about who was in the White House or what the unemployment rate was. The entrepreneur, all he thinks about is: Is there a market for the product? Can I sell it?” Carney said in a speech to Wichita State in 1992.

  • Carney was a former Chairman of the IFA, which is how he met Ed Kushell, another former chairman. The two men bonded over selling their franchise businesses in the same year, having brothers as business partners, and NASCAR racing. Carney owned a racing team and would often compare similarities in constructing a winning race car team to building a successful franchise. Later in life, he used all his franchising experience to pursue growing a competitor to Pizza Hut. He proceeded to scale 130 Papa John’s, with his public statement of the event being “Sorry guys, I found a better pizza.”

Fred Deluca

Franchisor GOAT by Units

If there was a Mount Rushmore of franchising, Fred Decula would certainly be on it. Born in Brooklyn to Italian-American parents, Deluca knew what he wanted to do at a young age and at 17, he opened “Pete’s Submarines” in a small town in Connecticut. That same sandwich shop evolved into the biggest fast food chain in the world, and changed its name to you guessed it: Subway! What once started as a modest sandwich shop now has over 44,000 locations world wide. To grow Subway into the enormous company that it is today, Deluca actually implemented a strategy that stressed teamwork and simplicity.

  • “We give great value for our franchisees: They can build a store for well under $200,000. And we have extremely simple operating systems. The preparation is mostly done in front of the customer. That simplicity is really what attracts our Subway franchise. You see it, and you can do it,” Fred Deluca said in a phone interview from Amsterdam in 2008.

    Fred realized early in the process that in order for Subway to expand, he needed to employ a unique growth strategy based on recruiting over 200 Development Agents. They would each own franchises of the company and sell units of Subway to interested franchisees. It was a Win-Win strategy that made Subway the dominant chain that it is today. Fred Deluca passed away in 2015, leaving behind one of the greatest franchises in American history

Tarik Farid

Fruitful Florist, Jet Life

Tariq Farid is one of the most successful modern-day franchisors. Farid was born in Pakistan in 1969 and immigrated to the United States with his family when he was just a kid. As a teenager he picked up work wherever he could, including a flower shop, Burger King, and lawn mowing. When Farid was 17, he helped his family open their own flower shop in a small city in Connecticut.

“The concept for me, even when I was working at the flower shop at 13, was that it was all about the customer. And the other thing is branding. Even when we had our flower shop I made a logo — I tried to act as a brand,” Farid said in an interview with Business Insider.

  • Farid applied the same branding and customer support techniques when opening Edible Arrangements in 1999, a company that creates bouquets of fruit shaped as flowers. His innovative business realized instant success and began franchising across the country. Edible Arrangements now has 900 franchises across nine countries, reeling in more than half a billion dollars each year. In 2009, Farid was recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year by the IFA and in 2017 was inducted into their Hall of Fame.