AWARDSThe Wowi FactorFrom corporate executive to Hawaiian shirts - PDF document

1 AWARDSThe Wowi FactorFrom corporate exec
AWARDSThe Wowi FactorFrom corporate executive to Hawaiian shirts Mitchell York 3 Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffees & SmoothiesFAMILY: Married, 3 children, 1 hen Mitchell York rst came across Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffees & Smoothies as a possible investment, the corporate executive immediately passed on the brand, vowing he’d never wear a Hawaiian shirt. Turns out the extraordinary laid-back vibe of Maui Wowi was just what York needed to fully depart from his corporate career in magazine publishing and other e-commerce ventures. York signed on as Why do you think you were recognized Maui Wowi’s business model 15 years ago was based on selling smoothies at public events—venues like stadiums and arenas, as well as fairs and festivals. I got my rst location at Yankee Stadium. A few years later, I saw an opportunity to create a catering model. The franchisor was ment that would be more transportable. At their request, I wrote a catering operations manual and trained new franchisees. Today, almost all franchisees in the system derive signicant revenue—and very high margins—from their catering operation. How have you raised the bar in your Growing sales every year, adding What innovations have you created and AWARDS muf3_profile_york(xx).indd 48 7/10/17 1:22 PM MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE ISSUE III, 2017 AWARDS It’s only smoothies. While I’m very serious about the business, and we strive for excellence, out of nearly 500-plus catering jobs a year, a small number—maybe 1 percent—have problems. I tell my staff that we’ll make it right, but rememberⰠ鍉璒s only smoothies” (or coffee), not life and death. Benevolent dictator.“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” Permanent delegation is very hard. In a small business the owner is never I don’t know and I don’t want to know.We look for people who can be independent and handle a lot of responsibility. Sometimes we push them beyond what they’re ready for, but we MANAGEMENT Grow 15 percent a year. Growth meter: How do you measure I look at three things most often: prior year’s sales, new accounts opened, and in-bound lead ow. About 65 percent of our accounts are repeat clients, so we work hard to stay in contact throughout the year. We also pay a lot of attention to opening new accounts on a continual basis. Along those same lines, we track our lead ow to Vision meter: Where do you want to be Spending more time with my wife, children, and granddaughter (and maybe other grandchildren). Continue to visit Paris once every 5 years. What are you doing to take care of your Full-time employees are covered by excellent health insura

2 nce and get all the smoothies and coffee
nce and get all the smoothies and coffee they want. What kind of exit strategy do you have I hope to sell the business in the next 5 years. like great ideas, but happen accidentally.”York’s stamp on the brand comes naturally. He grew up working weekends, summers, and holidays for his father’s upscale catering company in Manhattan ing to listen to the idea designed to cut 鍙ou know the saying ‘Necessity is the mother of invention?’ Necessity is also the mother of innovation,” says York. 鍉 had made a substantial investment in the franchise and it wasn’t doing for me what I wanted it to, so I had to nd a way to mold it to my needs. I can’t imagine too many other franchisors allowing me to do what I did in terms of specifying new equipment, new operating procedures, and more exibility overall. I have shared my knowledge with dozens of other franchise owners on a one-to-one basis, and My father owned an upscale catering company in Manhattan from 1954 to 1975, where I worked weekends, summers, and holidays. ing model for Maui Wowi; earning an MBA from Columbia, paid for by my employer at the time; leaving the corporate world after 24 years; wrote a Franchise: Freedom or Fantasy—How to Know If a Franchise Is Right for You After Your Corporate Career. I wrote the book because I hadn’t really thought through my own decision very well. I was rebounding from a few really hard years at the end of my corporate career. I was really terried to look for another corporate job, and I turned to franchising as sort of a last resort. It worked out well for me, but I knew lots of people who weren’t suited for running their own businesses Work week:With the Old Breed: by E.B. Sledge, a memoir of a World War II Marine. If you can’t make the right decision, make the decision right. (Michael Haith, former CEO of Maui Wowi)What’s your passion in business? Selling and increasing revenue year to year. I helped train new franchise owners in tering Maui Wowi smoothies and coffee.”York says success in franchising is all up to the owner. “A lot of people think owning a franchise doesn’t make you an entrepreneur. I couldn’t disagree with that more,” he says. “A franchise is no guarantee of success, even the most well-established ones. The franchisee has to ness owner no matter what the franchise is. That’s one of the reasons franchises aren’t for everyone. The people who think this is a ‘set it and forget it’ way to make a living are in for a lot of surprises, and not the good kind.” “The people who think this is a ‘set it and forget it’ muf3_profile_york(xx).indd 50 7/10/17 1:22 PM