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If founders, chefs, and other creators are the heart of the restaurant industry, franchisees are the veins that carry those ideas to every corner of the world. Franchises are essential to industry success, allowing brands to quickly scale big ideas using other people’s capital. And whether it’s a family-run restaurant owner with one or two franchised restaurants, or a veteran whose influence in the industry is well-known, each franchisee has their own personality, style, and individuality. all of which have a significant impact on success. of business.
In this week’s Franchise Spotlight, we spoke with second-generation entrepreneurs Richard and Michelle Lee, who opened a Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii location in Alexandria, Virginia, and are planning to open three more locations. We talked about Richard’s experiences as a first-generation Chinese American and Michelle’s experiences as a Korean native, and how their backgrounds helped shape their franchisee journey together.
Number of stores:
1 location in Alexandria, Virginia (opening March 2023), 3 more locations planned
background
manager: My parents are Chinese immigrants who came to the United States and began their careers in the restaurant industry. They ran a family restaurant in Washington, D.C.’s Chinatown. We lived above the restaurant and learned a lot about running a business. I went to college, graduated from Virginia Tech as an engineer, and started working in consulting…. Then we [Bad Ass Coffee] My encounter with the product and the company led me to where I am today.
ML: My grandparents came to the US from Korea in the 70’s so my family has been here for a long time…. My grandmother started out as a seamstress in Korea, then used her talent to come to America and actually owned a denim factory in California. Even after she passed away, her family continued to maintain an entrepreneurial spirit. My father was a successful construction business and his uncle and aunt ran their own businesses. Therefore, becoming an entrepreneur felt inevitable for me…I studied health education at the University of Maryland and worked as a dentist for quite a while….Then I wanted to find something different…we did our homework [on the Bad Ass Coffee brand] And we found out that it’s a great company and has great people behind it.
all about family
ML: I have seen how hard my father works. He always had his ups and downs, but whenever he was down, he always found a way to get back up. I feel like his unwillingness to give up created a similar feeling within me… That alone has made me stronger as a person. If you fail, you will feel bad, but it is not the end, so you have to keep going.
Why is coffee bad?
manager: Opening a business is not easy… We chose the franchising route because we didn’t want to run a business similar to our parents, such as a mother-and-son business… [When choosing a company], First and foremost, do we stand behind our products? Yes, please check that box. Great premium Hawaiian coffee. Next is the people and culture. Then we flew out to meet with Scott Snyder, president and CEO. They acknowledged the fact that this is not a huge franchise, it’s small and there’s still a lot of room to grow. However, I think a lot of it was the culture, the atmosphere of “Ohana is a family” and “Let’s grow together…”. It wasn’t all about the final numbers. It’s about providing the best coffee to the community, and we wanted to build on that. That gave us the opportunity and the mindset to think, “Okay, why don’t we scale it up?”
ML: I love the fact that they were a year later [after we first opened]I still get calls from people like Scott McDonald. [Director of Operations] Checking on us. At some point you’ll think they’ll just set you free and let you do whatever you want. But at Bad Ass Coffee, they really care.
working as a couple
ML: Richard is the yin to my yang. He keeps me balanced and has my back…It’s great to have someone who allows me to think outside the box…Usually we always go together when it comes to decisions; I think that’s fair. We can listen to each other’s opinions without being too rigid in our own opinions.
manager: Much of our success has been due to being open and clear about our roles. We make decisions, but Michelle is more involved in day-to-day operations. This includes being with staff to ensure consistency in operations. On the other hand, I’m on the backend, like finance and inventory. Sometimes it’s not easy, especially as a couple, a mother and a father… But I would argue that it brought us closer together.
Challenges faced
ML: For me personally, it was the fact that I had to adapt and accept the different personalities coming into the group, but still had to set standards and procedures for each staff member to follow…. I think it was a challenge for me to learn about different personalities, especially the personalities of different age groups…I think I’m still learning. The key to success is just patience and concentration.
manager: I think it’s also a way of thinking about how to proactively tackle things you haven’t experienced yet. So it’s about learning to always anticipate what’s going to happen, and sometimes having the right mindset of, “If something happens, how do I adapt?” For example, I’ve had a few ovens break, so… I had to adapt. Reviewed operations and recipes to ensure inventory was not wasted. It’s important to have a positive outlook and be proactive about these things.
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