Franchisee Network Spotlight Interview: Todd Hicks

Todd Hicks has experienced both sides of franchising – as a franchisee and working with a franchisor.

As a current owner of five Subway stores himself, Todd draws on his 24 years of experience in the industry to act as a franchise consultant, coaching and mentoring fellow franchisees across the USA.

Here, he shares his story with The Franchisee Network and imparts some critical advice to those with ambitions to grow their franchise operations. 

24 years ago, you decided to make the shift from being an employee to becoming your own boss. What led you to do this and to choose franchising as the platform to achieve this?

My story is probably like that of many other people who want to own a business. I was working as a general manager of a restaurant. I was doing very long hours and putting all my effort into someone else’s business. I wanted instead to build something for my wife and me – we wanted to steer our own future.

My wife has always worked in the finance side of business, so between us we felt we had a good combined skillset to run our own venture. A franchise gives you a business in a box. If you open that box, follow the plan and do everything that is needed, you will have success.

So, given my restaurant background, we chose to purchase a Subway franchise. We took over a store in Bonney Lake, Washington state. By this point we had a one-year old daughter and our low volume operation suited us.

My wife and I ran it together: one of us would open the store in the morning, then we’d cross over during the busy lunch period, and the other one would work the afternoon shift and close up. Daughter number two soon came along and our little girls grew up tottering about the storeroom. It was truly a family business.

Why did you expand into more Subway stores?

With the success of that original store came the desire to achieve more, so we took on another two units, running three Subways.

In 2003 we sold the stores so we could move to Idaho, where I had taken a role as a developer agent for another franchise brand. It was my responsibility to develop that brand’s franchise network in the area. I had to find and train franchisees, negotiate property leases, expand the network. It was a great opportunity for me to help develop the brand and the franchisees. Unfortunately, that franchisor did not make it through the recession of 2008.

So, in 2009, I turned my attention to Subway again and bought seven existing Subway stores across a 110-mile area. 

You’re no longer local to those stores. How do you manage them?

In 2015 we had the exciting opportunity to move to Chicago thanks to my wife’s work. We had to make the decision that I would run our seven Subway stores remotely – from 2000 miles away! It required a change in strategy and an even higher emphasis on communication, but I’m proud to say that five years on it’s all working well for us.

The key thing I have learned in my work and personal life is that good communication is at the heart of everything. Successful communication equals success!

Good communication does not mean communicating the same way with each different person. Working remotely, I had to learn how best to engage and connect with each person who had a role in my business.

I ensure my team really understand what needs to be done every day to run the stores to the best standard – and they want to achieve that standard! I make regular visits to keep things on track.

Additionally, I work to communicate effectively the goals of the franchisor at a franchisee-level in a way that individuals can implement into their stores. Staying in contact with the corporate office is one way I stay informed so that I can be always improving my stores and helping other franchisees do the same.

What do you think are the key factors that franchisees need to be aware of to make a success of their franchises?

Whether you have one store or ten, you have to do the basics every single day, for every single customer.

Customer expectation is higher than it’s ever been, competition is greater, costs are higher – you can’t afford not to do the best with every single customer. It’s your job to make sure your team delivers that, and if something goes wrong, you have to fix it!

Every day you have to ask yourself: What can I do better?

Could my store be even more spotless? Could we make our customer service even better? Could we ‘suggest sell’ more products? Could we reduce waste? Could we make cost savings?

People want that ‘magic bean’ that will grow their business. But, the truth is, you have to work at every single aspect of your business every day. You can always improve your customer service, you can improve your stock control, you can improve your hiring process.

If you really look at your business honestly each day, and encourage your staff to do the same, you will always find something that could be improved.

Whatever ambitions you hold for your business, or yourself, I have learned over the years that you should bring your staff on your journey with you. Share your goals with them, share the details of how you run your business or how you want to run it. Even share some personal goals.

If your people understand what you’re aiming for and why, and how their work can support that, you will achieve your ambitions. You can ask your team how they think they can help – get them invested in reaching those goals.

Then you need to help them – give the right information, in the right way, and provide any training and support they need to do their job better.

f you’re not getting the right result from someone, if your staff aren’t taking the action you want and your store isn’t performing how you want – that’s on you, not on your staff. It means you haven’t communicated what you need well enough. You didn’t use the right words; you didn’t use the right training; or you didn’t use the right motivation. There is always an opportunity to change the way we communicate so we all reach the common goal. 

As a successful multi-unit franchisee, what do you enjoy most about running your business?

Franchising has allowed to me to fulfil many ambitions, but I am especially proud of two achievements.

Having worked in franchising for so long and with Subway, I’ve been invited to speak at franchisee events. Public speaking was one of my personal goals, and my team helped achieve a level of success in our stores that meant others want to hear how we do it. I really enjoy supporting other franchisees to achieve their potential, either through my talks at group events, or on a one-to-one basis.

I am also extremely proud of a community-based initiative I created called Subway Day. Through engaging in the community and with local schools, I have created a program that will deliver 30,000 custom-ordered Subway lunches to students in the Boise area school districts this year, which in turn will generate $45,000 in fundraising back to the schools.

As franchisees we have the opportunity to give back to our local communities in a myriad of different ways, and it will always be the case that a well-supported community will support you back and help your business, small or large, thrive.

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What is The Franchisee Network? 

The Franchisee Network is a new initiative designed to help existing franchisees build connections with other business-owners from a diverse mix of franchise brands. It will allow you to learn from and collaborate with like-minded entrepreneurs as you navigate the challenges of running your own business. Find out more about joining The Franchisee Network here.