You’re an owner-operator of several family-run McDonald’s restaurants. Tell us how you got into the business.
Back in the mid-’80s, I was working for Stroh’s. They had a workforce reduction. I didn’t think I was going to be affected because I thought I was a man involved in his community, doing a number of good things here in Detroit after I [retired] from football. But I was.
I was taught early on, just like with football, everything has a shelf life. So, how do you prevent [another workforce reduction]? You have to begin to grow your own business. I asked myself, “What is it that I could do to eventually get into a business, that not only I could grow, but that I could pass on to my kids, and they can pass on to their kids?” I had an opportunity to sit down to interview with McDonald’s Corp., and they thought that I would be a great candidate for their franchise program. That’s how I became a McDonald’s franchisee. Over a period of time, my wife became a franchisee and my four kids eventually grew into becoming franchisees, too.
What advice you can share with entrepreneurs about overcoming challenges?
A lot of the times, things happen. You have to learn when you get knocked down, you can’t let that be discouraging. When you’re on the ground, you’ve got to look up, you’ve got to get up, and you’ve got to never give up. You have to tell yourself that if you strive hard to be superior, even if you fail, it becomes pure excellence.
Check out the photo gallery from the 313 Day pop-up event.
