Planet Smoothie Franchise Owners Come From All Walks Of Life
A lack of restaurant or food-service experience is no hindrance to this franchise opportunity, say owners from many different business backgrounds
Some are longtime restaurant or food-service professionals. Others are computer programmers, engineers or hospitality-industry executives. Entrepreneurs from all walks of life are able to put their existing business skills to good use in a Planet Smoothie™ franchise.
“I often tell potential new owners, ‘if you can work a blender, you can run a Planet Smoothie franchise,’ and it really is that simple,” says John Wuycheck, Senior Vice President of Franchise Development. “The training and support are there for new owners to help them get up and running smoothly, and the ongoing processes around things like scheduling and inventory control can be easy to learn, which keeps the business running more smoothly.”
Training helps franchise owners start strong
In Atlanta, TuRhonda Freeman took over a food-court franchise in 2013 and has since opened a second location. She was a hotel executive, but loved the brand and says that the on-boarding she received made switching careers much easier than it might have been.
“Planet Smoothie is a simple business to operate,” Freeman says. “I knew how to supervise people, and the training helped me learn the back-office systems as well as the customer-service side. Once I had the recipes and products down, it was really easy to run the franchise.”
Area Developers Offer Valuable Local Support
In many markets, new Planet Smoothie franchise owners also get a big boost from area developers. That was huge for Murtaza Choilawala, a Tampa, Fla.-based Planet Smoothie franchise owner who purchased an existing franchise in 2012 and who, along with his partners, now owns and operates three, with a fourth coming online soon. He worked with Area Developers Ali and Sarah Kader, who he credits with being very reliable and accessible partners.
“This is a good business for people who had never worked in restaurants,” says Choilawala, a computer programmer whose partners are a pharmacist and industrial engineer. “We received a lot of help from our area developer, and that enabled us to do well with our first store, and then grow to the additional locations.”
“The franchise support, along with Area Developer mentoring in the field, is one of the best things about the Planet Smoothie franchise concept,” Ali Kader says. “It’s a very positive experience for new franchise owners, and a strong reason why we see existing franchise owners expand to more locations, and also why potential new franchise owners are very motivated to join Planet Smoothie.”
Planet Smoothie is a smoothie franchise that sets itself apart by offering great-tasting smoothies that use healthier, better-for-you ingredients. In a side-by-side comparison, our smoothies generally have less sugar and fewer calories — a big competitive advantage as Americans actively seek out healthier options. Planet Smoothie is led by a veteran franchise team and dedicated brand support team as part of the Kahala Brands™ family.
Learn more about Planet Smoothie owners from all walks of life here!
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