From a successful corporate job to launching their first small business, Lauren Clowdus shares the story of how she and her husband started a restaurant franchise business. Lauren shares how they selected the franchise, the challenges they have faced – including working with her spouse – and their plans for growth. She also shares the challenges they have experienced with hiring and retaining employees, and how they use a third-party HR company to help them.

Lauren Clowdus, along with her husband Bryan, are the owners of a franchise restaurant business located in Coppell, Texas – a suburb of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. They opened their first location in 2015, and are planning to open another restaurant location soon. This was Lauren’s and Bryan’s first venture into business ownership. Henry Lopez, host of The How of Business podcast, is a frequent customer of their restaurant, Little Greek Fresh Grill.

Questions and topics covered in this episodes include:

• What type of business were you looking for?
• How did you decide to go into the restaurant business, and why a franchise business?
• What were you looking for in a franchise?
• Why did you select a Little Greek franchise?
• How is the business performing currently compared to your initial plans and financial projections?
• What has been one of the biggest surprises as a small business owner?
• What would you do differently if you were starting your business today?
• Have you experienced challenges with recruitment and retention of employees?
• How do you hire and retain the best employees?

Resources:

Books mentioned in this episode:
[We receive commissions for purchases made through these links (more info)].

• Franchising For Dummies

Free Download:

• FREE DOWNLOAD: Top 4 Franchise Benefits

Other Episodes:

Franchising Episodes

You can find other Franchise Episodes in The How of Business podcast Archives. Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – the podcast for small business.