As part of a joint program by the International Franchise Association®, the Department of Veteran Affairs and the SMI Center For Business Acceleration, I was asked to share my thoughts on how we’ve been so successful in branding Edible Arrangements® in such as short amount of time. In my opinion, the key to creating an iconic brand is to learn other successful entrepreneurs while surrounding yourself with a talented team of creative professionals. You can watch the full interview with Sales Bench™ below.
Now she shares more insight, this time on how she expanded her businesses and continues to grow them.
The key, she says, is getting out of the store.
“I’m a much better owner when I’m not in the store,” she said with a laugh. “I learned very quickly that if you are working 10 to 12 hours a day in your store, it’s going to be impossible to get out and network and promote your business. And that is one of the most critical functions of a small business owner.”
The secret to freeing yourself, she discovered, is having the right infrastructure in place.
“You have to have systems and processes that work,” she said. “You have to be confident that your team is consistently producing quality products. It all comes back to making sure employees are trained.”
Anyone who has ever owned a small business knows that is often easier said than done. And Reva found that out first hand.
When Edible Arrangements introduced a computerized training program to replace the old manual system a few years ago, Reva was not on board.
“I fought it hard,” she remembered. “I was still heavily involved in the day-to-day operations of the store and it was hard to see how investing in an expensive computer would make us more efficient. But my business was growing and my only other options were to hire someone to train the staff or risk sending out bad products.”
It didn’t happen right away, but it wasn’t long before Reva began to understand the value of her investment.
“It wasn’t until I began having to spend more and more time outside of the store that I really began to appreciate it,” she said. “Now I get it. It is absolutely one of the best things I ever did. It has created more consistency across all the stores than would have been possible otherwise.”
In fact, Reva says that this consistency through technology is allowing her to take the next step in her expansion plans. Those plans include moving beyond the Austin area and, perhaps, eventually outside of Texas. Reva recently purchased a franchise in Corpus Christi, which is a three-hour drive from her home base.
“Since you can get almost anywhere in three hours, either by driving or flying, I’m using this as a test case,” she says. “If I can operate a successful business three hours away in Corpus Christi, then I know I can open a franchise anywhere.”
The lesson, as Reva discovered, is that thinking like an owner often requires getting away from the day-to-day and taking a broader look at your operations.
“Sometimes embracing new things right up front is hard, especially when you have to spend your hard-earned money and you are not sure if it will be worth the investment,” she said. “But once I stepped outside the stores and looked at the results from a larger perspective, I realized this was freeing me to truly operate as an owner.”
As I have written before, one of the great advantages of operating a franchise system is that I have access to an endless wealth of business knowledge among the hundreds of Edible Arrangements franchisees such as Reva, who are willing to share their experiences. I always learn something new from them and I will share more of their ideas and experiences in upcoming blogs.
Every day in my work with Edible Arrangements®’ franchisees all across the US, I am reminded of the greatness of this country. As small business owners, Edible Arrangements franchisees are the embodiment of the American Dream. And their enthusiasm and determination inspire me.
Last month, I traveled to a number of countries outside of the US to meet with current and potential Edible Arrangements franchisees. In China, I visited with Edible Arrangements’ newest franchisees and I was moved by their excitement and exuberance over the opportunity to share “an American invention” — Edible Arrangements — with their friends and neighbors.
Their enthusiasm was contagious and matched only by their determination, hard work and creativity: they had the spirit of true entrepreneurs!
Here in America, we are free to pursue our dreams for ourselves, for our families and to work to make the world a better place. My visit to China served as a reminder that the American Dream is celebrated not only here in the US, but is alive and well in many other parts of the world.
As we prepare to celebrate the birth of this great nation with friends, family and fireworks, let’s remember that despite all our differences, we continue to serve as an inspiration to others in every corner of the globe. The American Dream is, indeed, alive and well, and not just in America!
Given my background, some might have considered me “least likely to succeed.” As an immigrant of Pakistani descent who moved to the United States as a child and worked a series of odd jobs to help my family make ends meet but never graduated college, I did not follow the traditional path to business success. I have never let labels hold me back, however.
In my latest contribution to Entrepreneur, I discuss some of the ways I have found to overcome obstacles on the path to building successful companies such as Edible Arrangements and Netsolace, and how passion goes a long way in turning a “least likely to succeed” into a “most likely.” You can read the entire article here.
Like many others before me and many since, the golden arches McDonald’s provided me with one of my first jobs. Little did I know then, that it would provide me with lessons that years later would be critical to the success we have experienced at Edible Arrangements.
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