Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to create wealth through franchising. I'm your host, Kim Daley.
Whether you're a CEO, a military vet, a real estate investor, or simply in career transition and ready to take ownership of your future, with each episode you're going to learn valuable insights and hear inspiring stories from within the franchise industry.
On that note, my guest stories are their own. And as a franchise consultant, I do not make personal brand endorsements or earnings claims, but I do educate, motivate and inspire dreams.
Now onto the show.
Welcome back to create wealth through franchising podcast and Kim Daily TV. I am your host, Kim Daley. And in my studio today, my two new friends in Alabama, Ron and Robin of Donut NV. Thank you so much for joining me today.
Welcome to the studio of Kim Daley TV.
[00:01:03] Speaker B: Thank you, Kim. It's a pleasure to be here.
[00:01:06] Speaker A: It's such a pleasure to meet you today. So you are donut envy franchisees, but let's back up and talk a little bit about what was happening in your life when you started thinking, we need to do something different. And then how did you come to the idea of a franchise? And then how did you come to the idea of donut envy? Tell us about your story.
[00:01:32] Speaker B: Well, let's see. So we had always wanted to own our own business, and we had looked into trying different things, and nothing seemed to be a really good fit. The idea of a franchise made it seem to us, it gave us more confidence that we would be successful because there's a proven track record, a proven process that we'd be able to follow their recipe for success. So that was why we chose a franchise. And Ron actually stumbled across donut envy online and introduced it to me.
[00:02:03] Speaker C: Basically, I was pretty much semi retired when we moved to Alabama. Robin's kept her full time government job with a transfer. So we pretty much was here about eight months, nine months, and we finally got Internet. So I was looking over Facebook and stuff, and we saw donut envy franchise sidekick and decided to go ahead and respond to it. And that's where it all started. I was looking at numbers and I ran it over with Robin. We crunched some numbers and we just pretty much thought, you know, a food trailer would probably be a good fit for us.
[00:02:37] Speaker A: So. Okay, take us back to your story. So you're not from Alabama? You retired to Alabama.
[00:02:44] Speaker C: Well, we were in Colorado and we were really kind of tired of the suburbia life, the go, go, go. And we decided, you know, let's move somewhere where it's more peaceful. And we have some acreage and no neighbors. And that's when we decided to choose Alabama, the northern part of Alabama, just because it was so close to Tennessee and everything else. And we talked about it, and we talked about when we got there that I would stay home and remodel the house and eventually, you know, get a job back in the restaurant business. But we were really looking for something for just for us to start a business ourselves.
[00:03:20] Speaker A: Okay, so you were in the restaurant business before joining the food franchise?
[00:03:26] Speaker C: All my life. I've been in restaurant business all my life.
[00:03:29] Speaker A: Amazing. Have you ever owned a business before, or you just, like, managed other people's restaurant?
[00:03:35] Speaker C: We've never owned a business. It's more. I was more managing from general manager to kitchen manager to district manager. So I did have three or four restaurants under my belt at one time, and they were pretty successful at the.
[00:03:48] Speaker A: Time, making other people money. And so then you decided it was time for you to make money for yourself. Is that what happened?
[00:03:56] Speaker C: Yes. When we decided to do the franchise, we were looking for brick and mortar. Lately, it's been pretty hard to build a employee base. So we said, you know what? Why not do a food truck? And then the food truck just opened up a lot of avenues for us of, you know, we can still go on vacation, leave the truck in the driveway. We don't have to worry about hiring anybody to run it, and we just go on vacation, come back and continue where we started off or left off at.
[00:04:24] Speaker A: Yeah, it does give you a lot more flexibility.
So when did you make this decision to join donut envy?
[00:04:32] Speaker B: We are nine months in operations at this point, but we actually had went down there in June of last year to meet with Alex and Amanda Gingold, the owners and founders of Donut envy. And we checked out the food trucks and met the people, and they kind of interviewed us, and we interviewed them, and, you know, we both decided it was a good fit.
[00:04:54] Speaker A: So, okay, since you're a food guy, this is going to be interesting. This is a different plot twist I didn't expect. Ron, so you're a food guy. So I'm sure you are scrutinizing the numbers more than, like, somebody else who really doesn't understand, you know, the numbers in food. I mean, I know the margins in this business are incredibly high because there are, you know, the food products you're selling are just high margin products. But tell us a little more specifically about, like, from your past experience in food to when you were looking at the numbers in donut and being going, were you like, wow, this is, like, awesome.
[00:05:31] Speaker C: Well, at first I didn't believe it until I made that phone call, that Jake Hamburger that sat down and talked to me. But I told Robin, if these numbers are right, we can definitely do this job. We can definitely run this business and make money. We had to do a lot of research just to make sure that was right. And by going down to Orlando, especially the product, I have to try the product. The product has to be a good product for me to sell it. But when we were invited down to Orlando to try the product and make up our mind that while we're down there, we were blown away with the product. I mean, the product tastes delicious.
[00:06:07] Speaker A: Supposed to melt in your mouth. I haven't tried one yet.
[00:06:10] Speaker B: Oh, no, you haven't. You've got to try it. Delicious donuts. But I wanted to add on to what Ron was saying, you know, things that I've discovered from the food site. The donut mix is shelf stable for a year, as long as it stays, you know, unmixed. It's dry product, so there's really low cost for the product. As an owner, the only food waste that we really have to worry about on a daily basis is lemons. So, yeah, the expense side for food is really low.
[00:06:40] Speaker A: Right. It makes it a really appealing model for food, especially. And you don't need a ton of employees, either, in this model. So, Ron, knowing what, you know, now, nine months into donut envy, having been a lifer in the restaurant business, do you think that somebody needs to have prior restaurant or food management experience to be successful in this model? Or is that not the driver of this particular model?
[00:07:06] Speaker C: To be honest, it would help if you had a little bit of food knowledge, you know, temperatures and stuff like that, you know, and how to fry stuff and how to rotate, you know, product in and out of your trailer and make sure it stays fresh and doesn't go bad on you? But I think a little bit of knowledge on food safety is the big thing in this trailer as well.
[00:07:25] Speaker B: I don't have a food background, and I don't think that it's a prerequisite to be successful. Some states do require a serve food certification. So you would gain that knowledge that Ron was talking about, about the holdings and rotation and stuff. So you gain that knowledge there.
[00:07:43] Speaker A: Yeah. What's more important, I think, to this model, because you are a food truck and you can go where the people are, is finding the people right in this particular model. So did that worry you at all? Because you were a brick and mortar guy, where people came to you, you know, as the manager of a restaurant, were you at all worried about that kind of the sales aspect, if you will, or networking aspect of getting out there in the community and finding the people who would want to request your food truck at their event?
[00:08:13] Speaker C: I was 100%. Robin kept talking to me and let me know that, you know, we're going to do this. People are going to want us to be there. We've gone to a lot of festivities and eaten at food trucks. So it was like, okay, if they can do this, and there's got to be a way to get into these events after being in this nine months. Oh, my goodness. The response from the community and trying to get us scheduled into their events is, so are we saying no more times than we say yes, because we're already booked for the days that people want us?
[00:08:43] Speaker A: I love that. Now, are you running your trailer, your food truck, if you will, like, every day of the week? Do you only have certain days and certain days that you just say, no, these are our days off? I mean, that's the flexibility of this model, right? Is that you can make it what you want it to be. So bring us into a little bit of, like, the quality of life that you are looking for. And the reason I'm going to bring this up for the listener is because when you're validating a model like this or any franchise business model, you know, making money is the goal of owning a business. But how much money people want to make varies so greatly because there are other factors, like the control over your time. And so you can't just go into validation in a franchise, asking somebody, well, how much money do you make? And let's say that you're a million dollar dreamer and somebody else is like, you know, look, if I can make $100,000 a year and I can work three days a week, I'm good. If you don't know that what their goals are, you can't assess what you're hearing correctly. Right. And in this model, I think that's very, very true because you're gonna have a wide range of owners who have very different goals for their business. So bring us in a little bit. You know, you moved out, out of the suburb, you moved to the country. It sounds like you were, you know, downsizing your life a little bit. You might be looking for better quality of life. So what does that mean in terms of, like, that's probably your attraction to this model, right?
[00:10:14] Speaker B: Absolutely. It was about the flexibility and the ability to make our own schedule. I was working in Huntsville and having to commute, and it was about an hour and ten minutes, one way for me to commute. So I was spending two and a half hours a day driving. So to be able to get that time back to spend with my husband and our dogs and having a better life together, better quality of life, that was important for me. And right now, we're working typically five days a week, some days, six days a week, because it's a busier season right now, and I do most of the booking and marketing for us. But the goal is to eventually be able to only work four days a week.
[00:10:55] Speaker A: That's amazing. So you were working your corporate job, Robin, when you started the business, but nine months in, you've already retired yourself from that w two, and everybody's literally eating and living off of the business.
[00:11:09] Speaker B: It was actually about the four month mark that we were sitting there crunching, you know, like, looking at the calendar and looking over the crunchy numbers, and it's like, I don't have time to work my full time job anymore. So at the end of February, I left that job and been doing donuts full time with my husband since then.
[00:11:28] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:11:29] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. That's, like the dream, right? Own a business together. So you. Right now, you have one truck?
[00:11:36] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:11:37] Speaker A: Okay. The goal be for you to add another truck, or. No, you're like, we can make our life work off one truck with no employees.
[00:11:45] Speaker C: That's exactly it. One truck with no employees, very little overhead. We have people that volunteer to help us sometimes, and we just take up their volunteer, and, of course, we pay them. You know, we pay them a good rate. Our incentives of working in the food truck, you know, is very high. And people, you know, want to step in and help sell donuts. I mean, they just think we have a great product, and they want to be part of it.
[00:12:08] Speaker B: That's the beauty of donuts. They sell themselves. Most people love donuts, and we have a delicious product.
[00:12:14] Speaker A: True. It's true. We're in America. People love donuts.
[00:12:19] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:12:20] Speaker A: That's so fun. Well, I mean, so you're living the dream. You're working together, and this is a very important point to make about investing in a franchise. Right. It's always about what is your goal? Which is why, when you come to a consultant like Kim Daley, I'm way more interested in what you're dreaming about as an owner in a business than I am interested in what you think the business needs to be, because businesses like Donut envy may not present themselves to you out of the blue, but it is a business in my inventory that when you tell me, you're like, I want to work, you know, with my spouse. We don't want a big team of employees. We want to be able to control our schedule. We want flexibility. We want to do something fun. Right? You start seeing characteristics like this, and an experienced franchise consultant like Kim Daley starts to think, that sounds a lot like donut envy. And the fun part of my business is to present concepts to you and for you to be like, wow, I had no idea that was even a franchise. Right. I never would have thought of that on my own. That's part of the joy of what I get to do for you as your franchise consultant. And that's clearly the story that's being told today. Right? Like your story of how you got to donut and be maybe a little bit different. But the end result is that you are looking for a business that you could run from a small town, that you could work with your spouse in. You don't have to take on employees. You have total flexibility but control over your schedule. And you were able to control the whole thing using some knowledge that you had before Ron, which would be, you know, from being in the food business.
[00:13:57] Speaker C: Yeah. So not only do we get compliments online about how good the donuts and stuff taste, I used to be a dining room manager as well. So it's all about, you know, visiting the tables and make sure everybody is pleased. So a lot of the comments were, you know, the donuts are fantastic at donut NMB, and so is the customer service.
[00:14:14] Speaker A: Hey, daily Coach fans, if you're loving this episode, please do me a quick favor and leave me a five star rating and a short review. Your feedback fuels my growth and rankings and shows others that this podcast is valuable. Now back to the show.
It has to be an experience. I've heard those trucks are really an experience in and of themselves with the donuts on the wheels and the little oven and the window. Like, the kids just love all of that.
[00:14:44] Speaker C: Also love it, too.
[00:14:47] Speaker A: Adults love it, too. Exactly. It's very Disney esque, you know, very apropos that they're headquartered in Orlando, Florida. So that's really fun. Well, listen, I mean, this is such an inspiring story for those people that share the same vision of being able to work with your spouse in a simple business with good margins and total flexibility. So if that's you sitting on the sideline, I want you to lean in. It doesn't have to be donut envy. There are lots of other options that may have these similar characteristics. The goal of this podcast or interview isn't to promote a brand. It's to promote your dream. It's to help you get bought into the story that everyday people, just like you, dared to believe in their dreams, find a franchise system where they could have systems and tools and people to coach and mentor them. And now they're out there living the dream. So with that kind of, like, finality to this interview, Ron and Robin, for those people who are out there listening, who aren't yet a franchisee, they're dreaming about it. They're thinking about it. Oh, but it's so risky. I'm sure you had some moments along your path where you were like, should we? Shouldn't we? Should we? Shouldn't we? How did you get yourself through that kind of, like, emotional roller coaster? And then the second question is, what advice would you have for those people who are still in that emotional roller coaster?
[00:16:13] Speaker B: For me, it was all about the research.
I researched all of the local regulations for food trucks. I researched festivals, and to know that there was going to be a market for the product that we would have in our local area.
I looked at the cost, the commissary, whether or not we needed one. That was what gave me confidence to go forward, was doing my research, my due diligence.
[00:16:39] Speaker A: And is that research that, did the franchisor ask you to do that, or is that above and beyond what the franchisor asked you to do? Robin?
[00:16:50] Speaker B: I think we went above and beyond because when we went down there for the interview, we were pages ahead of everybody else. You know, there were people that were like, oh, I don't even know if we need a commissary. I don't know what the regulations are. I was rattling things off. I was like, oh, according to code, we need this, that, and the other. So I think we were a little bit ahead of the curve, just because that's kind of how my mind works, is, you know, the devil's in the details for me.
[00:17:19] Speaker C: Well, donut envy gave us a checklist to do, but when we got that checklist on our iPad and received our iPad with the checklist, Robin and I were able to sit down and mark off, like, 20 things already off the checklist, because we've already done that part of the research. We already did that. We already got our license number. We already got our business phone and all that. So they were like, the lady that did our onboarding. But you guys are further than anybody's ever been in an onboarding call, because I cannot believe we're sitting here checking these things off that you guys have already done.
[00:17:54] Speaker A: Well, what I love most about what you're saying is you didn't have to do all of that before you made your decision. Right? The franchisor meets people right there. But for you, it was important for you to feel like you had more control and understanding of the model. And so for your personality, it helped you to move forward, to have all of those details sort of ironed out before you got to that point where the franchisor actually meets people and says, now it's the time to do these things. So either way, it's all good. But for those listeners who are out there, I want you to realize, like, you don't have to solve all the problems of the business on your own. That's the whole idea of investing in a franchise, that there are people there who know how to help you be successful. And if there's something you need to know, they're going to say, you need to know it now. And if they're not saying it, it's because you don't need to know it now. But for some people's personalities, you certainly do need to know it now. And that's the beauty of, like, so many people being invested in a franchise. You hear different validation because we're all a little bit different, even though we're all part of the same system. It's amazing validation to understanding yourselves and what you needed, but then also from the franchise and that, oh, by the time they said you had to do those things, you were like, we already did it. All right, so the devil was in the details for you. What else, like, emotionally, were you like, just so gung ho, we know we're going to own a business, and this is it. Were you measuring donut envy against any other options, or was this just, like, the clear winner for most of your process?
[00:19:30] Speaker C: We looked into a few other franchises before donut envy, and we did have some other interviews to do with other franchises in the area that were looking to open up stuff, and we just decided, let's kind of focus more on the donut m beside the food trailer part. And we were very nervous starting at the beginning. Very nervous. The starting out part was the hardest part for me was getting everything paid for and aligned to because the money was going out and nothing was coming in. But, uh, Robin always said, just wait. Just wait. Wait till we open. You'll see. And of course, now. It's okay.
I'm good now.
[00:20:11] Speaker B: I was very faith based. I just. I knew we were going to be successful. I envisioned it, I saw it. I knew it was going to happen. And I just kept telling him. I was like, we're going to be good. I just know it. I have faith.
[00:20:24] Speaker A: I love that it's so good, it's so real, because every single person, look, I have been a franchise consultant now for 22 years. I have literally marched thousands, probably tens of thousands of people down this path, hundreds, multiple hundreds, successfully, to go on and become franchisees. But every single person, whether their net worth is, you know, 250,000 or 2.5 million. Right. Or more. Right. Every single person. Some amount of angst. It's a big decision. For most people, saying yes to a business is the biggest decision next to, like, getting married or deciding to start a family, you know, and as an investment, it's certainly one of the biggest investments most people will make outside of investing in their home. Right. But we all hear the horror stories and the failure rates and. Right. And so we carry all this head trash, which is why Kim Daley has a mission of, you know, building content to help dispel those myths, to help people understand. We can make this logical. We can mitigate the risks. We can't guarantee you success, but we can do certain things that will help to mitigate the risks and help you to get the confidence that you, too, can say yes to your dream and go on and be successful. If you show up for that dream and you persevere. So you're nine months in. So what advice do you have for those people who are sitting on the sideline like you once were really, really nervous about, should I or shouldn't I do this? What advice do you have?
[00:22:02] Speaker B: Well, I mean, from my perspective, like I said, the part that helped me make the jump was doing the research, looking at the company and looking at their track record, you know, the success rate of the franchisees. You know, have any of the franchises gone under? How many have been resold? You know, what kind of track record does the company have? And so all of those things gave me confidence going forward.
[00:22:25] Speaker C: And on my side, it was food costs, cost of goods, are we going to need employees, all that stuff, insurance, how much we're going to be paying monthly for the franchise fees, just if we're going to make it or not. What? Didn't want to see us eating top ramen for the first six months of the business, but we're not eating top ramen. So we're doing just fine.
[00:22:48] Speaker A: I love it. You're like, we are not going back 30 years in our lives and move forward right. With the business. I love that, Zachary. It's a very real and valid concern. I mean, you just don't know what, you don't know when you're on the sideline, but you do have to get in. And like Robin said, you do have to have faith. The visualization is a very key tool. The partnering yourself with good, solid people. That's excellent advice, Robin, you know, to really buy into who, not what. That's always what Kim Daley preaches, right? When you invest in a franchise, it's because you found people who have processes and a vision for building a brand and they have a track record and they can coach and mentor you. They can be business mentors to you. If you want to go out there and recreate the wheel, then don't buy a franchise, right? There's no value there for you. But if you don't want to recreate the wheel and you want to have that track record behind you, that there's people that you can turn to to say, what do I do when this happens? Right? You're not sitting there trying to answer all of those questions and unknowns by yourself, but you lean into that support. This is where franchising meets you. So it's excellent. And then, Ron, I love it. It's like, robin, you're sort of like the visionary, right? You're like, I have the faith. I see the goal of what we're trying to build. And then Ron was just like, with your food knowledge, your head down, kind of like in the business while your wife was on the business. What an amazing, complimentary, you know, skill set that the two of you bring to this dream. And it's so awesome. It really is the american dream. I know that this story is going to inspire a lot of people out there. I think it's inspiring because people don't realize that you don't have to be an empire builder, you don't have to want to go own ten trucks in donut envy to feel massively successful, because you're going to feel successful when you're accomplishing the goals that you have for your life. And that's a beautiful takeaway from this interview, for sure. You guys are living your dream.
[00:24:46] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely.
[00:24:48] Speaker C: I have to tell you, Miss Daley, that the response from the community is just awesome. You know, when you're driving around with the trailer hooked up to your truck and you're at a stoplight and people are honking their horns telling you, roll down your window, wondering where you're going to be at or where you're going. Or you have the mailman come by and you walk out to meet him in the driveway and you hear him on the phone. He goes, you will not guess what house. I'm Athenae. I have found donut envy. So, I mean, it was, it's just amazing. On the responses to the community.
[00:25:14] Speaker B: Kim, I would like to touch on something that you mentioned. Adult the support, the support that we've received from donut Envy has been incredible from the other franchisees and from the founders themselves. It has truly been a great experience. If we've had problems on the truck, somebody is a phone call away, or we can put something on our Facebook family page and somebody's got an answer for us quickly. Yeah, the support has been incredible at being part of a system.
[00:25:42] Speaker A: Can you imagine running a business without that?
No.
[00:25:46] Speaker C: It would be so hard.
[00:25:47] Speaker B: Terrifying.
[00:25:49] Speaker A: It would be so hard. Exactly. One of the biggest advantages is the idea that you're in business for yourself, but not by yourself. So I love that. Well, I think you guys are incredibly inspiring. I'm so happy that you found a future with donut envy and in franchising and that you're able to just live your dreams. It's amazing. Franchising has done the same thing for my life. It's why I'm so passionate about what I do and sharing the message of franchising. And I just really appreciate you spending time with me today and sharing your story here on create wealth through franchising and Kim Daily TV. Thank you so much, Ron and Robin, for being our special guest today.
[00:26:29] Speaker C: Thank you, Kim. It was our pleasure.
[00:26:31] Speaker B: Thank you very much.
[00:26:34] Speaker A: So nice to meet you. Well, for those who are on the sideline, who are inspired to get in the game, you know that I want to be your franchise consultant and your daily coach. Please follow the link in the description below and I cannot wait to meet you in the next episode. My name is Kim Daley and I want to be your daily coach.
You can find more content just like this on my YouTube channel at Kimdaily TV. And if you're inspired to take the next step to explore franchises matched to you, please email me right now at inquireimdaily TV. That's enquireimdaily TV.
