Vanessa Deeb is one of a growing number of women seizing business opportunities within the Red Rooster network, and her journey is a perfect blueprint for success.

While she’s been a franchisee for just six years, she is a committed Red Rooster devotee, for eight years working her way up through the ranks in the fast food chicken chain, from cashier to store management.

When Vanessa had the chance to buy her own Red Rooster store, she didn’t hesitate.

Empowered to succeed at Red Rooster

“I always wanted to do something in business,” she says. “I knew the work back to front because as store manager I was already in charge of operations”

It wasn’t just brand and system familiarity that appealed- she loved the challenge.

“It intrigued me to see how far I could go myself. And it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster – in a good way,” she admits.

Even though she had years of store experience and expertise, the shift to business ownership brought new challenges. Switching her focus from operations to profitability was one change.

“It’s all brand new, learning the ins and outs of business. It has helped to have a lot of support from head office,” she explains.

When Vanessa took over the Summer Hill, Sydney, store it was underperforming; since then revenue has rocketed.

A business owner at just 24, Vanessa found Red Rooster a supportive and encouraging environment for her ambitions.

For the last few months she has taken on a second store, at Orange, under a management contract. A third store, a brand new site at Heatherbrae near Newcastle, is under her wing too.

In this agreement, Vanessa runs the businesses with the goal of increasing revenue, making them highly saleable assets. Ideally, achieving this goal will put her in a prime position to acquire them as a multi-site franchisee.

While men still outnumber women in the Red Rooster franchisee network, Vanessa has seen a growing number of women join the chain.

“We get tremendous support, it’s easy for us to be heard because we have a listening, collaborative environment,” she says. 

Inspired by women in leadership

There are plenty of women in leadership positions in the brand, and in Craveable (which owns Red Rooster), and this provides a genuine mix of ideas, Vanessa says.

“It feels very level-headed, and I think it’s less daunting for new franchisees to see so many women achieving in a quick service restaurant business,” she says.

“I find it inspiring; it drives me to work a little harder. Seeing other women doing well in leadership positions gives you a boost; I think if they can do it, then I can achieve a lot more than I think.”

The biggest challenge for Vanessa, so far, has been that shift from single site ownership to a multi-site perspective.

“Since having multiple stores, I’ve had to look at the business from the outside, rather than the inside. It has definitely helped me grow,” she says.

“You get store blind, so having to step out of the store and meet KPIs and only manage the stores was a new experience that I found challenging. I adapted pretty quickly!” she adds.

This transitional experience has been key to her training, as she now ensures her store managers view the business from a franchisee’s perspective.

Looking after staff is crucial

Fostering talent is a core element of Vanessa’s strategy. She has already put one of her trusted store managers through the Craveable franchise pathway program.

“I look for leadership, for who is going above and beyond. I trained and worked with her, and we’ve now gone into partnership together,” Vanessa says.

“If you take care of your staff, they take care of your business. This is something I tell everyone. With any store you still have to develop it, you have to get to know your staff. That’s crucial.” 

While she is keen to nurture her own staff towards franchise ownership, Vanessa’s own long-term goal remains to own multiple Red Rooster stores, either in partnership or as a sole franchisee.

“I want to stay in the brand. The Red Rooster team has been so supportive,” she says.