Will Luders has been the sole franchisee of Tasmania’s Bridgewater store since December 2011, and earlier this month he became a multi-unit franchisee following the purchase of McDonalds Sorrell.

1. Why did you decide to buy a franchise?

My wife Andrea and I looked at a range of businesses over a long period of time. One of the main reasons we were reluctant to make the leap into buying a business was our lack of previous business ownership experience.

The idea of buying a franchise, where there was solid franchisor support, gave us more confidence to proceed with buying a business.

2. How long have you been in the system?

We purchased our first restaurant in December 2011. Prior to this I spent 12 months in the licensee training program facilitated by McDonalds.

3. How did you come to decide on this brand?

A former work colleague of mine bought his first McDonalds in 2005 and as we kept in contact I often asked how he was going and what he thought of McDonalds.

He had a similar background to me and he highlighted how the transition had worked for him and he encouraged me to consider buying a McDonalds.

I had always thought highly of McDonalds but had often thought we may not be able to afford to purchase a restaurant.

We decided to apply to become a franchisee and at least explore the possibility given we thought we had a reasonable amount to offer as potential franchisees and the strong support for the brand from my colleague, whose opinion I respected very much.

After deciding to apply there was a very thorough interview process. Whilst I initially thought it looked a bit onerous, as I worked my way through the process I found it gave me every opportunity to consider whether McDonalds was right for me and I was right for McDonalds.

4. What surprised you about the business?

One area that surprised me was how the McDonalds system was able to generate such great young talent. From day one of my training I continued to run into young people performing at a level I would often have thought would have been expected of someone older or more experienced.

I had worked at McDonalds as my first job when I was 15 but had not really appreciated what the training had done for me until I stopped to look at the young people working with me all those years later.

The pace of the business was also a bit of a shock after having been employed in a corporate role for a long period. Another surprise was getting used to the nature of the business, which is 24 hours a day.

I had previously been able to leave work and ‘switch off’ to some extent but the nature of this business has required a shift in my thinking.

An area that was also a pleasant surprise was that I have been able to use the skills I acquired in my previous corporate roles to complement what the McDonalds system has to offer and allow me to have my ‘stamp’ on the business.

Whilst there are certain areas that are strictly controlled to ensure an effective system, there are areas such as how we manage and motivate our staff that I have been able to have a positive and personal influence on.

5. How do you spend an average working day?

The role of a franchisee is something that I have slowly worked my way into, given my previous experience as a corporate employee.

Initially I spent a fair bit of time on the floor working in the business but given a concerted effort to invest in management training over the last 12 months I can now spend more time working on the business.

It is very important to me to work with the staff to ensure they appreciate what our goals for the business are and the culture we would like to create.

I spend a reasonable amount of time each day at the restaurant and then I will devote time to analyse performance and assist Andrea, who completes all of the administrative tasks such as payroll and accounts for the business.

I am also fortunate to have a restaurant manager who is very experienced and who has been able to complement me as we look to improve the business.

6. Are you a sole franchisee or in a partnership, and if so, who with and how do you manage the roles?

I am sole franchisee and am lucky to have my wife Andrea’s support in the business.

7. How has the franchisor training helped you in business?

The initial McDonalds training was very important in me having the confidence to proceed with our purchase in 2011.

I initially thought of the 9-12 months unpaid training as a significant expense to get into the system but as I worked through this process I soon came to regard this as an investment in our future.

I looked back to when I considered buying other businesses and came to appreciate how unprepared I was. Each day during the training program I came to learn more about McDonalds but also more about whether I thought it was right for me.

Preparing myself for the change from a corporate employee to McDonalds franchisee was the greatest personal benefit of the training program.

As I took over the business I found a real need to invest in the training of our staff and it has been fantastic to have the training programs facilitated by McDonalds to enhance the training and skills of our employees.

It allows me to work with our restaurant manager in more of a coaching role for our younger managers and staff which I feel gives them a more rounded training experience.

I have found that the strength of the McDonalds training programs has given me the scope to utilise the skills I have previously acquired to enhance the performance of our business.

8. How do you raise your brand’s profile in the community?

From the moment we took over the restaurant we have tried hard to support our local community. When I first approached some local junior sporting organizations offering support, I was taken aback when they noted how nice it was to have someone come to them offering support rather than having to chase this type of support.

We have supported a number of sporting and community organisations and have tried to promote the Ronald McDonald House Charity profile in our community also.

In August my son and I, along with 2 volunteer employees braved -3 degree temperatures at a local football carnival to raise $1,400 for the charity which was really pleasing.

I was also fortunate enough to speak to coaches at the Tasmanian Institute of Sport on how we personally, and McDonalds broadly, are able to work with young adults in the workplace to get the most out of them via our training and management programs.

9. What are your goals for the business?

When we first took over the business we sat down with our restaurant manager to establish clear performance goals for the business that we could measure.

Key to this was ensuring our managers and staff were given both the tools and training to achieve these goals.

A key goal for us was to improve both the customer service offering and financial performance of the business to ultimately allow us to consider expanding and purchasing another restaurant.

We have been very fortunate in that the opportunity to expand has come sooner than we anticipated and given our efforts in the last 12 months we have been able to arrange the purchase of our second restaurant in January 2013.

10. How has franchising changed your life?

Making the decision to buy a McDonalds franchise has been absolutely fantastic. The initial training prepared me for the shift and then the ongoing support of the McDonald’s company and my fellow licensees has been something I have really valued.

My wife and I talk about how we now are clear on what we are working towards and what we want to achieve rather than sitting back as we used to wondering what it would be like.

It has been a significant personal and financial investment to buy a McDonalds but I can confidently say that it will be the best business decision we will ever have made.