With a healthier, fresh approach to Mexican cuisine and 15 stores in just over four years, Mad Mex is arming itself with a team of business savvy, hands-on, franchisees who are keen entrepreneurs but still wish to follow the tried and tested systems that make franchising a success. We profile two such franchisees here.
Some might say that running a franchise is perfect for those that want to own their own business but arenÍt really keen on leadership, or having too much responsibility. These Mad Mex franchisees are turning this theory on its head and using their business acumen and enthusiasm for the brand to grow their own empires.
Sonny Khan — Mad Mex Blacktown and Norwest
The fast food franchise industry is a very familiar one to Sonny Khan. Before coming to Australia and diving head first into the healthy Mexican franchise that is Mad Mex, Sonny worked in a management and development role for McDonaldÍs, overseeing 36 of the company-owned stores in New Zealand.
After crossing the Tasman, the golden arches offered Sonny a new position, but by then heÍd already stumbled across a job ad for Mad Mex.
Before actually becoming a franchisee I worked for Clovis [Young, founder] for close to a year and I was the store manager for his Macquarie Centre store and then the opportunity came up in Blacktown, which was the first store that they were going to franchise. I lived only 10 minutes away from it and because IÍd worked with Clovis and had McDonaldÍs experience, as well as my love for Mexican food, I knew that this was the place to get in, says Sonny.
Franchising wasnÍt really something I wanted to do until I started working at Mad Mex and I saw that it was really something that was going to take off, and it really has.
If someone asked me to go and buy another franchise IÍd probably say no, but IÍve got two Mad Mex stores and IÍm certainly thinking of even a third one in a couple of years.
Sonny says that while Mad Mex, founded in 2007, is just a baby compared to McDonaldÍs, both in size and age, the training and support offered by head office canÍt be faulted.
TheyÍre really good with store openings. They set you up for success, he says. Leading into the store opening, you have the timeline and then once the store opens you have operations managers and people coming in and not only that, you have ongoing marketing support and all the other bits and pieces that go with it. So the support structure is always there.
SonnyÍs approach to business is to fish where the fish are, and he makes a point to serve the customers, engage with them and show the staff that heÍs a hands-on franchisee, even doing the prep work with the fresh ingredients that Mad Mex is known for and which Sonny is passionate about.
ItÍs like I say to my staff, when the customers walk in they can see that things are fresh. McDonaldÍs uses frozen meat patties, whereas at Mad Mex nothing is frozen, so the freshness is there. We cut, we chop and prepare everything. When we make our guacamole we spend hours cutting the avocadoes; you get that really good authentic flavour.
Brad McMaster — Mad Mex Melbourne Central
With a past career as the head of an equity research team in the banking industry, one could assume that the shift to owning your own Mexican food franchise would allow you to loosen your tie and enjoy a more leisurely pace of life, but 34 year old Brad had thrown himself into his Melbourne business and has his sights set on expansion.
ThatÍs not to say that it was easy to step down a peg and start to work in a system, rather than being at the top of it.
ItÍs abnormal for me, I must admit. Going from my previous experience where I was head of an equity research team and I had lots of people working for me, to come down a level, it requires a different mindset and one that you have to take on with your eyes wide open. And thatÍs where I think the relationship with the franchisor is so critical. YouÍve got to have confidence in those individuals, he says.
Brad believes he has the best of both worlds. He still runs his own business and manages his own staff, but isnÍt responsible for the public perception of the brand or its direction in the future.
Admittedly, I donÍt have the mental satisfaction that I was the one that started the brand and reaped the success that came with it. But when I go home at night, apart from thinking of in-store promotions and how IÍm going to generate activity in my particular locality, the branding of the business and keeping it real in the youthÍs mind is all their [the franchisorÍs] responsibility, he says.
Like Sonny, Brad insists that to be a good boss and a good franchisee you need to be prepared to work at all levels of the business. And since day one of his Mad Mex journey — in May 2011 — heÍs done just that.
You wouldnÍt want to get into a business like this and be afraid of talking to customers. YouÍve got to set the best possible example to the staff that youÍre trusting to do this when youÍre not there. While IÍm here I roster myself on to work behind the counter as an employee and then I do the book work independently.
And even though Brad plans to expand the Mad Mex brand throughout Victoria, he still wants to maintain his very hands-on approach to business.
You end up spending less time physically working and more time supporting … In the future, with more sites, IÍll still be in there working at the busiest times of the day. IÍll try to be there for at least a couple of shifts a week for each store in order to continually demonstrate and lead by example in terms of how the business should be run.