Zitat des Tages von Fred DeLuca:
When you're invested in your own business, you're going to run it better. When people are financially responsible for whether their store succeeds, they're going to have that kind of entrepreneurial spirit that's harder to get if headquarters is running things.
Back when we started, people didn't even know what a submarine sandwich was. The product was only sold in a few markets.
When we first started the company, I didn't have any thoughts of franchising. We just had company-owned stores.
After 39 years of business, I'm still learning. I go through this every year -identifying new strategies that are extremely important.
I don't have much of a bucket list. I don't have a lot of needs and desires.
There may be a perception that, with franchises, they're all the same, so that limits the ability to experiment. But that's not true. We've always kept two slots open on the menu of each Subway franchise - slots that franchisees can use to come up with their own sandwich ideas.
If you have company-owned stores, you make 100 percent of the profit from each one, but you have less entrepreneurial spirit.
When I started in the business, the minimum wage was $1.25. I've seen an enormous number of wage increases. Basically, it applies evenly to everyone in the business.
I know a lot of people at some point in their business careers decide they'll just cash in and do something else, but for some reason, I've never had that feeling.
You really have to understand this isn't a business where you sit in the back room and do calculations - you have to be very concerned about employees and customers, because that's really what's going to bring you success.
Even if you set a long-term goal, that doesn't mean it's a straight-line journey. Often, there are problems and obstacles along the way.
There are so many ingredients that are approved for use. You can't be an expert on all of them.
I tell everybody there are only three things that we do. We build sales at the store level, we build profits at the store level, and we build more stores. The first two things go in tandem, of course. It's pretty tough to build profits without sales.
In the U.S. and Canada, we have one store for every 12,000 people.
By and large, we're a bread-eating culture. People like sandwiches. We don't really over-think that one.
I don't have any interest in cashing out or leaving the business or doing something else. I just love Subway, and I want to keep focusing on the company for the benefit of all our franchise owners. So I'm kind of like married to the job.
Every time I come across learning items of interest, I'll send distribution voice mail to the appropriate group in the organization.
The people who come to work deserve to be paid properly, and there's no excuse. I could understand someone making a small error, but sometimes people make systematic errors, and that's not right.
We give great value for our franchisees: They can build a store for well under $200,000. And we have extremely simple operating systems. The preparation is mostly done in front of the customer. That simplicity is really what attracts our Subway franchise. You see it, and you can do it.
There's huge access to information. If you need to learn something, you can go on the Internet and learn very quickly. You can reach across miles and miles to find companies that can assist you.
I don't think I ever dreamt of going into business. No one in my family was in business.
From my point of view, what I really like, what I think is really terrific about my work, is that the company's had the opportunity to train literally thousands and thousands of brand new franchisees to successfully run their very first business.
You could have everything right but be in the wrong place. You think your business is no good, but really, the problem is your place is no good.
I made the first sandwich before entering college.
Six months after we started, in 1964, there was a day when we sold only seven sandwiches. If we'd taken all the money from the register, we couldn't have paid an employee, much less the food or the rent or all that. It could have been a turning point. We could have given up.
You have to be able to communicate the vision to the people in your organization so that they know where and how they should direct themselves on a day-to-day basis.
The franchisees are uniquely in touch at the local level. They see what's going on in their communities in a way we couldn't ever imagine.
If you treat people nicely, and you allow them to fulfill a role that is satisfying for them, they'll accomplish a lot, and they'll enjoy their work.
Because the stores worked, franchisees wanted to build more stores. If your model works, folks who are happy with it will buy out the ones who aren't happy.
I was 17 years old when I built the first store... A very simple, basic store with a basic counter - not very much equipment, all purchased second-hand. And the menu was very simple.
I guess that's one of the benefits of being sick. Your wife lets you have a big-screen TV in the living room.
If someone wants to eat healthy, they can do that and get the sandwich exactly right. I'm so pleased we're able to influence so many people and their eating habits.
It's tough for people to get into business, especially a small business.
Everybody eats three times a day; it's only a question of where they choose to eat. The longer-term trends are people eat out more often.
I watch 'Shark Tank,' of course. It's very entertaining. I think it's actually good to help people think about the business they might start, and sometimes you get encouraged by looking at someone going into business and saying, 'Hey, I could do that.'
