Words of Wisdom by Stacey Riska, Empire Builder, Rockville, MD. Stacey joined the ‘Ohana only 9 months ago and has just purchased her second Empire Builder agreement! We wanted to share some of her best practices with the ‘Ohana.

…on getting started - “For those getting started, I’d suggest they work an event with another operator. We did this and it was SOOO helpful in seeing how to set up, how to serve customers, and how to pack up. It gave us tremendous confidence and validated that we had chosen the right business for us.

… on working together - I’d encourage other franchise operators to work together with those in their area. I have emailed those in my area about meeting to discuss how we can work “better together”. There was such a tremendous positive response that we came together and ordered a large mixed order and we’re going to discuss partnering on larger events and sharing staff.

… on word of mouth - I’ve found that the “concessionaire” business is a small knit world – everyone knows everyone. That’s been great for us since once we got our first venue; the others all came from the food concessionaire asking if we wanted to be in other venues they managed and then making a phone call to get us in touch with the right person. If you do a good job, they’ll tell everyone. However, if you do a bad job, they’ll tell everyone too.

… on being selective - I’ve learned not to jump at every opportunity that comes knocking at your door – in the beginning you’re so excited to get started and “get in the door” that it’s easy to get roped into a contract that may not be in your best interest. We were approached by a venue that had previously had a Maui Wowi – it’s a very large venue and we were very excited to be a part of it. They said the previous franchisee was a 60/40 split with 40% going to the franchisee. When we ran the numbers, we just didn’t see how we could make that work. We ended up with a 70/30 split – 70% to us. Had we initially jumped at their first offer, we never would be as profitable in that venue as we are today.

… on working on the business, not in the business - I think what I’ve learned most is to work “on the business”, not “in the business”. I quickly realized that it was not a good use of my time to be behind the cart making coffees/smoothies. That may not be advice for many in the system, but if you want to grow your business, you quickly realize that you can’t be in multiple places at the same time and you can’t be good at everything your business needs to be successful. I’ve focused on the marketing and staffing/scheduling aspects of my business, which is where my strengths are, and I’ve contracted with others for where my weaknesses are (financial, technology, inventory management, etc).

I see tremendous opportunity in the Maui Wowi Hawaiian franchise --- the mainland staff does an EXCELLENT job – I’ve seen tremendous focus on branding and communication, which are critical in ensuring we all deliver the same Hawaiian experience worldwide.” ~ Stacey Riska, Empire Builder, Rockville, MD.