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Owning an operating a <a href="http://lennysfranchise.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=all-star-franchisees-christopher-alford-of-lennys-grill-subs-5812" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lennys Grill &amp; Subs</a> restaurant is something new for Chris Alford&#8212;he spent his entire career in corporate America. But after working in industries ranging from federal law enforcement to medical device sales, Alford set out to be his own boss. That&#8217;s when he discovered his favorite sandwich shop was a franchise. Alford was immediately drawn to Lennys&#8217; franchising opportunity. He&#8217;s a loyal customer, and is passionate about growing the brand where he lives in San Antonio, Texas. For Alford, Lennys&#8217; concept is almost nostalgic. By using freshly sliced and grilled meats on all of its subs, the brand gives consumers an experience that isn&#8217;t widely available anymore. 1851 Franchise recently caught up with Alford to learn more about his passion for the Lennys Grill &amp; Subs brand, as well as how breaking into the franchising industry has changed his life. What was your perspective about franchising prior to joining Lennys Grill &amp; Subs&#8217; system? I didn&#8217;t have a very strong grasp of what the franchising industry was all about before I got first-hand experience with Lennys. That&#8217;s not to say my view of the business model was negative&#8212;I just wasn&#8217;t exactly sure how the relationship between the franchisor and its franchisees worked. What is the top thing you think people don&#8217;t understand about franchising? No matter what your specific business or brand is, being successful in a franchise system requires a ton of work. I think that&#8217;s the biggest misconception&#8212;people don&#8217;t understand the amount of effort that goes into making it all come together. You wear a lot of hats being a franchisee. The role requires you to be the head of human resources, payroll and everything in between. Franchisees are ultimately the glue that holds the entire operation together. How has being a franchisee changed your life? Being a franchisee has taught me to think on an entirely different level. I thought that I knew how to multi-task before, but franchising has really forced me to step my game up. If I&#8217;m not juggling three to four things at once, then I&#8217;m having a slow day. But even though it&#8217;s a lot of work, being a franchisee is a real labor of love. It has given me the opportunity to be my own boss and work for an amazing brand, which is what I&#8217;ve been looking for in my professional career. Why did you decide to franchise with Lennys Grill &amp; Subs? Lennys is a real up-and-comer in the sandwich industry. However, it&#8217;s still a smaller operation, so there&#8217;s a real sense of community and family across the entire franchise system. What first attracted me to the brand was the food&#8212;Lennys sandwiches are all outstanding, and they&#8217;re made to order every single time. We even slice our meat every time we make a sub, which is something that isn&#8217;t done in the U.S. anymore. Our competitors all take their food out of plastic bags and serve it. But Lennys has created this culture that&#8217;s almost like an old school deli, and that really resonates with me. Why should other entrepreneurs buy a Lennys Grill &amp; Subs franchise? There are so many franchisors out there that disappear as soon as they get local business owners to sign on the dotted line. That&#8217;s definitely not what Lennys is about. The corporate team invests time, energy and dollars into every one of its locations to ensure that their franchisees are successful. And we don&#8217;t have to go through layers of red tape to get help&#8212;we can call the CEO directly if we need to. The brand is incredibly accessible. What advice would you have for someone looking to become a franchisee? Be prepared to work 80 to 100 hours a week when you&#8217;re first trying to get your business off the ground. Your franchise will be your baby, and you really need to take ownership of that. I wouldn&#8217;t call being a franchisee a sacrifice, but it&#8217;s definitely an investment. And I don&#8217;t just mean financially, although that&#8217;s certainly a part of it. Being a franchisee is an emotional and psychological investment too. That&#8217;s why my biggest piece of advice for entrepreneurs looking to become franchisees is to make sure you know what exactly you&#8217;re getting yourself into. Some people seem to think that they can flip on an open sign and their business will start printing money. But there&#8217;s no shortcut to success.

1851 Franchise

The first time franchisee explains how he turned his love of the Lennys brand into a successful career.

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