Famous Toastery Co-Founder & CEO Robert Maynard

Lesson Learned: Invest the Time in Learning Your Own Business Before Turning to Others

“Be careful what you wish for,” Robert Maynard, co-founder and CEO of better breakfast franchise Famous Toastery said, recalling how quickly his concept took off in popularity and in interest from prospective franchisee during the early days.

Maynard said he didn’t anticipate how much activity would come after opening the first three locations, and the overwhelming nature of the ramp up caused him to rely on others to grow the business – a lesson he now wishes he would have known then.

“We lost a little of the control, but mainly we lost the educational piece to a certain extent. We took back a lot of the process that we had outsourced – speaking to candidates, driving the sales. Looking back, we probably wouldn’t have hired a sales guy to start out. But then again, you don’t really know what you’re doing at the beginning. It’s a catch 22. It’s better to figure it out yourself,” Maynard said.

Maynard decided to invest his time into learning the ins and outs of the franchise industry – which he admitted is an entirely different breed of business model than his previous successful business ventures. Today, he feels that knowledge is key to the rapid growth Famous Toastery is enjoying.

“You have to know how it works so you can teach it. It’s important to learn about it and how it’s done instead of hiring different people. At the end of the day, it’s your business. People will come and go. So, it’s important to know what’s going on in your franchise,” Maynard said.

However, Maynard, like many successful entrepreneurs, knows the value of learning from mistakes.

“I wouldn’t change anything. You learn by doing. The alternative is learning from not doing – and in those cases, you almost always fail.”