Founder to Know: Aziz Hashim, NRD Capital (Part 1 of 2)

Hashim has been a celebrated entrepreneur, most recently being named one of Nation's Restaurant News' 50 most powerful leaders. He serves on the executive committee for the International Franchise Association and will become its chairman in 2016. 

What challenges did you, as a founder and owner, face this past year?
I think the year was marked by what I would consider unprecedented amounts of pressure. I would call it impact from the industry and governmental action. We spent so much time trying to understand and rationalize some of the moves that the government was making against the industry that it was very difficult to really get a handle on how the economic outlook for the industry would look. As you know, in business, one thing we cherish is certainty and clarity, and when you have NLRB declaring McDonald’s franchisees as joint employers, it creates a tremendous amount of uncertainty for the business model.

That was just one example at one attempt to unionize restaurant employees, as we found out. It wasn't so much really a genuine effort by employees, but union-funded activity, and then we had the Seattle lawsuit where franchisees were being discriminated against in the implementation of minimum wage increases. It was certainly a whole year of tremendous  uncertainty and which way the direction of governmental actions would go. It is something I’m going to remember about 2014 – exactly how much time we spent trying to understand and absorb these various laws.

What is your vision for your brand in 2015 and how do you plan to execute this?
I’m all about the franchising industry because it’s a shiny beacon of recovery. Studies have shown during economic recessions that franchising continues to grow, and the reports released about the number of jobs franchising is expected to create in 2015 will create a great year in the industry, which will lead to optimistic economic times.

This year I want to concentrate on my role as an equity funds manager to identify those brands that I feel represent the best opportunities for franchisees. We will try to acquire such companies and make sure we have a portfolio of outstanding brands, and we should have a really good year in trying to recruit franchisees toward those brands.

What do you know now that you wish you could have known when first opening your business?
I think the biggest thing I have learned over the years is how to underwrite brands. Specifically, how to look at a franchise opportunity and underwrite it correctly. There are thousands of brands – close to 4,000 – so it’s a case of which is the right brand and the best one.

I’ve learned over the years what metrics to use in order to properly get a handle on which brand is worthy and which brand shouldn’t be invested in. We’ve developed a system called 5-P's, in which our company starts with a set of questions and we make sure that the brands we’re looking at adhere to the 5 p's. It’s been a long process to develop and it has taken 20 years to get to the point where we have a system in place because, in franchising, there are no sorts of standards. There are no Housekeeping Seals of Approval or consumer reports. If I want to buy a hotel room, I can read thousands of reviews and get objective data about the quality and condition. If I want to buy a car, I can review a number of websites and pull consumer reports. It’s the same with dishwashers; I can find out the best bargain. In franchising, however, where you invest your life savings, there’s no objective way of finding out what brand is worth spending money on.

I had to develop our own ways of underwriting our brands and by starting this fund, we hope to implement this skill in order to invest in brands that fit our criteria. This has been the biggest lesson the past 25 years.

Do you have any advice for failure?
Failures are a part of business and I would suggest – although it’s difficult to accept because emotions are high – that failures are not to be concerned with. The real question is: What can you learn? How can you bounce back from it because, without failure, there cannot be success. You can read any research report you want but the most successful people have failed many times; that’s not only in business but in inventions as well. How many attempts at the light bulb were there? Every one of those iterations was a failure. The Wright Brothers, too – it doesn’t matter what the endeavor is. I wouldn’t be afraid of failure.

In franchising, the stakes are a little higher. It’s possible to put your life savings or a lot of money on the line, so failures can be devastating. While there is a high degree of risk, at the same time, one has a duty to try and minimize the impact of failure and I’ve been trying to do that. For example, perhaps you shouldn’t put your life savings into one deal. There should always be one source of income that continues to prevail while a business is being developed.

These are smart ways to lower the impact of the failure and to lower the risks but not give in to fear. It’s a part of business and a reality that must be accepted. We must learn from the failure and not repeat that mistake a second time. If you can do that successfully, then I think success will eventually come.