Entrepreneur: He Grew Up in a McDonald’s Dynasty Then Swapped Big Macs for Lash Extensions. Here’s How He’s Bringing the ‘McDonald’s Framework’ to the $1.6 Billion Lash Industry

Jonathan Ellis, founder and CEO of Honest Lash, the Texas-based lash extension franchise, wasn’t always the boss. Growing up, he worked every job available in a McDonald’s restaurant, fixing air conditioners, sweeping the dining room, working in the kitchen and managing the team. The Ellis family was one of McDonald’s first franchisees in Texas and came to spend 50 years in the system, so he had plenty of opportunities to learn.

"I worked in restaurants as a kid, and my dad would put me up on the roofs to fix air conditioners in the summers," Ellis told Entrepreneur. “When I got older, I started working in kitchens and throughout high school and college, started getting some management training.”

In 2017, as Ellis’ grandfather was aging and McDonald’s was rolling out a major remodeling effort, the family made the decision to sell. With this, Ellis was able to break into an entirely different industry — education.

Ellis opened multiple Sylvan Learning centers between 2019 and 2020, then the pandemic hit, and mandatory shutdowns put the businesses in a precarious position.

"My monthly overhead was outrageous, and I just bought these franchises, so there [was] a significant amount of debt," explained Ellis. He was ultimately able to sell 12 of his 15 Sylvan locations, and he began brainstorming what he could do with the three remaining centers to make the most of the real estate he had just invested in.

"My wife and I came up with a lash concept, a liquor store concept and a pet wash concept," said Ellis. “What was intriguing about lashes was it seemed very niche, but I know once beauty finds its lane, it creates its own industry.”

Valued at $1.6 billion in 2021, the lash industry was a strong investment option, and Ellis saw an opportunity to quickly rebrand and launch the business as soon as possible.

"On Friday, it was a tutoring center, and by Monday, it was a lash studio," he said. “We pulled up all the tables and chairs and the education stuff and moved in a bunch of massage-type chairs and hung some chandeliers.”

This process began in 2020 during the week of Thanksgiving. Since then, Ellis has grown from three newly converted locations to four corporate locations and two recently sold franchises. As he continues to expand, Ellis is drawing on the framework he grew to love in the McDonald’s system — and rejecting the less favorable standards — to support his franchisees while maintaining a family business feel.

“As we speak, I've got four or five in the pipeline," added Ellis. “We're going hard and heavy in Texas, and we're going to build out this market.”

Read the full article here.

To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/honestlash