The Year That Built My Franchise Career
At 22, I became a pizza delivery driver for Domino’s Pizza after my first business failed. I was looking for a temporary job to pay my bills while I figured out what to do next with my life, and I thought delivering pizzas could be a great option. I would drive my car, go to people's homes, and they would always be happy to see me. I could not only receive my paycheck but also earn tips.
I applied for that job not knowing anything about franchising or much about business (clearly, since I have failed at mine!). But to me, that wasn’t an obstacle because I wasn’t going to have that many responsibilities; I was simply going to deliver pizzas and make people happy.
Little did I know that this job would completely change the course of my life and career and eventually become the foundation of the American Franchise Academy. Curious to know how? Keep reading!
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I was supposed just to deliver pizzas. But I was a day driver, which meant I was there from opening until the rush hour, or maybe even through the rush if need be, waiting for orders to come so I could deliver them. While I waited, I helped the team members with store cleanup, folding pizza boxes, or doing some promotional “door hanging” around the neighborhood homes. I even learned how to make pizzas.
I ended up being a pizza delivery driver for over a year. While it was a pretty simple, even boring job for the most part, it ended up being an amazing year!
First of all, the store I happened to work at was a corporate store, so they implemented every process, procedure, and system the brand required with a high level of excellence. So, while I was there waiting and trying to make myself useful, I got to experience the brand's processes in great detail, firsthand.
What is more: I was lucky to have a Manager who was not only a great leader, but also a good teacher and a good chatter. This was wonderful for me, as I have always enjoyed talking and love learning. I’m a student; I'm a learner. So, I observe everything that happens around me, and I like to study the why and the what of everything.
This combination made me discover many things about the franchise business.
Lesson #1: What Is a Franchise and a Brand
During that year, I learned what a franchise is, how it is driven by processes and procedures, and why consistency matters.
Don’t miss: What is a Proven Franchise Brand? 7 Characteristics
Lesson #2: The Value of Customer Service
I also learned the value of customer service and how it's not that hard when you have a system behind you, telling you exactly how to make people happy because they receive what they expect every single time.
When you have a system to support your customer service, you don't have to guess, come up with anything new, or change things. You just need to follow the processes exactly as designed, repeat them over and over, and your customers will be happy.
Lesson #3: The Importance of Structured Training
Something else that I learned is the importance of structure in training for team members and leaders.
The store I worked at had a Manager and several Assistant Managers, and they all had this thing called “The Pyramid of Success” hanging on the door of the Manager’s office. Every Assistant Manager or Manager-in-Training had their own “Pyramid of Success”, which listed everything they needed to learn and be checked off to go from level 1 to level 3, which was “store-ready.”
I saw several of them go through that training process, advance from level to level, increase their pay as they went, and, when they were store-ready, become Managers and get a bonus.
Seeing this process in action made me realize that clarity around the internal promotion pathway, along with the structured education and training needed to advance, were key elements to make this machine so successful.
Later on, I discovered that during this period, Domino’s Pizza experienced its most explosive growth, and this particular process truly allowed them to develop leaders clearly and intentionally.
This is one of the processes we teach our franchise clients in our COMMAND Program because it's clear to understand and simple to execute.
Keep learning: Training Is Expensive! But Lack of it Costs More
Lesson #4: Why My Business Had Failed
If you read my previous blog post, you’ll remember how my first business failed. Surprisingly, becoming a pizza delivery driver and joining the Domino’s brand helped me understand why this happened.
Along with the “Pyramid of Success”, taped to the door of the Manager’s office was the Profit and Loss Statement (P&L) of that store so that every single person could have access to the unit’s numbers. In fact, the bonus program at that time was based on a certain percentage of net profit, so the brand had to train the Managers to understand and read that P&L.
One thing they did was have the District Manager sit down with the Manager to review every line item of the P&L, make check marks, happy faces, sad faces, and arrows, and then discuss how to address what they saw on the report.
That was the first time I got exposure to a P&L. Remember: I had been a business owner for a year, and I had never seen a profit and loss statement! Clearly, I didn’t know many things about businesses.
So there I was, a pizza delivery driver, asking my Manager every question and learning how to read and understand every line item of the P&L. And every month, when the new P&L was posted, I would analyze it and ask more questions to know what those numbers meant.
This monthly exercise helped me learn how important it is to really, truly understand the financials of a business. It also opened my eyes not only to why my business failed and how little I actually knew, but also to how much I would need to learn if I ever wanted to be an entrepreneur again, which was always my dream.
Unfortunately, what happened to me is very common. Many people go into business without understanding what it takes to be a business owner and without enough knowledge not only to operate the business but also to make it successful.
In case you missed it: My First Business Failure, And What I Learned the Hard Way
Lesson #5: The Beauty of Systems and Processes
Being part of a corporate store helped me understand that franchises are not intuitive, flexible businesses. They work as an assembly line, with steps and processes, and if you follow those systems and processes accurately, then the result will be consistent every single time. That’s what makes franchises successful.
A few months into this job, the District Manager noticed something in me and kept asking whether I wanted to be an Assistant Manager. However, I always said no because, remember, this was just a temporary job for me.
But after being exposed to this franchise system and all the knowledge, experiences, and processes, at the end of my first year as a pizza delivery driver, I made up my mind: I wanted to become a Unit Manager.
It took me that long, but I never thought that this would open the door to a new career and a journey that has been nothing but amazing every single day.
What comes next is the story for the next blog post.
I just wanted to share that you never know what your next step will be. Sometimes we think we're taking a step back in our lives, but in reality, it's a step in a positive direction for our future.
While some people felt embarrassed for me because I went from being a business owner to a pizza delivery driver, in my mind, I just needed to do what I needed to do to pay my bills and be responsible. But it also gave me an amazing opportunity to learn and understand the processes and the whys of things, which eventually led me to have a career in franchising.
Everything I learned at Domino’s Pizza from the front lines all the way to the top of that brand and others I led after, helped me build what I teach at the American Franchise Academy: every little process, procedure, and system that makes these machines called franchises successful. (Which, by the way, applies also to any independent business that wants the consistency and success that the franchise model brings.)
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