Owning the Golden Arches: Journey from Entrepreneur to Empire Builder with Kerri Harper-Howie

0:01Light that spark fire nation. JLD here and welcome to entrepreneurs on fire brought to you by high level, the all-in-one sales and marketing platform. Today, we'll be breaking down owning the golden arches, Keri's journey from entrepreneur to empire builder. To drop these value bombs, I brought to Keri Harper Howey in the EO Fire Studios. Keri is a dynamic entrepreneur, attorney, author, and public speaker. She co-owns 21 McDonald's franchises in Los Angeles with her sister, Nicole Harper-Rollins. Together, they employ over 1 ,100 people and have built a thriving business, empire rooted in family values and community impact.

0:35Today, we talk about scaling with purpose, community impact, challenges and grit, franchise advice, and oh, so much more. And the big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Cary and our sponsors. Here's something most of us don't think about until it's a problem. Our phone service. Cape is a privacy-first mobile carrier built from the ground up with security as the priority. If you care about protecting your digital life without giving up your smartphone, Cape makes that possible. Visit cape.co to sign up today. Are you ready for the ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies?

1:11Build funnels, automate follow-ups, manage clients, and even white-label your own software. Say hello to our featured partner, High Level, and visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial today. Carrie, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. Hi, Fire Nation. I'm so excited to be here today. I think, you know, one of the mysteries of becoming an entrepreneur is that somehow it all happens the first time. So often we see people who are success stories and we think, wow, they have some magic quality. They just did it.

1:57They, you know, they figured out what it's going to be and it just happened. And I think the truth of the matter is so many of us go through multiple phases of entrepreneurship, sometimes different careers, different opportunities. And you may find that many of those things just don't succeed. And in fact, sometimes they fail. And you just kind of got to keep pushing through and know that it's not necessarily about the final outcome, but about the journey that you take as you're getting to what you consider to be success. And Fire Nation, we'll be hearing about that journey as we go through owning the Golden Arches.

2:36And I want to talk about that journey. I mean, Carrie, what led you down the path of business ownership that ultimately led to becoming a McDonald's franchise owner? I was very lucky because my parents in the early 1980s decided to take a chance on themselves and become franchise owners, which was not the typical thing for people to do in the 1980s, particularly a black man. My father, who was a police officer and a black woman, who was my mom, who was a social worker. And they cashed in their pensions, which some people thought was absolutely nuts and took a chance to become a franchisee. Now, in that moment, as an elementary school kid, I pretty much immediately became the coolest kid on campus because my parents owned McDonald's.

3:26But I, for a very long time, had no interest in being a part of our family business. I very clearly knew when I was in the 10th grade, I wanted to be a lawyer. And so I did exactly that straight to college, straight to law school and really enjoyed being a lawyer. And as cliche as it sounds, it really was the birth of my first son that prompted me to even think differently about joining our family business. At the time, my mother and my sister were working together, and I was very happy to support them. I was an employment lawyer, so as you can imagine, anytime you have employees, you probably need an employment lawyer.

4:04So I was happy to support them with my legal expertise, doing investigations, helping with policies, etc. But I was not at all thinking I would become a part of it. And then when my son was born, again, as cliche as it sounds, it really gave me a different perspective on what legacy was. I thought my mom's legacy was going to be as a successful businesswoman who really kind of rose from very, very humble beginnings to go on to really build a McDonald's empire. And that was her legacy. And that was great. But then my son became a part of my mother's legacy as his grandmother and me as his mom. And so I really started to just think differently about those opportunities.

4:50And it won't surprise you to learn that as I find myself a member of this sandwich generation, my mom was eventually began to have some health challenges. And so I did not want her legacy to end in a way that did not fully fulfill what it could be. And so I decided to become a part of the story and join my mother and my sister in business at that time. Fire Nation, the baby effect is real. I mean, I've interviewed over 4 ,800 entrepreneurs in the past 13 years. And it's so crazy how having a child was this incredibly pivotal moment in their entrepreneurial journey. So I love that. And Carrie, I want to talk about scaling with purpose because, I mean, you've grown and managed 24 McDonald's locations.

5:36I mean, that's an incredible achievement. How do you keep that momentum alive year after year after year? You have to be intentional, John Lee. And that sometimes sounds trite to say. But when I tell you, my sister and I, at every step of growth, because when I entered the organization, we had 13 restaurants. And so when I became an approved McDonald's franchisee, not long thereafter, we expanded by growing in six restaurants. And we have consistently talked about what does that mean? You know, things that you as a business owner can do with 13 restaurants sometimes become more challenging and some things become impossible when you have 18 and then when you have 21 and then when you have 24.

6:26Emotionally, how connected are we able to be to 24 restaurants worth of employees versus 13 restaurants worth of employees. How often are we actually able to physically be present in our restaurants when you grow with scale? And so you have to be really intentional about, you know, you have to let go of things that you are so used to doing yourself that you really enjoy doing and you value doing. But in order to be able to have that much larger global view, You've got to be intentional about delegating, about training people to take over things that you previously had done that you no longer do.

7:09So, for example, when Nicole and I transitioned from 18 to 21 restaurants, that doesn't sound like a lot. But at that point in time, not only were we growing in our restaurant organization size, but I was growing as a leader within the McDonald's system, causing me to travel more. And you just think, oh, OK, you're traveling. That's not a big deal. But it took me away from my restaurants a little more often so I couldn't do investigations. So we had to decide we've got to train someone to be prepared to do this piece of my job and and and prepare her for the things that come with investigations.

7:48I've been a lawyer for over 20 years now, and now we're training someone who's largely been focused on operations to take over that responsibility. How do I support her in doing that? And how do I let go of doing that on a day to day basis? is because I like being connected with people, even when what they're doing is raising a concern. I want to be able to help. So again, it's really about being intentional and thinking not just from a financial perspective, because that's obvious. You gotta have money to be able to grow, but there's mental, emotional, and social aspects to growth that you've really gotta take into account.

8:26You use the word intentional many times there, and you've also been incredibly intentional about community impact. So beyond the golden arches, how do your restaurants make a real difference in the communities that you serve? And how does purpose guide the way that you operate and lead? There are a number of pretty specific ways. And I have to start by saying my mom really was the foundation of this because she always raised us to be women who led with hearts of service. So that's just where we start from. It's who we are and at the core of my being. So one of the very specific ways that we support the communities where we serve is by participating actively in Ronald McDonald House fundraising.

9:09So that has evolved over the years. But I can tell you, we are extraordinarily proud to be the largest McDonald's franchisee fundraiser for the Los Angeles chapter of the Ronald McDonald House. So that means that our team in restaurants, we used to ask people if they wanted to donate dollars. Now we ask them if they want to round up. And again, you have to tell your people this is important to us. This is important for our community. This is important for families who are in need in their most difficult times. So the Ronald McDonald House partnership that is established, it is, you know, it's kind of integral and important to what we do.

9:52But also within the last two years, two to three years, my sister and I have made sure that our mother's heart of service is preserved in a time when she can't be as vocal about her heart of service as she would like to be. So we established the Patricia G. Williams Family Foundation. And what we do through that foundation is we, in the last two years, have conducted a micro grant application process. And we send that information out and we give small grants because we're not, you know, we're not a giant foundation, but we are, we are consider ourselves small but mighty. So we give grants to organizations that are doing excellent work, both in the communities where our restaurants are, but also abroad as we've widened the scope of the application of the applicants for the grants.

10:42In addition to that, we also make sure that we partner with local politicians to support the efforts that they're doing in their city. So, for example, in September of this year, we partnered with Englewood City Council Member Dion Falk and California Assembly Member Tina McKenner. They were doing a backpack giveaway. So one of the things that we did was at that backpack giveaway where there were so many kids, we offered free haircuts and styles for young girls as well. In Compton, we often participate in their holiday breakfast. So we donate breakfast at their event where Santa is giving out gifts.

11:24So I could go on and on, but we try to show up very actively in the communities where our restaurants are, but also to the extent we can broaden that and really have an impact on the lives of people around us. We consider it just a vital part of who we are and what we want to do and be in this in this world. Fire Nation, the power of being intentional. I love that. We're going to be talking about challenges and grit, franchise advice, and so much more when we get back from thanking our sponsors. I'm all about the basics when it comes to running my business, and there's nothing more basic and important than how you talk to customers and keeping your team on the same page.

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15:06Seriously, every question that pops up, they will have your answer waiting. And if you visit my special partnership link, you'll get a free trial. So visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial and see why thousands of businesses are switching. That's highlevelfire.com, where marketing, sales, and automation finally come together. High level, join the revolution. Carrie, we're back. And as I said before the break, I want to dive into challenges. I want to dive into grit because I mean, let's be honest, every single franchise journey has had its hurdles. What is your biggest challenge that you can look back on and share with us right now?

15:46Tell us that story. This is going to be, it's going to sound a little strange, but I really want to talk about the beginning of my franchise journey because I think it is a little bit unique from a lot of people. So I started out, as I said, I was a lawyer for about 13 years before I transitioned to our career. So the first thing I'll say was I had a really difficult kind of emotional and mental challenge with transitioning from a legal career to working in the restaurant industry. And there was a time when my, you know, I thought that lawyers were so much smarter than everybody else. And we did all of this elite work and where I'm in courts arguing.

16:29And I was like, how am I going to go into the restaurant industry and somehow actually be challenged and be able to add value? And when I tell you, John Lee, I got on the fry station on my first day of work and it kicked my butt. And so I was slow. I was hot. I was like, what is happening here? There's too much of a demand for french fries I cannot keep up and the reason why I share that is because we pride ourselves on making sure that as business owners we understand the experiences of every single one of our employees so when I say I started day one on fries and I stayed at the fry station until I could keep up with lunch demand I did not move from there to cashier until I was ready.

17:20And then I moved from cashier to working in the, um, in the drive-through. And then I did a stint in the kitchen and then I did a stint at prep. And so really for me, the biggest challenge was overcoming my, my preconceived notions about what it means to be, uh, to work in the quick service, uh, restaurant industry of what it means to be, um, an owner in this industry and what it means to really contribute and connect with our employees. So I really think that's what I would love for people to understand that our jobs in the restaurant are there really phenomenal opportunities to learn, to grow and expand yourself and to truly be challenged in what it is that you have to offer both yourself, to offer your customers, to offer your community.

18:16So I really think, I mean, that's kind of the, it's not your typical challenge and there's other things I could probably talk about, but that really is what stands out for me as probably one of the most difficult challenges I've had to overcome in this business. Well, let me just say on behalf of all the other individuals who love this, if you had anything to do with bringing the McRib back starting November 17th to certain locations, thank you. I'm very fired up, I will say about that. And speaking of the franchise overall, I want to talk about franchise advice because I've always spoken unbelievably highly about franchises to Fire Nation because they're so good for entrepreneurs, they're so good for small business owners for so many reasons.

18:57So for our listeners who are curious about franchising, but they're hesitant to take the leap, what is one piece of advice that you would give to our listeners before they dive in? The first thing I want to say is probably contrary to what I should be saying, but franchising is a massive industry. Don't people often think McDonald's? Oh, McDonald's franchise. And what I have learned through this journey, there are so many different types of businesses that can be franchised, food service, clothing, UPS and delivery and logistics, etc. So what I would want someone to know listening to this, franchising is not just about food.

19:45So if you have something you're interested in, you're passionate about, I would be willing to bet that you can find a franchise opportunity to help you explore that interest. And the reason why I would strongly encourage you to do that is because the beauty of franchising, as it was for my mother and father, who were not even thinking entrepreneurial at all as a police officer and a social worker. But franchising gives you the opportunity to be in business for yourself, but not by yourself. You get the advantage of systems that are in place, training that you can receive, scouting locations that might work best for your market or the project that you're selling.

20:28So I would strongly encourage anyone who's interested in becoming a business owner, consider franchising and start with the International Franchise Association has a magnificent website that is full of opportunities and information about the variety of franchising opportunities that exist. Carrie, let's end with a closing value bomb. You've built success on one of the biggest stages in business. What would you say is the single most powerful lesson that you've learned about leadership, about legacy, about creating opportunity for others? Integrity. There is absolutely no substitute for knowing that you're always doing the right thing, no matter who is watching.

21:17And that is what we want our employees to believe in. That's what we want our customers to know that we believe in. And that's how I live my life, both personally and professionally. You've got to be a person, a man or a woman of your word, and you've got to always do the right thing. Very often, that is hard. As a business owner, you will have decisions that you have to make and you have to decide, am I going to cut corners? Am I going to try and take a shortcut? Am I going to, you know, take people's rights away? Because sometimes those things could benefit you as a business owner, but it's not the right thing to do.

22:05You've got to be a person with integrity so that you can make sure that people that you are interacting with, they know you mean what you say and you're going to actually do what you say and live your life according to what you say. Carrie, if the listeners want to connect with you, want to learn more about you, what is your call to action for Fire Nation today? Keep learning and make sure that there's never a moment in time where if you feel stagnant, which is almost inevitable, take a moment to figure out what it is you want to learn. There are free, low, no cost options to continuously learn about anything you possibly could want to, you could possibly want to explore.

22:56So do that and hold yourself to the principle that I am never going to know everything or enough. So I'm going to always keep learning. Fire Nation, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. You've been hanging out with KHH and JLD today, so keep up the heat. For links to everything we talked about, visit eofire.com. Type Keri, K-E-R-R-I in the search bar. The show notes page will pop right up. And Keri, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Thank you so much. Appreciate the opportunity.

23:37Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Kerry for sponsoring today's episode and Fire Nation. Are you an entrepreneur on fire who's looking to share your amazing message with the world? If yes, we are now accepting applications for entrepreneurs who are on fire. To learn more about becoming a guest, visit eofire.com slash guest and I'll catch you there or on the flip side. Here's something most of us don't think about until it's a problem. Our phone service. Cape Cape is a privacy-first mobile carrier built from the ground up with security as the priority. If you care about protecting your digital life without giving up your smartphone, Cape makes that possible.

24:13Visit cape.co to sign up today. Are you ready for the ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies? Build funnels, automate follow-ups, manage clients, and even white-label your own software. Say hello to our featured partner, High Level, and visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial today.