Patience is a profitable vitrue
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Happy Wednesday- A quick story about patience this evening.... In 2018, Tim Denker and I became minority investors in The Smoothie Shop & Supplements, a brand we believed in but didn’t control. Founded in 2010, the creator of the company had developed something awesome that offered:
Shortly after getting involved, we realized that without control, change would be much slower than we anticipated. So we made a decision. One afternoon at my office, we called our wives and asked for their blessing to draw on our HELOCs to buy out the founder. A few weeks later, we were 100% owners. We hit the ground running throughout 2019, only to run headfirst into a pandemic. We used the unexpected time to our advantage by overhauling processes, creating new ones, recruiting new talent, operating a store ourselves, and building the consistency the brand had always needed. Then we did something BIG: We put the stores in the hands of new owner-operators (via a franchise model) and supported them as they pursued their entrepreneurial dreams. As I write this, I’m happy to share that they didn’t just survive; they are rocking. This summer, each of them is opening a second location (Blue Springs, MO, and Independence, MO). Check out the video below from the owner of our Belton, MO location Surprising my fiancé with her own smoothie shop for her birthday. Location number 2 coming June late June! A few weeks ago, Tim said, “I feel like we’re at an inflection point.” He is right. Eight years after we got involved, it is the right time to grow the company. The goal is 200 locations over the next 7-10 years, and for the first time since 2020, it feels possible (again). This year has been a decent reminder that we can do all the right things on our own schedule, but sometimes the universe puts things on its own schedule.
Being patient through the process can provide great rewards over time.
You just have to commit to the long game.
Our journey with The Smoothie Shop & Supplements reminds me of another entrepreneur who had to be patient: Ray Kroc, widely recognized as the true founder of McDonald's, was 52 years old when the business started to take off. We all know how that story turned out. Guess who turns 52 next year? 👇 With gratitude, — KO P.S. I feel as though the pendulum has swung too far in terms of automation, screens, social media, and frictionless everything over the past decade. A smoothie shop is one of the last places where another human looks you in the eye, knows your name, and makes something especially for you by hand. We have curated that space and now we’re ready to grow it. If you're interested in joining us on this mission as an owner-operator, please visit our website at GrowWithSmoothies.com or hit reply! P.P.S. Follow along on social as we build in public. IG, FB, LI. And if you are in KC, swing by our Lee’s Summit and Belton locations for the dopamine hit only human-to-human connection can deliver. |
