Tarji Carter With The Franchise Player

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studio in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio, brought to you by Kennesaw State University’s Executive MBA program, the accelerated degree program for working professionals looking to advance their career and enhance their leadership skills. And now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, CSU’s executive MBA program. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on the Land of business radio, we have Tarji Carter, The Franchise Player. Welcome.

Tarji Carter: Well, thank you for having me. Lee. This is this is a great opportunity.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am excited to learn about the franchise player. Tell us about your work. How you serving folks?

Tarji Carter: So for the last 15 to 20 years, I’ve been working in franchise sales and development for some of the world’s most delicious brands. And I realized quickly that franchising and franchise ownership is one of America’s best kept secrets. So I’ve been working diligently to get the word out to aspiring business owners. I think it’s a great way to get started in business for yourself, but not necessarily by yourself. And it’s a great way to hit the ground running with all the support that you receive from franchising an established franchise organization. So, you know, and specifically I play in the space of diverse markets or communities of color. Unfortunately, the information about franchise ownership doesn’t necessarily reach these communities in the same ways that it reaches other communities. And so I figured I can either complain about it or I can do something about it. And so that’s why I created the franchise player.

Lee Kantor: Now, can you talk a little bit about your backstory, like how did you even kind of stumble into the franchising world?

Tarji Carter: It was definitely a stumble. I was working in the hotel industry. I worked as a transient or business travel sales manager at a hotel, and the then president of Cinnabon Corporation was staying at my hotel and had a really good relationship with them. They were they were focused brands at the time, which is now go to Foods, was one of my clients, and just through relationship was offered an opportunity to work on their franchise sales team. And that was back in 2008, very long time ago. And I’ve learned so much about the industry, and it just really grew to love it and opportunities that it presents for entrepreneurs, you know, true entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs that might need a little assistance, and it just really fell in love with the fact that it’s open to any and everybody as long as you can meet the qualifications.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you were kind of on the on the team of the franchisor and you were looking for franchisees, how were you going to market at that point? Were you just like kind of casting a wide net or people were you working through franchise brokers? How were you even kind of attracting potential franchisees into your systems?

Tarji Carter: So every brand is different and they have different ways of lead generation going about lead generation. You know, there are the traditional trade shows that everyone goes to. There’s the multi-unit franchising conference, restaurant leadership conference, restaurant development and leadership conference. Excuse me. And then, you know, there are several traditional shows that the brands all go to. But I would dig a little bit deeper and try to find the shows that weren’t on the beaten path, right? They were off the beaten path and you know, but ways to get in front of audiences that my competitors were not. So we would do that. We would also work with brokers and we had a PR company. Most of the brands have a PR company that helps with lead generation. So they’ll do, um, they’ll do campaigns through social media and email blasts and things of that nature. So, um, every brand is different, like I said, and, um, you know, but but those are some of the tactics that we use. Um, and then just everyday life, if you’re on an airplane and you have on your Cinnabon shirt or your Wingstop hat, uh, you know, it strikes up a conversation and people really get intrigued with, um, the whole notion of franchising. It seems like, you know, there there’s a lot of mystery around it. So every conversation that I have with a potential candidate, um, you know, just gives me an opportunity to really open their eyes and plant seeds about how franchising could be a great addition to their existing career path. Um, it could be a plan for retirement or a way that they could invest in their children’s future by opening a family business. So it really opens up a lot of dialog around next steps in people’s lives.

Lee Kantor: Now, did you find when you were doing kind of a I mean, a full disclosure, I’ve hosted a franchising show for many years, and I’ve interviewed hundreds of franchisors and have have, um, had a lot of conversations with people in this industry. So I’m not just kind of pulling things out of the air here when it comes to this, but when you’re doing marketing in a way that you’re doing it the way that it seems like a lot of the franchises are doing it. Do you run the kind of risk of missing opportunities with groups like you’re targeting now that that they’re viable groups to target. But it’s not even in their radar. It’s not even in their kind of career path. To even think of these opportunities are for me, because they’re not the ones being marketed to in a lot of times.

Tarji Carter: Absolutely. I’m glad you brought that up, Lee. It’s a great it’s it’s a gravely missed opportunity. And so as I said earlier, I could either complain about it or I could do something about it. And I think it’s a matter of making inclusion. Right. Because diversity seems to be a bad word these days. But making inclusion a priority because it’s not just something nice to do, there’s a real business case for it. And and I think not getting in front of diverse audiences, um, can definitely impact, um, how a brand grows, how a brand is received. And so as a consultant, when I’m working with candidates, I tell them to make sure you do your due diligence. Um, on the brand and who’s at the helm from a leadership perspective to make sure you understand the culture that you’d be signing up for. And if it aligns with, with, you know, your personal morals and standards. Um, and if it would be a conducive environment for your growth. So I think it’s a, it’s a gravely missed opportunity for brands that don’t at least start to have the conversation. And so some brands that I work with, um, and I work with many great brands. Um, but some brands started at zero. And the difference is they weren’t afraid to say, you know what, Tarji, we have not done a great job in this department, but we want to do better and we could use your help. And so I love working with companies like that because they’re not too afraid to admit that, you know, there’s room for improvement. Then there are some brands that aren’t interested at all. And then there are some brands that are too proud to say that, you know, we’ve not done a good job. So, um, you know, I think there’s there are ways to, to really, um, increase ownership, um, and, and to grow the numbers from a signings perspective and openings perspective. Um, even, you know, from a marketing perspective, just having diversity or inclusion of thought when decisions are being made could really save companies millions of dollars in the long run.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. I think it’s ironic that if you look at stats of who’s starting businesses, the number of businesses, these kind of underserved markets are starting and not connect the dots that, hey, these might be good franchise candidates. You know, they they don’t have to open up their own business. They could buy an existing kind of framework for a business. I mean, I it just boggles the mind to see that it’s taken this long to have somebody like you really champion this cause.

Tarji Carter: Yeah, I have heard so many times, Lee, you know, we just can’t find qualified candidates in my response to that is always has always been and will always be. You’ll never find what you’re not looking for. And so it if you could connect the dots, you would see that in with these, you know, these quote unquote underserved communities. There are so many hard working people that are running businesses, right? They’re they’re managing their their their panels. They’re managing, um, staff and inventory, and they’re doing all the things that they would be doing within a franchise system. But because they’re not really given the opportunity, um, you know, they, they sometimes they resort to opening an independent concept or they may go in a different route. But we’re talking, you know, the folks that I’m working with are, you know, graduates of of very prestigious Stages, schools and MBAs, doctorates, you name it. And um, and so it takes unfortunately, you know, someone having an interest to create something like the franchise player in the annual franchise game to open up an opportunity for learning and networking and opportunities to, to, to, um, to really engage with brands that have an interest in being more inclusive. But we’re getting there. Last year, our franchise game event was well attended this year. Uh, it doubled in size. And so, you know, it’s growing organically with the folks that need it, um, and appreciate it. And we’re very thankful for that.

Lee Kantor: And it sounds like they’re hungry for this. This is something that is coming about at a time where there’s a bunch of interest and people taking action, not just kind of saying, you know, great job. That’s interesting. You know, they’re really. Yeah. Putting skin in the game here.

Tarji Carter: Yeah, absolutely. They’re walking away with resources. They’re networking. They’re filling out applications. They’re talking to lenders to see if they can get the financing for the development of the project. Um, it’s it’s, you know, hungry is is definitely the right word. Um, unfortunately, you know, within most franchise systems, there’s a there’s a hierarchy, right? Well, not within most, but there’s a hierarchy. And I think the, um, the approval process needs some work. Um, you know, there’s a bunch of folks that sit in this room and they, they judge whether or not this person fits the culture. Right. Sometimes it’s not even a matter of meeting the criteria because they could meet the criteria. Had this one gentleman, I was working for this company and I brought in this candidate, and he was of Middle Eastern descent, and he owned a different brand, multi-unit operator, had gotten all sorts of accolades and was just awarded like some Presidential Award for the year. And and when I asked why this person, um, didn’t think that they would be a good fit for the brand, the response was, I don’t know, I just can’t put my finger on it.

Tarji Carter: And I thought, man, like, so when you think about, you know, people bringing their whole selves to work, it becomes part of like, um, the unconscious biases slip in, right? And I think brands have to take a stand, like, where do we stand with this? Do we want to bring in qualified candidates that meet our criteria, or do we only want to bring in candidates that talk a certain way, look a certain way, have a certain type of name? Um, you know, and they need to stand by that or it’s, you know, what, we want to bring in the best candidates that meet our criteria. Full stop. How do we get to a. Yes, I think that’s the way we have to start looking at the application and approval process. And I think oftentimes those in the C-suite may or may not know what’s happening at that approval level. Right. I don’t know how, you know, there may be different levels of involvement, but I think that type of, you know, whatever the tolerance is, whatever the appetite is for, inclusion has to start at the top. That’s where culture begins.

Lee Kantor: Well, because I’ll tell you that the candidates are going onto your website and they’re looking at who your team is, and they can see right there with their eyes what you believe. You know, your actions are speaking louder than your words a lot of times.

Tarji Carter: Absolutely. You can look at the LinkedIn, right? You looked at the LinkedIn. If you follow an account, you’ll see who’s being hired and who’s being promoted and who’s being glorified. Right. It tells a story.

Lee Kantor: Now let’s dig into the franchise game. Can you tell us a little bit about that? And you know what? What people can expect.

Tarji Carter: So we just are on the heels of the franchise game. It’s our annual conference that takes place at Yum’s corporate campus in Plano, Texas this year. It was on Friday, August the 16th, and we had a VIP reception on the night before August the 15th. Um, and we had a great, a great event. Um, we had about 15 vendors, probably about 200 to 225 attendees. And we had franchisees in the room who owned, you know, maybe owner operators. And then we had some that owned over 100 units. Um, and then we also had, um, our keynote speaker was a gentleman named Roland Parrish, who owns a number of of McDonald’s franchises in the Dallas market. And he came on and and really left us with some powerful information about not just franchise ownership, but life in general and how to operate with dignity and integrity. And so our audience was really blessed by his keynote speech or his his fireside chat, I should say. Um, and it was a great, a great opportunity for, um, for, for the audience to see how someone who had been rejected by a brand on multiple occasions persevered and then became one of the top franchisees within their system. So that was great. And then we had the trade show, um, lunch was sponsored by Pizza Hut. Um, we even had the global CEO of Pizza Hut come and speak to the crowd. Um, Aaron Powell and James Frick, who’s over, um, chief equity, inclusion and belonging officer at yum. He spoke to the crowd and then Sarah Awadallah, who is also part of the the Yum! Brands team, spoke to the audience and we gave them. They gave away a couple of spots or excuse me, scholarships to their program at the University of Louisville. So it was a great event. Um, this year we said it was going to be bigger, better and bolder in 2025. I know is going to, um, to be, um, even better by leaps and bounds than it was this year.

Lee Kantor: So you have the franchise game as an annual event, but you also have scrimmages. Can you talk about those?

Tarji Carter: Yes. So the scrimmage, um, is our half day version of the franchise game that we take around the country. Um, we had one in March at the University of North Texas. We had one in Houston at uh, in conjunction with the Texas Black Expo, where the keynote speaker was, um, uh, gosh, I don’t even know if I should say it, but Shannon Sharpe and then this, uh, in in October, next month, we’re going to have a scrimmage at Morehouse College. So it’s going to be on Wednesday, October 2nd between 5 and 9 p.m. and it’s open to the, um, to all students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and the local business community. So if anyone at Kennesaw State has an interest in learning about, um, franchising, the benefits of franchise ownership in in meeting folks who are in in that capacity today, um, it’s going to be amazing. We have, uh, multi-unit franchisees that are operating in traditional and nontraditional spaces like, uh, streetside locations, but also airports and university campuses. There will be a panel that discusses a day in the life of a franchisee. Um, our second panel is actually going to be a second session. Excuse me. Is going to be a fireside chat with Irfan Lalani. Irfan and his brother Faisal are the owners of Vibe restaurants and they own 76 Little Caesars, 50 Wingstop and five Whataburgers across 13 states.

Tarji Carter: Um, and he will have a discussion with Eric Harrison, who is a multi-unit owner of Jersey Mike’s. And so, um, that’s going to be a great session you don’t want to miss. He’s going to talk about how to get into business with your family and build an empire through franchising. Um, I will be on stage with franchise attorney Tanya Nebo of the Nebo Law Firm. Um, and we have a surprise new franchisor that’s going to join the stage with us. We just have to get confirmation on that. Um, to talk about how to convert your concept into a franchise. So that’s going to be really exciting. And then last but certainly not least, we’ll hear from Professor James Young with Morehouse College, who is going to be speaking about the economics around franchising and how to go about it the right way so that you can be successful and profitable. So that’s going to be the program from 5 to 9 p.m. on October 2nd. And we’re really, really excited about this. It’s going to be huge for the city of Atlanta. Um, and it’s just going to be a great opportunity for folks to learn about franchising in a way that they probably haven’t before.

Lee Kantor: And if somebody wants to learn more about the event, uh, where should they go?

Tarji Carter: They can visit our website, which is the franchise player.com. On the front page, you’ll see the graphic for the, uh, the scrimmage at Morehouse. Just click on that and it will bring you to more information and the opportunity to purchase tickets and exhibit booths.

Lee Kantor: Now, um, what do you need more of? How can we help?

Tarji Carter: You Would love to get more students involved, um, teaching them how they can take their, uh, their experience. Maybe they’ve worked in fast food and haven’t even considered that they could potentially be a franchise owner one day. Um, would love to get them involved so they can understand they can take those transferable skills and maximize them should they decide to own a business. Um, so anything you can do to help us get the word out to the students and even the faculty, staff and alumni, um, would be extremely beneficial to this program.

Lee Kantor: Well, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Tarji Carter: Thank you. Lee, thank you for having me. This has been great.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.