#workhardwednesday Meet my friend Carrie Johnson Salone pictured in the garnet & gold dress! Carrie is an entrepreneur who has been successful in multiple business ventures. But it definitely didn’t come easily. Circa 2002, Carrie had been unsuccessful in several attempts to purchase a McDonald’s franchise. She simply didn’t have experience in the operational side of running a fast-food restaurant. So, what did she do? Carrie literally rolled up her sleeves and got to work.
In addition to raising her 2 small children and a full-time career as an executive at the CDC (which included lots of traveling), Carrie worked for 2 years at a McDonald’s for FREE!!!.
She worked nights & weekends, 30-40 hrs weekly, spending time on all shifts, including the 24hrs late night shift, to get a taste of the business (pun intended). Sometimes she would leave McDonalds and go straight to the CDC. She did this for TWO years until she had worked and understood every position, including maintenance, washing the roof, cleaning the AC compressor… all to understand how operations impacted the bottom line. Carrie asked the owner (who had been an owner for 30 years) for no $$$, but all of his knowledge.
He never took her to his office to see his financial books until after the 2 years. As she likes to say, “he wanted me to get the ‘ketchup’ in my blood first!” He became her mentor, advocate & coach when she eventually got her own McDonald’s restaurant in Buckhead, Atlanta. Question: Are YOU dedicated enough to apprentice for free for 2 years to realize your entrepreneurial dreams?!? Are you focused enough to push all excuses aside and get to work? Think about that as you get over the mid-week hump! Work hard, work smart, it’s Wednesday!