In this episode, Erik and Brian are with Landon Eckles, who is the co-founder of Clean Juice®, a company that has grown to 85 locations open with a goal of reaching 100 locations by February 2020.
Clean Juice® started in 2014 as the brainchild of Kat & Landon Eckles. Kat had spent the better part of a decade making smoothies and juices at home and shot off the idea of opening a juice bar in the Charlotte area. Landon and Kat quickly jumped into the idea with 100% motivation and heart.
In this week’s episode, you’ll hear Landon’s process of franchising from a mom-and-pop concept, to picking up regional growth, and beyond. Whether you are a young entrepreneur looking to start your concept or a veteran of the business, you’re sure to get some great value from this interview.
What we talk about:
- How Landon went from commercial real estate to the organic juice industry
- Developing the concept then ventured into franchising
- Going through the process of developing a product up to setting up the franchise
- The foundation of your brand – get an attorney that specializes in franchising
- The mindset of being the franchisor
- Explaining in details to the franchisees at the beginning
- Advice on managing different expectations on different franchise levels
- One of the biggest misconceptions in franchising
- The willingness to get in and get your hands dirty
- How the management team looks like now
- Finding good people to join the team
- What the store looks and feels like
- The challenges faced with the products starting from one location up to 85 locations
- Some of the biggest learnings in starting in the food industry
- Certain concerns and things the CEO/franchisor focuses on
- Focusing on the guest experience
- “Marketing drives opportunity, operations drive sales” – Landon Eckles
- Being intentional on Kindness – next level guest experience
- Clean Juice’s goals
- People that helped Landon grow
What we mention: