451: What It Takes to Launch a Chick-fil-A Franchise w/ Kareem Edwards

This week in the guest chair we have Kareem Edwards, one of the very first men to grace the Side Hustle Pro guest chair! Hailing from Far Rockaway, Queens, Kareem got his start in major corporate roles at Lehman Brothers, Kraft Heinz, and Google—all while dreaming of owning a business. Kareem decided to pursue franchising and balanced a 9-to-5 at Google while working nights at a Chick-fil-A to master the day-to-day operations. In this episode she shares:The importance of community impact, creating an empowering work culture, and leading with empathyKey lessons on staffing, building trust, and innovating with different revenue channelsThe art of balancing grit and grace when trying to grow your business Highlights include:  00:00 Intro 03:00 Early career in finance 09:00 Discovering Chik-Fil-a franchising  17:00 Choosing the right location 25:00 Opening during a pandemic 34:00 Staffing strategies 43:00 Leaving a steady paycheck 46:00 Expanding sales methods 52:00 Tips for entrepreneurs Check out episode 451 of Side Hustle Pro podcast out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube This episode is brought to you by:  Skillshare: Take Nicaila’s class and explore thousands more hands-on classes taught by creative experts from around the world. Get one month free at sidehustlepro.co/skillshare. Links mentioned in this episodeKareem’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kareemjedwards/ Kareem’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kareemedwards Posse Foundation: https://www.possefoundation.org/ Chick-fil-a Franchising: https://www.chick-fil-a.com/franchising Chat GPT: https://chat.openai.com/ Uncle Nearest: https://unclenearest.com/  Click here to subscribe via RSS feed (non-iTunes feed): http://sidehustlepro.libsyn.com/rss Announcements Join our Facebook Community If you’re looking for a community of supportive side hustlers who are all working to take our businesses to the next level, join us here: http://sidehustlepro.co/facebook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.