Assignment 1 Entrepreneurial Leadership Essay

Submitted By pstanton1088
Words: 1105
Pages: 5

Entrepreneurial Leadership
Contemporary Business
October 27, 2013

Five Guys is a large fast-food chain restaurant that stands out among the rest. They have different philosophies that set them apart from other fast-food companies. Many of the values that Five Guys started with have made them succeeded and are still a huge factor in their success today. After being around for seventeen years, Five Guys decided to start franchising the company, which lead to a large success in such a short amount of time. We will also discuss the ethical and social practices that Five Guys have that are a part of their company. Five Guys have a few different philosophies that set them apart from other fast-food chains. The first is that they are not a “fast-serving restaurant,” they take pride in their burgers with having a quality burger, and it being fresh made to order. In the past years they had signs in their restaurants that stated “If you’re in a hurry, there are a lot of really good hamburger places within a short distance from here (Welch).” A second philosophy that they believe in is “their best salesman is their customer (Welch)”. They feel by just treating their customers with respect that that is all the advertising that they need. The original values of Five Guys were “Sell a really good, juicy burger on a fresh bun. Make perfect French fries. Don’t cut corners (Welch).” They use 80 percent lean mean, that is always fresh, they never freeze their burgers. They use a certain process for their fries where they get them from Northern Idaho because it is a better quality potato that is “grown solid and tasty” instead of potatoes in other regions that are cheaper and grow at a quicker pace (Welch). The process that they use for their fries that sets them aside from other restaurants is that most fast-food chains serve “dehydrated frozen fries because if there’s water in the potato, it splashes when it hits the oil (Welch).” At Five Guys, “They soak the fries in water so when the fries are pre fried; the water boils, forcing steam out of the fry. This forms a seal so that when they get fried a second time, the fries don’t absorb any oil, and so are never greasy (Welch).” These fires are cut every morning fresh. They also focus on all of their franchises to be so clean that you can eat off the floor. These values are still strong today and help with their success in the fast-food business. For seventeen years Five Guys was a family owned and operated company, until 2003 when Jerry and Jane Murrell and their sons decided to offer the company as a franchise (Five Guys). There are now one-thousand and thirty nine stores open between the United States and Canada and about fifteen thousand more ready to build (Burke). One of the main reasons that they are so successful is because of the quality of their burger. Around the United States and Canada, you will get the made to order to what the customer wants, buns always toasted on a grill, eighty percent lean beef that is never frozen (Welch). You will always get the same amount of condiments no matter what the issue is, for example in the article on “Inc.Com” the price of a case of tomatoes went up because a hurricane wiped out the crops in Florida, and the franchisee did not want to buy at the price of the tomatoes, so instead of not using any tomatoes they stuck to the two slices because that’s how it should always be no matter what (Welch). Another way that made Five Guys so successfully in such a short amount of time is making the company into a franchise. When they first started they only accepted people that had the amount of money upfront to invest because they knew banks would not help (Welch). This also allowed the franchisee and the corporation to make a profit right away instead of having to pay a loan back. The third reason that they were able to succeed is because they kept the business simple. They only decorate the decor