FRANCHISEE PROFILE
Trading Finance for Franchising:
George Ross moved from Times Square to the Carolinas and never looked back By Cathy Cassata
F
or 16 years, George Ross worked in Times Square for Morgan Stanley as an Institutional Equity Trader. Day in and day out he traded technology stocks worldwide to institutions and hedge funds. "I was tied to 6 screens from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day," Ross says. But it was his job, and he anticipated sticking it out for the long haul. That was until late 2006, when his old college classmate Dan Connelly, chairman of the DDIFO board of directors, told him about some opportunities within Dunkin'. "One thing led to another and in December 2007, we ended up acquiring four stores in Charleston, South Carolina," Ross says. "I left Morgan Stanley and became the CEO [of Coastal Franchising] and the person running the business from the day we started." He signed a 24 store development agreement with Dunkin’ Brands, opening five new shops in 2008. "The plan was always that we wanted to build a larger franchise network. We got in with the thought of having a lot of stores. However, as the recession hit and things slowed down we made adjustments, and waited to make sure that our investments would pay off," Ross says. "We definitely picked a very challenging time to launch a new business as the 2008-09 recession hit the Carolinas very hard. We had challenges on the sales side because of the economy and on the credit
side because of bank lending, as well as just being new to the brand.” Ross knew a lot about business, but little about restaurant franchising, which caused some worries and concerns. "You hope you get it right. Becoming a new franchisee at Dunkin’ is a monumental challenge. We all know how complex it is for our crew and managers, and it's even more complex for franchisees," he says. "But all we can do is work hard every day trying to improve our business and our skill sets. Integrity and hard work are keys to the success of any business."
22 INDEPENDENT JOE • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017
Ross rode out the recession and in 2010 jumpstarted his development. Today, he has stores in five markets: Charleston and Florence, South Carolina and Charlotte, Wilmington, and Raleigh, North Carolina, where Ross recently signed on to develop seven new stores in the Research Triangle region. "We're acquiring four before the end of the year and we have six stores under construction, so certainly by end of Q1, we'll have about 50 stores." Ross says the first restaurant under this agreement is on target to open in 2018.