WHAT'S COOKIN'?
PERSEVERANCE
The Secret to the American Dream by Kapil Manocha, Consultant, The Franchise Consulting Company
O
nce in a while you come across a story that is so awe-inspiring that it needs to be told. One such story that I recently ran into during one of my seminars, was that of Anand (Andy) Kumar. Anand’s journey went from working in a convenient store for $5.75 an hour to owning 15 McDonald’s® locations! Dreams like these only come true in America. In 1999 Anand was pursuing a career in law in India and
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decided to visit the US. He loved his time in this country so much that he decided to stay back and continued renewing his visa every six months. He was young and single and there was nothing holding him back in India. Anand started working odd jobs at gas stations and convenient stores. He always longed to own a business but could not do so without a permanent resident Green Card. He remembers calling his parents from a pay phone
at the gas station where he worked and telling them – “I am not coming back home until I am successful”. His employer helped him file his green card application. In Oct 2004 he received his green card, and for the first time in 5 years, went back to visit family for 3 weeks. But Anand was ambitious. He bought his first convenient store in Dec 2004, using $27,000 of savings and some borrowed capital. He worked long and hard hours. 11am – 11pm. In 2009 he bought 2 more convenient stores. By 2013 his portfolio consisted of 3 convenient stores and a gas station. He bought struggling businesses and turned them around. Sales in his stores grew from $400,000 to $1.6 million. He came to be known as the “turnaround king”. Growing businesses bolstered Anand’s ambitions