Some entrepreneurs will stop at nothing to make their dream of growing a national franchise come true—even if it means leaving their families behind to drive a food truck around the country, alone, against all odds and facing nature's elements, to attract potential franchisees.
That's exactly what French Fry Heaven founder and CEO Scott Nelowet did, and says he would do again in a heartbeat.
After driving more than 5,000 miles on a 18-day food truck tour dubbed "Fries Across America", Nelowet is back home in Florida … following up with new franchise leads he met on his journey. The tour, designed to showcase the "entrepreneurial spirit" that is essential to build a company from the ground up, resulted in hundreds of franchise leads for the budding company that specializes in 50+ flavors of gourmet French fries.
While there were a few bumps in the road, including a planned tour stop in Denver while the area was inundated with massive flooding, Nelowet describes the tour as an overwhelming success and a strong statement for entrepreneurship in America.
"I wanted to show people that the best way to make something happen is to get up and take action yourself," Nelowet says. "I proved to potential franchisees, that as a franchisor, I'm putting in the work to ensure the continued success of this brand and all of its franchisees. I inspired like-minded entrepreneurs to take a look at the business opportunity presented by French Fry Heaven. It was a complete success," says Nelowet, noting that he met with more than 250 franchise prospects in eight markets targeted for growth by the company.
Because of the overwhelmingly positive response to the first "Fries Across America" tour, Nelowet plans to take a second trip across the Midwest and East Coast in 2014.
"I already knew that to be successful you have to create opportunities for yourself, but this trip reminded me that people appreciate a hardworking business owner, delicious free fries, and the opportunity to be hands on with a product," Nelowet adds. "I enjoyed meeting with people face-to-face, sharing my passion with them. I can't wait to do this again next year."
French Fry Heaven requires low start-up costs with maximum flexibility in location and operations, and accepts both individual and multi-unit owners. Community service is an integral part of the French Fry Heaven culture, and Nelowet seeks franchisees who share that value. The benefits of French Fry Heaven's franchise model include flexibility in site selection, uniform design, sauce and flavor creation, local advertising, and collaboration with other businesses. Franchisees are also provided with an iPad-based POS system that allows them to monitor all aspects of their location from anywhere in the world.
