His Dad's Number Was Always 20. He Didn't Live to See It

Taylor Johns has had exactly one job his entire life. He was making pizza at seven years old in stores his grandfather opened in 1983, a grandfather he never got to meet. The company is named Karolina Enterprises, spelled with a K, after his sister Kara.His father ran it for decades. There were years it worked and years it did not, including one where he mortgaged the house to make payroll. His number was always 20 stores. He died in 2016, before he got there.In this episode of The Exit Plan, Alex sits down with Taylor to talk about what it actually costs to inherit something. He was 24 when his father passed, holding barely any equity, and within months the company lost two supervisors who had been there 30 years. What followed was three years of putting out fires, then COVID, then 80 hour weeks and record sales with fewer people than they had ever run on.They also get into the part most operators get wrong. Taylor sat at 16 stores for 15 years and refused to force growth, hiring two and three years ahead of where the business actually was. He explains why he tracks headcount instead of food cost or labor, what changed when he started calling neighboring franchisees instead of figuring it out alone, and why he has walked away from every other concept he has looked at.Plus the day he stood at a window in Detroit at 10 years old while Mike Ilitch pointed out where Comerica Park was going to go, and the answer he had to stop and think about when Alex asked him the hardest part of working with family.Want to know what franchises actually fit your capital and goals? Get your free Franchise Fit Score and see what your capital actually buys in franchising: https://franzy.com/questions/user-onboarding?next=%2Fuser%2FjourneyCHAPTERS:00:00 Intro 00:34 When he knew the business would be his 02:15 His dad the drummer 03:46 Meeting Mike Ilitch at 10 years old 07:11 Did he skip the hard part? 08:24 The year his dad mortgaged the house to make payroll 12:22 Why the company is spelled with a K 13:13 The grandfather who designed the Trans Am 14:25 Going into business with family 16:23 Why they sat at 16 stores 17:38 Losing his dad in 2016 22:15 Hiring three years ahead of the business 23:46 The neighbors who became mentors 25:46 What automation actually solved 28:34 The calls he makes and the calls he gets 31:19 Belton, and Jennifer's store 33:26 Will the fourth generation want it? 35:45 Why he keeps turning down other brands 37:30 His dad's number was 20 39:47 The one number he watches 40:13 The hardest part of working with family 40:50 Starting over with $50,000 41:25 What he wants his kids to say