The dynamic duo of franchising

Black Enterprise, Sept, 1995 by Valencia Roner

Boston Chicken officials point out that the company has never tried to say its food is healthier. Rather, their emphasis has always been on providing variety. "With entrees ranging from meatloaf to turkey to ham, and sides ranging from vegetables to stuffing to fruit salad, you can choose to be naughty or nice," says Coin. This quest for variety has led the company to change the name of all its franchises to Boston Market. However, the company will still be known as Boston Chicken.

Boston Chicken has opened 37 stores in California since Taylor took over in October 1994. With the help of a five-person team, he expects to build 40 new stores by the end of 1995, 40 additional stores in 1996 and another 50 in 1997. "Ron's creativity in his deal-making and his relentless motivation set him apart from the rest," says Taylor's immediate supervisor, Mike Debrota, vice president of real estate for Boston West.

Taylor admits that his wife Ardena and son always have him preparing for tomorrow, but he won't reveal any big plans. "I enjoy my job and foresee a promising future with Boston Chicken," he says. But with youth on his side and many untold deals on the horizon, you can be sure that Ron Taylor won't put all his eggs in just one basket.

GOING FOR A DENNY'S GRAND SLAM

THERE AREN'T MANY THINGS that will get most folks out of bed before dawn, but Ardena Taylor has plenty. Caring for her six-month-old son is her first priority, even if it is 4:00 a.m. Her sleeping husband, Ron, gets a peck on the cheek that he probably won't remember, and then she's off to do grunt work at a local Denny's restaurant.

On the surface, it might appear that for Taylor, working at Denny's would be a major letdown, hardly something she would jump out of bed to do. After all, the attractive Loyola Marymount University M.B.A. grad was Southern California district franchise manager for Burger King Corp. up until June. Why would she trade managing a district of 23 franchise groups, representing 63 restaurants, for waiting on customers, busing tables and mopping floors at a Denny's?

With her neon smile, Taylor explains that all this hard work is part of a training process. For her, it's the way to fulfill a lifelong dream--franchise ownership. Taylor is one of 14 minorities participating in Denny's Fast Track Ownership Program, which prepares candidates to be franchisees within one to three years. The success she achieved managing franchises at Burger King convinced Taylor that she could do for herself what she had done for them. Furthermore, Taylor, a devout Christian, believes it's important for African Americans to establish a tradition of business ownership for their children.

"It has always been my dream to leave behind a legacy--something my children can look forward to as their own," says Taylor. "By growing a multi-unit Denny's restaurant business, I will be able to do just that."

Growing a megafranchise business is a lofty goal for a 32-year-old, but Taylor's experience and successful track record show that she's up to the task. After receiving her undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Missouri, Taylor became a sales rep for Pfizer Laboratories in 1987. She quickly soared to the top, maintaining the highest sales quota in the Los Angeles region from 1989 to 1991.