Entrepreneur moms Judie
Byrd, 59, and her daughter, Teresa Shurtz, 38, mom of two, ages 12 and
10; respectively, founder and vice president of operations for Super
Suppers, Fort Worth, TX. Growth: 265 franchises in 40 states. Gross annual sales in 2006: $42 million.

Our story:
Since 1986, we'd helped many a mom choreograph everything from a
sumptuous Sunday brunch to a posh dinner party out of our family-run
cooking school in Fort Worth. Fancy was fine, said many of our
students, but what they really wanted was a lineup of last-minute
dinner ideas. So one night, we held a class called "20 Minutes from
Grocery Bag to Dinner Table." Afterward we heard, "This is great, but
it would be even better if we didn't have to shop or prep anything." It
occurred to us that moms wanted to whip up dinners that would impress
even the harshest critic (their 8-year-old) but didn't have the time or
desire to dice the onions.

We listened—and created a new course
in which we took care of the shopping, chopping and mopping. Everyone
went home with a chef-designed entree that was ready to pop in the
oven. When it became our most popular class, we realized there was an
appetite for prepared take-home meals, and in 2003, Super Suppers was
born. When we heard clients were driving almost two hours to assemble
meals in our kitchen, we decided to franchise. By selling the rights to
other entrepreneur moms, we could expand our business and help other
women start their own. We tested the waters with a second store in
Grapevine, TX, and that assembly-line operation became as popular as
the first. A fast-growing business is a good thing, but in the world of
franchising, too much too soon can lead to trouble. So we spent lots of
time researching before we launched our operation. We hired a sales
team, a franchise attorney and a marketing firm. When we felt ready, we
sold 100 franchises. That first year we grew so quickly that we didn't
always foresee bumps in the road. For example, each city had different
building codes that we had to consider. We also learned that
our idea wasn't completely original. So we found ways to make ourselves
unique. We hired a recipe team to differentiate our menus from the
competition and vowed to provide the most solid ongoing training and
support to our franchisees. Plus, we emphasize our mission: to take the
guilt out of mealtimes for thousands of working moms.Even
though we are now franchised in 40 states, we've kept the soul of our
business right where it started—around our dinner table. Every Sunday
night we get together to test new recipes, and the dishes that win rave
reviews from our kids often make their way onto dinner tables across
the country.Lessons Learned

Ask a proLooking
to supersize your franchise? Here's some advice on expansion speed from
a duo of experts: Dina Dwyer-Owens, CEO of The Dwyer Group and second
vice-chair of the International Franchise Association; and Ed Teixeira,
author of Franchising from the Inside Out.

CONSIDER HIRING A FRANCHISE CONSULTANT
Expanding a franchise is neither a simple nor an inexpensive process,
and this is one area where it pays to hire professional support.
Training people properly—including teaching basic knowledge about how
to run a business, handle accounting chores and hire and manage the
right people—can be critical to the success of the operation. There are
many professional consultants who can offer help with training.MONITOR YOUR GROWTH
There is no rule of thumb for the growth of a franchise, since there
are so many different types of them. The important thing to keep in
mind is that the franchisor must provide lots of support to its
franchisees to help them get up and running and into profitability. If
the company overextends itself and can't provide the necessary support,
the entire brand will suffer. Think about an army whose soldiers in the
field are advancing rapidly. If they get too far ahead of the
ammunition and food supplies, the system becomes endangered.STAY CLOSE TO HOME
Although it's tempting for a new franchisor to sell a franchise
regardless of location, it may be difficult to support distant
franchisees. Uncontrolled growth can dilute brand recognition. Better
to concentrate growth in a specific geographic area versus taking a
helter-skelter approach. Panera Bread, a very successful franchise,
requires a minimum of three locations in a market in order to more
effectively promote its brand and ensure a solid franchise base. TEST HOT SPOTS BEFORE YOU ROLL OUT NATIONALLY Try out your business
in multiple locations that look promising. Create a prototype business
that serves as a test bed for the overall operation. Once that
prototype is completed, you can open others in various locations, but
be sure to conduct some careful market research before going to the expense and trouble of doing so. OFFER ONGOING SUPPORT
This is critical to any franchise system, especially in today's global
marketplace where consumer tastes and trends change overnight. Not only
must you monitor those changes, but you must also keep an eye on your
competition to be sure they don't offer something that can be a serious
challenge to your brand.