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Entrepreneurial Leadership

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Entrepreneurial Leadership
“Five Guys Burgers and Fries: Ingredients for Success”

July 22, 2012

Abstract
Five Guys was founded in 1986 by Jerry and Janie Murrell and their sons, all five of whom are part of the business. The first location, which no longer exists, was in the Westmont Shopping Center, and by 2002, the family ran six locations in Northern Virginia. The restaurant gained popularity among locals and visitors alike, and its franchises grew rapidly over the years. In August 2010, they had more than 670 locations across America and Canada. When his sons decided they weren’t going to college, Jerry and Janie took the money they had saved for their college and opened a Five Burgers and Fries. Currently, Five Guys gave expanded to over 1,000 locations in 47 states and 6 Canadian provinces. This paper will focus on three main reasons how Five Guys has become one of the fastest growing burger chains in the country. The three main reasons are quality, value and the salesmen.

“Start a business or go to College.” (Five Guys Burger and Fries, 2012) While many of us would believe this is a crazy offer for a father to present his sons who recently graduated college, I think it is safe to say none of us, even Jerry and Janie Murrell, would have thought the business would sky rocket as much as it has. The first Five Guys location was opened in Arlington, VA in 1986 and five additional stores were opened throughout the Washington, DC area by 2001. By 2003, only 7 years after opening, Five Guys sold out of franchise territory in only 18 months. Currently, Five Guys have expanded to over 1,000 locations in 47 states and 6 Canadian provinces. This paper will focus on three main reasons how Five Guys has become one of the fastest growing burger chains in the country. The three main reasons are Quality, Value, and the “salesmen”.
“If you’re in a hurry, there are a lot of really good hamburger places within a short distance from here.” (Welch, 2012) An owner must have great confidence in his product if he is willing to tell other places they aren’t the fastest company out there and for Five Guys that is perfectly fine. Five Guys takes pride in not being the fastest burger joint out there because they take pride in their 80% lean, fresh never frozen meat, plants that are so clean you could eat them off the floor, and last but not least toasted buns on the grill, not unevenly heated in a bun toaster. It seems like a simple concept; serve the best product every time to every customer yet many companies start out that way, only to change to cheaper quicker tactics. One distant competitor of Five Guys is the Burger restaurant, Red Robin. Red Robin offers a larger menu than Five Guys and their claim to fame is endless basket of fries. Five Guys takes pride in their potatoes, putting on the wall each day the location of where the potatoes served that day came from. Now their policy for a serving of fries is, fill up the cartoon, dump it in the bag, and fill up the cartoon again. While burgers are the focus, the fries are no slouch either. Most of their potatoes come Gardner 2 from Idaho – about 8 percent of the Idaho baking potato crop. They try to get their potatoes grown north of the 42nd parallel, which is a pain in the neck. Potatoes are like oak trees – the slower they grow, the more solid they are. (Welch, 2012) Five Guys doesn’t treat quality like a short term gimmick, quality is their religion.
For all teenagers, the worst job in their minds would be working at a McDonald’s or other fast food chain. Five Guys teaches their employees to take a sense of ownership and accountability in their role on the team. “Boys hate to smile. It’s not macho. It’s definitely not macho to clean a bathroom”. (Welch, 2012) To help motivate all Five Guy employees, secret shoppers are hired to audit all duties performed by everyone on the team. If the bathrooms are dirty, the team loses pay, if the floor in the dining area is not clean; the whole team loses out on pay. This helps promote team unity and ensures every role, every “chore” is equally important and tied to financial gain or loss for the team. Not only is the money going to the workers, it is mostly certainly going to the customers. Free unlimited peanuts when you walk in, free unlimited toppings on your burger; from lettuce to grilled mushrooms to jalapeno peppers, at no extra charge. (Gilbert, 2012) Five Guys takes pride in putting money back where it matters, in their food. They do not have fancy restaurants, just plain red and white checked walls and framed newspaper articles. This is why in 2009; they were named the fastest growing chain restaurant. (Miller, 2012) Customers go home raving about the food and service, that is the best form of advertisement, word of mouth. Many times companies not only spend a lot of money on advertising, they waste money on advertising. In 1989, a Georgia man by the name of Kenneth Lamar Noid entered an Atlanta area Dominos with a .357 Magnum and took two employees hostage because he thought the Gardner 3 Dominos animated character “Avoid the Noid” was talking about him. (Bukszpan, 2012) Five Guys works hard to ensure their advertising is the best type money can’t buy; Customer satisfaction. Five Guys focuses on putting their money back into their food, back into the customer’s stomachs and wallets. They do this not only to help increase sales, but to ensure every customer gets everything they expected and more. There are many different burger restaurants today, but in order to be successful you must have something that separates you from the others.

Works Cited
Bukszpan, D. (2012, July 20). 15 Major Fast Food Failures. Retrieved from CNBC.Com: http://www.cnbc.com/id/39722773/15_Major_Fast_Food_Failures?slide=3
Five Guys Burger and Fries. (2012, July 16). About Us. Retrieved from Five Guys Burger and Fries: http://www.fiveguys.com/about-us.aspx
Gilbert, S. (2012, July 18). What Makes Five Guys the New Burger Masters. Retrieved from AOL: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/08/18/five-guys-new-burger-masters
Miller, A. (2012, July 18). Five Guys named fastest growing chain resturant. Retrieved from Examiner.com: http://www.examiner.com/article/five-guys-named-fastest-growing-chain-resturant
Welch, L. (2012, July 16). How I Did It: Jerry Murrell, Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Retrieved from Inc.: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20100401/jerry-murrell-five-guys-burgers-and-fries.html

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