Running your own Mad Mex franchise is an awesome opportunity to build a thriving business for yourself in a supported environment, that fits your lifestyle and enables you to chase your big goals. Our philosophy is all about empowering our people to live their best lives! We love talking about the ‘big vision’, but we know the everyday details are important too. So, what does a typical day look like in the life of a Mad Mex franchisee? We asked our amigo James to share with us a snapshot of his daily schedule, so you can really get a feel for the whole enchilada!
A Typical Day for Franchisee James
6am – Hola! Up with the sun most days and I’m off to do my morning cycle or hit the gym before the kids wake up. I love this ritual and it’s the perfect opportunity to get in a good headspace for the day ahead. Before I start my working day, I do breakfast with the family at home and help to get everyone organised, in the car and off to their various activities (ideally fed and dressed!).
8:30am – Arrive at work. Other staff don’t usually arrive for another hour or so, so this gives me time to go over some emails (with coffee in hand!), take a look at how yesterday’s shift finished up and plan the day ahead.
9am – Luchadores are here (we call Mad Mex team members Luchadores!). Our first produce delivery is usually at 9am, so the team gets stuck straight into putting that away and getting a start on equipment setup and food prep. Everything is made fresh, so we’ve got work to do.
1020am – Time for the briefing with the Luchadores. Building healthy relationships within my team is so important and I like to keep the focus of these meetings on celebrating our wins from previous shifts together. I then assign their positions for the shift and we chat through any updates, upsell targets, cleaning or maintenance issues and new promotions.
1030am – Doors open and we are ready to serve our customers. Make ever customer count!
1030am – 2pm – My role in this busy period of the day is to be ready for anything – I help with all aspects of the business from taking orders and speaking with customers and prepping meals, to checking stock levels and facilitating lunch breaks for the team. I like to keep myself free and available to deal with the unexpected and to be there for anything my staff need. Being intentional about having that personal contact with our customers means that I can hear their feedback directly.
2pm – Debrief with the Luchadores about today’s service before the staff changeover for the evening shift and go over our afternoon prep list.
2:30pm – Admin time. This could be rosters, weekly stocktake, planning for the next day or speaking with head office. Oh, and a quick burrito for my lunch! Perks of the job, right?
3pm – Shift changeover with the evening manager. We review the day so far and talk through our targets and any stock or staffing issues.
3:30pm – Home time! When I first opened the restaurant, I would stay for the evening shift, mainly because I was just so excited about my new business. Now that I have a family, I am pretty disciplined with getting out the door to spend time with the kids. I trust my team and know they do a great job even while I can’t be present.
Of course, on busy days I sometimes return later in the evening as needed, but it is great to have this flexibility. I never had that in corporate work!
You quickly learn what your strengths are and how to spend your time in the most efficient way as a franchisee. For instance, some owners love to make the guacamole themselves, others are happy to let someone else smash 20kg of avocados and just taste test the final product, it’s really up to you!
