The thing that I love...

I worked in the corporate world of I.T management for ten years. My job involved a lot of travel and my hours were not flexible. I missed my children’s plays, I missed a lot of sports days and I knew something had to change because it was not the life I wanted to lead for my family. I still had my ambition and drive but I needed more of a work-life balance so I started to look into Franchising. The food industry was completely new to me but McDonald’s provided the support and training I needed. Now, I can realise my ambitions and organise my time to be there for my family.

I’m really proud of the food we serve, the sourcing and the supplier relationships we have. People are surprised to hear that all of our coffee is made from Arabica beans grown on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms and we only use organic milk in our teas and coffees. The long-term relationships McDonald’s has built with their suppliers and the commitment they have made to nurturing young farmers is a great indicator of how they treat their Franchisees and indeed all of their people.

This is a people business. I’m all about empowering my people. It’s so rewarding to help them develop life-skills, realise their ambitions and move up in the business. I love seeing their confidence soar. I learn from my team every day and in my first year here we’ve promoted 11 people and recruited 35. I’m a people person and I’m always looking at trying to understand people and what motivates them and actually, that’s what McDonald’s are looking for. I believe you can learn the operational side of the business and every day I’m still learning however you need to understand people: your team, your customers and the community.

Now the owner of two restaurants, hear from Michael about his journey to becoming a Franchisee.

Meet Sarah and discover why she chose McDonald’s.

Meet David and find out how becoming a Franchisee allowed him to work nearer to home.