FRANCHISES
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Franchise Favorites (April.May 2007)
Ms. Rooter
By Taylor Mallory
After two years as president of the national franchiser Cookies by Design (CBD), Mary Kennedy Thompson, 43, put cookies on the back burner to become the first female president of Mr. Rooter Plumbing, the world's largest all-franchised plumbing company and a Dwyer Group subsidiary. Her venture into franchising started 13 years ago, when Thompson opened her CBD shop, earning many company awards and eventually a top position. Now the wife and mother of two oversees 317 Mr. Rooter franchises around the world. Thompson says her P & L at Mr. Rooter is five times larger than that of her previous post. And while she moved to Mr. Rooter for the opportunity and not the money, she tells PINK, her salary has doubled.
You really got your start in the Marine Corps?
At age 21, I learned to be a leader, and I've used it every day since. In the Marine Corps, they teach you to always eat last. Officers should only go first when leading by example. I was a logistics officer, which taught me about planning and organization and prepared me for my first business. I served in Camp Lejeune (N.C.) as platoon commander of a beach and port company, where I was the first woman in that position. At age 22, I had 52 people under me, some who had been in the Marines longer than I'd been alive. And I was the only woman.
Why did you start your first franchise?
Military people make great franchisees because franchising is about systems, which we understand. Cookies made sense to me; they're about mom and warmth. But I fell in love with franchising. It takes someone like me who doesn't know how to run a business and teaches her how. One out of every seven jobs in the U.S. private sector is created by a franchise. After I sold it, the corporate office recruited me to create the first field program. I visited 130 shops in the first year. And in 2004, the founder asked me to be president. I did everything from clean the bathroom to run the company.
Why did you leave to work for Mr. Rooter?
I met representatives from the Dwyer Group at an International Franchise Association convention. They liked that I'd been a franchisee and that I'd done a little of everything. And I liked their code of values: "Live RICH," which stands for respect, integrity, customer focus and have fun in the process. I was amazed they had this and lived by it.
Why a plumbing company?
People said, "You're going to run a plumbing company with no plumbing experience?" Well, when I went to work in the cookie business, I didn't have baking experience. Mr. Rooter sells the customer peace of mind – that what they're getting is fair and right. When I go to a mechanic, they know they can jack up the price because I don't understand. We have a price list so everyone gets charged the same. And the technician will sit down with you and tell you what they did and why. As a woman, that really resonates with me. Franchising is about relationships.
Any advice for women thinking about buying a franchise?
Find a product or business system you can be passionate about because there will be tough days when you'll need passion to stay focused. Call franchisees in the system and ask if they'd do it again. Surround yourself with diamonds and encourage your staff to tell you what you need to hear and not what you want to hear. If you've never had people work for you, take a leadership class. Know what's important to you and share it with everyone. Be able to evangelize your business. People will buy from you if they like you. Run the numbers. And then run them again. And then show them to someone else. Have a strong business plan.
Do you feel additional pressure to perform in this job because it's a male-dominated industry?
No, I grew up in the Marine Corps. You don't get any more of a boys' club than that. People recognize and respect someone who is honest, sincerely looking out for the group, willing to ask questions and willing to admit when she doesn't know something. This is really about business, not gender.
What are your goals at the new company?
My job is vision, communication and focus. I believe marketing is customer service, and customer service is like dancing. If you're a great dancer, it doesn't matter how great your partner is. You can make her look good. I want to make our customers say, "Man, I'm a good dancer." You build a company one customer experience at a time. In the big picture, my most important job is to think. It's about looking around corners, listening to customers, figuring out what they want and then conveying that to our franchisees. And making sure they are financially successful. They control their fate, but my job is to put every possible tool into their hands to do that. We often get plumbers who've been plumbers for years but are not going anywhere. We teach them how to be businesspeople.
How is your life balance different as an executive compared to your time as a franchise owner?
I work the same amount of hours. I used to joke and say I was the worst boss I ever had. I never gave myself time off and expected a lot from myself. When my kids were younger, I would work 60- to 70-hour weeks, but I could take off to go watch Sarah's play, then work on the books late that night. I loved that flexibility of owning my own business. I think that's why more and more women come to franchising. In a corporate structure, you can't do that.
What was your biggest career mistake?
Forgetting about my physical health to take care of everyone else. I'm a marathon runner. I stopped running because I had too much to do, and I gave that up. The longer I went without running, the less I was myself and the worse I did in my job. I thought by giving it up, I was doing good for everyone else. But then I stopped being what I was.
What's the craziest thing you did to get ahead?
I went to jump school. Many women weren't doing it, so I wanted to. In the military you wear it on your chest and people "ooh" and "ah." I'm terrified of heights. I get dizzy on a stool. But I wanted people to look at me and know I'd done that.
What have been your best resources?
The International Franchise Association, which lets me go to my peers and bounce ideas off them. And reading is how I've continued to educate myself after college. I don't have an MBA, so books like Good to Great (HarperCollins, 2001) and The Great Game of Business (Currency, 1994) helped me take my business self to the next level. It's not what you don't know that's the trouble. It's what you don't know that you don't know.
What's the secret to your success?
I really, genuinely like people. When I first started working on the franchiser section of CBD, I started traveling to see businesses. I'd call them and say, "I'm coming to look at your business and want to see your books," and there would be resistance. So I'd sit down and ask them their personal goals. Everything else flowed from that. I broke bread with a lot of people. When I took over as president, I was lucky to be afforded a very long honeymoon, and many of them called to say they trusted me because I listened to them. I took the time to get to know them.
The biggest difference between business and the military is that in business, you know whether you're successful when you look at your numbers. In the military, it's when you're leading and your people get it done right.
