Domino’s youngest franchisee, Tamara Elmore, began her career with the company at the age of 17 and just six years later, is owning and operating the Byron Bay store.
The now 23-year-old pizza prodigy, based in Bangalow, started working for Domino’s as a delivery driver. Today she employs a team of 16 locals from the area.
“I got my start as a delivery driver in Brisbane during high school and university while studying interior design and although I learnt a lot, I decided my passion was for pizza,” Tamara said.
In particular, she is a devotee of the Domino’s brand. Tamara lists the fast-paced environment, passionate team members and “amazing culture” as outstanding.
So, when the opportunity came up to take on the Byron Bay store, she jumped at the chance.
“My business partner, Anita, used to be my manager at Domino’s Victoria Point and it’s great for us to partner up to own and operate our own store together.”
The pair run the business jointly on a 50/50 basis.
Challenges
For Tamara, being Domino’s youngest franchisee in Australia has not been without its challenges though.
“The hardest part about being a franchisee was having this dream of owning a business and being worried that I wasn’t doing it right and that I wasn’t making the right choices,” Tamara admited. “I wasn’t at uni or studying. I left Domino’s at one point to learn about another business and when I came back, I thought maybe I’d lost my opportunity; maybe I’d backtracked too far.”
Tamara is a great believer on working on what you want, until you get it.
“I just kept working on it every day, striving to be the best that I could be. At the end of the day, it’s all experiences – the negative and the positive – and they shape us into the people we want to be, leading the lives we want to live, and working towards the goals we want to achieve.”
Support
Tamara has family and friends backing her ambition, as well as the support from other Domino’s team members.
“Many of them have grown up through the system and really understand how things work at a store level,” she explained. “They’re always there to give advice, go through reports, point out when you’re on the right path and also where you can improve.”
Tamara points out the level of knowledge that can be accessed across the franchise network. There’s a willingness for others to share their experiences, data and insights to help everyone succeed, she said.
“Many of them started when they were even younger than I was and have worked their way through the system to become extremely successful multi-unit franchisees. It’s inspiring to see how they’ve grown as people, employees and business owners and to learn from their successes,” said Tamara.
Future plans for Domino’s youngest franchisee
Already successful in her current business as Domino’s youngest franchisee, Tamara has big plans for herself, and for her career.
“My goal is to keep learning new things and growing as a person, so that I can continue to grow my business and hopefully become a multi-unit franchisee in the not too distant future.”
Tamara looks at how others of her generation can be overly cautious and reluctant to take risks.
“We’re so scared of making mistakes that we miss out on taking hold of opportunities, which includes an element of risk-taking and throwing ourselves into different experiences.
“If you want to own a business, talk to people that own businesses, read about business, immerse yourself in the environment that’s going to help you achieve what you want and surround yourself with people who want to see you get there.”
Her advice for a fellow millennial with business-ownership ambitions?
“When that right opportunity comes around, take hold of it and run with it! Take all the knowledge and experiences you have gained, the people you have met along the way and go for it.”