Popular chocolate cafe San Churro was named Australian Established Franchisor of the Year in October, marking a new phase in the life of the Spanish-inspired dessert business.
Scooping up the MYOB FCA Excellence in Franchising Awards 2019 honour was a huge achievement. CEO Giro Maurici said at the time: “So much is made of coming up with the right idea but it’s about what you do with that idea and who you get on board.”
As he reveals in this podcast, Maurici didn’t start his working life in hospitality. He still has a love of statistics and numbers from his time as an actuary but his career took a new turn when he was in Europe doing an MBA that completely shifted his perspective.
“I thought I was doing the MBA because I wanted to climb that career ladder and go the next step because when I was looking at the people above me in the chain of command they all seemed to have lots of MBAs, so I thought maybe that’s a good idea.”
The business course would change his perspective.
“Up to that point I thought the world was run on spreadsheets and financial models, and that we were the leaders of the universe.”
But the diversity of his fellow MBA students showed him their was more to business than balance sheets.
“There are so many different disciplines and capabilities and perspectives that you need to bring together to run a successful business, and I think with that awareness….I think that gave me what I like to think is the recipe for launching and running a successful business.”
In this conversation Maurici talks about the changes in the hospitality industry which he describes as once “rife with malpractice”. He reflects on the challenges of workplace compliance, and what’s important now in franchising.
What’s good about franchising?
When setting up a franchise it is important that the system is:
- replicable
- scaleable
- of a good standard
“I want to look a potential franchisee in the eye and say, yes you run our system and you’ll be able to make the buck as opposed to having to shirk the rules or take shortcuts along the way.”
And this is why Maurici believes franchising is such a timely business model.
“The franchise model is more relevant than it ever was, it is nigh on impossible to make sure you are doing the all right thing if you are a small business and a typical mum and dad trying to run a whole successful business and do everything right, on your own.”
San Churro CEO reveals success tips
- How did San Churro achieve a 90% satisfaction rate in a Franchise Relationships Institute survey?
- How does the niche business avoid being a victim of sweet treat fads that have come and gone?
- Why did the chocolate chain press pause on its growth?
Discover the answers, and more, in this podcast.
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