Many mock the McDonald’s system but it has produced many successfully business managers, including Daystar First National’s Michael Sleiman.
After starting as a casual, bright-eyed 14-year-old and spending 21 years working with the franchise giant, working his way through the ranks, Mr Sleiman left his role as head of national training and development to become a sales agent at Daystar. Now, almost four years later, he is the principal - and he hasn’t celebrated his 40th birthday yet!
“The first restaurant I worked for was store number 70 and by the time I left the company, there were 740 restaurants, so I’ve seen a lot of change and development in those 21 years,” Mr Sleiman laughed.
McDonald’s runs a very tight ship using highly structured systems that have been honed over many years. These systems need to work for teenagers who are working for the first time, right through to highly experienced adults. This experience helped define Mr Sleiman’s business style and goals, but it was only when he wanted to buy a franchise and McDonald’s denied his request, saying he needed some work experience outside the company, that he took the step away from the golden arches.
“And I did go out and I did try something different and I’m actually glad I made that decision, “ Mr Sleiman said, adding this stipulation had since changed as McDonald’s realised the value of franchisees with operational experience.
While working hard at McDonald’s, Mr Sleiman was also building a significant property portfolio. He bought his first investment property at 19 and owned seven properties by the time he was 26. The future was set when Mr Sleiman wanted to sell a duplex and hired Tony Boctorani from Daystar First National.
“Tony brought around the client and Tony got on the phone and I got talking to the client. Within about half an hour, little do I know, I’m actually negotiating the sale on my own property. They bought it the next day,” Mr Sleiman said, realising he had sold his own home, but still had to fork out more than $10,000 in commission.
After thanking him for doing his job, Mr Sleiman said the agent told him, “’You should not be doing what you’re doing right now; you should be in real estate. You’ve got the gab, you’ve got the gift.’ Six years down the track I now own the company.”
When he started working with the agency, it was making $400,000 a year in sales fees but Mr Sleiman as a sales agent wrote $400,000 in fees himself in his first year in real estate.
Although it had a sizeable rent roll, the agency only had four per cent of market share for sales. Between Mr Sleiman and some new hires that grew to 28 per cent within two years.
“I was fortunate [to have] 21 years working for a large company learning the systems, learning the structure, managing people. Whether you own a local takeaway or a real estate business or you’re a travel agency, the business and the structure doesn’t change. Ultimately I want to grow my business,“ he said.
Mr Sleiman has set time-sensitive goals to move from 28 per cent market share in sales to 35 per cent, grow the rent roll from 520 to 600 and expand the commercial side. These big goals are divided into smaller objectives and factored into 1-3-month plans as part of a bigger 12-month goal.
“Ultimately I’m going to get to that goal, as long as I take it step-by-step and not skip a step,” he said.
This commitment to a business he bought less than four months ago has seen Mr Sleiman spend a lot of time finding and developing the staff members he needs to achieve his goals. Another imperative aspect of business Mr Sleiman brought with him from McDonald’s is the importance of good communication, team meetings and rewards. His team meets weekly and the minutes from the previous week are reviewed before the next meeting.
“I learnt when I was an employee that my boss needed to know about how I felt, how things were going, am I doing a good job, am I doing a bad job. So I meet with my team individually at least once a month and we have a one-on-one chat. But I also need to reward them and thank them for their efforts,” he said. These rewards are not necessarily lavish or financial, but are important to his team, and they include providing sandwiches and fruit for the office every so often.
“I need to have a structure in place so that there are good people in all facets of my business who report to me and I orchestrate them. Good training, good knowledge and hard working individuals who want the same visions as I do, and that is to grow the business ultimately and to be rewarded as well,” he said.
On top of fostering a good relationship with his team, Mr Sleiman also understands the importance of keeping on top of new business methods and technologies to keep his company fresh.
“When you work for a large network, for example First National, we have a lot of great systems and processes in place but often principals don’t take advantage of those systems. And whether it be the technology or a simple prospecting tool, we need to understand that there are things out there that are being done better than by us today,” he said, explaining everyone should be willing to keep learning.