Stephanie Oliver-Green, Franchisee and Owner of six McDonald’s Restaurants, got the inspiration to own her own business from her father, Carroll Oliver, who was murdered last year.
“He was in the owner business in 1978 or 1979 and trained with Herman Petty, one of the first black McDonald’s operators.
“I saw how hard he [her father] worked and how he provided for the family, so I got excited when I saw that there was opportunity for African Americans at McDonald’s to own businesses and give back to our communities.”
But being an owner is about more than the title. It’s about being a good leader, providing a healthy work environment and fostering positive environments for your employees. And Stephanie has always been a people person.
“In college, I met a lady who wanted me to sell Mary Kay,” she says, “I loved it because i could do as much as I wanted and be as successful as I wanted to be. I’m prize-motivated. Doesn’t matter what it is. It wasn’t the fact it was real diamonds we could win, it was “If I do this, what are the results of working hard?”
She kept that mentality when she became an owner in 2000.
“I decided then that I wanted to motivate and run the business and build it on people and relationships instead of a focus on profit,” Stephanie says, “I wanted to be the best owner I could be, wanted people to know they could depend on me. I’m not too good to sweep or wipe the floor.”
Her willingness to put the business above self and to relate to her employees is something that adds unbelievable value to her stores.
“I’ve always had the notion to help people, I love people and love inspiring and motivating people,” she says, “I like to teach people. A lot of that was service and serving others. It came really easy for me. If I can change somebody’s life and give them the opportunity I was given, if they want it bad enough they can have what I have because my father gave me the opportunity.”
From early on, Stephanie saw a leader she could shadow. At age 9, she saw her dad owning McDonald’s stores. She saw sacrifices. She saw dedication.
“I’ve seen that to be successful, you have to really work hard at it,” she says, “You have to bring people along and delegate and work until they want it just as bad as you.”
Now Stephanie is the proud owner of six McDonald’s stores. Her first was in small country area just to do a first start to see how she would do. People told her that it might not be good, that she would be working like a store manager. But something in her told her that it was something she needed to do because it was bigger than owning a McDonald’s.
“Looking back, it was God,” she says, “Everybody was family in that town and it allowed me to give other people opportunities where they weren’t otherwise being hired. I knew everyone at the schools, the doctors, the dentists, I was involved with the churches. It felt like home.”
That job didn’t feel like work to her. The people she worked with had varying backgrounds, some had incarcerated parents, some needed a home, and she felt like she was able to make a direct influence on lives owning that McDonald’s.
“I fell in love with McDonald’s all over again,” Stephanie says, “The older generations in my dad’s time, in the ‘70s and ‘80s, their business had to survive on being profitable. But I found that if you take care of the people, the profits will come.”
In 2006 another black McDonald’s owner-operator, James Jones, was killed in an auto accident. His wife Annie was a stay at home mom. Stephanie went to her restaurant and tried to help her keep the business running as she decided what she wanted to do. McDonald’s gave her the opportunity to get the required licensing if she wanted to take over the business (their willingness to work with families in situations like these is something Stephanie loves the most) but she decided it was too much for her because she had younger kids.
Annie told the GM at the time thank you for the opportunity to be an owner operator, but that she had decided that she would like to sell the business if she could sell it to Stephanie.
After this, Stephanie sold her small town store and purchased the Annie’s in Houston.
“I was inspired to help her so that she could be an owner. In return, she was like you’ve done so much, let me help you and get you started with a store that’s more in sales and sales value. We have what we call McFamily.”
On January 11, 2016, Stephanie owned three McDonald’s stores and her father owned three of his own. But that day her father was murdered taking his money to the bank.
“If it wasn’t for my spirituality, I would be really misplaced,” she says, “When I looked at him on the ground, all I could hear him say was to be smart and be strong.”
After his passing, she purchased his McDonald’s because she wanted to keep the restaurants he had worked so hard and died at.
“My parents would have been celebrating 50 years together that year,” she says, “One thing I can say is that I’ve had so much support from McDonald’s, from my owner-operator friends and also National Black McDonald’s Operators Association (NBMOA). Both local and national. In a situation like that, you of course have to lean on God, but also that support.”
That support system was essential for her.
“I knew I could do it, but i had to ask myself if I wanted to do it. When I look back at everything, the whole McDonald’s system felt this murder as if we all lost something. I felt like I had to keep my dad’s legacy going. If I worked somewhere else, owned something else, I’m not sure if it would feel the same. I cry, they cry. It's an amazing feeling. I decided I wasn’t going to let what they did to him break our family’s legacy on what my father started and built. I look forward to leaving a legacy for my children.”
And even if you don’t have a family legacy of being an owner-operator, it’s something Stephanie believes anyone who has the passion for it can one day accomplish, even though it will take hard work and determination.
“Have patience,” she says, “Nothing good is going to come fast. If it’s a business goal they’re looking at, nothing is going to make you rich quick. Younger people come into business thinking this is the golden egg for them. You have to go the distance and give 100 percent.”
And on top of patience comes the importance of community and finding a leader to shadow, whether directly or through your own goals and practices.
“I would also say find a mentor,” Stephanie says, “If they are wanting to go into business, find someone who’s in McDonald’s who’s an owner who can mentor you. We have some outstanding owner-operators. Anything they’ll go through, we’ve gone through and made it out. My parents first started off teaching. In whatever you want to do, get a mentor. You can be successful in anything.”
And her number one piece of advice for those interested in ownership or business?
“Go for it,” she says, “You have to go for it. Especially young people, but even if you’ve tried two or three things, you’re still young. Don’t think that because one thing didn’t work out that nothing will.”
This post is brought to you in collaboration with McDonald's.
