Steven Rudzinski is
the only military veteran in the entire TCBY network. He joined the U.S. Marine
Corps in 1979 where he served for four years until late summer of 1983. Steven grew
up in Albany, NY and went to college in Albany, but moved to North Carolina with
his family. Following, Steven became an Electronics Technician for RJ Reynolds
Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem, NC and repaired the electronics on machines.
Working for them for 28 years from February 1984 to February 2012, Steven
experienced a layoff along with hundreds of others because the cigarette
industry kept shrinking. As a result, he was ready to start the next phase of
his career – TCBY. Thus far, the store has done extremely well, routinely
ranking within the top 25 stores network-wide of the brand’s 400-plus locations.
“When I enlisted in
the Marines, I wanted to get into electronic technology at the time. They sent
me to electronics school and then I became a radar repairman and did that for
1.5 years of training and 2.5 years of service,” Rudzinski said. Stationed in
Cherry Point, NC, Steve cites his military experience as being very beneficial
to his life and career trajectory because it gave him leadership and management
skills, which has been key for TCBY.
How did you learn
about the brand?
I was looking for a job in other factories, but it was
challenging because a lot of companies were looking for candidates fresh out of
tech school and pay entry level.
My wife and I have always been frozen yogurt fans and
would go at least once a week. So, it dawned on us and we saw a frozen yogurt
need in town that we could benefit from. There were other brands around, but we
wanted to eat it closer to us.
Why did you choose
an opportunity with TCBY?
I thought, “Someone should do it, it may as well be us.”
The opportunity was very good and after deciding they didn’t want to go mom and
pop, particularly since I never had business experience, I decided to go the
franchise route.
We tried every frozen yogurt shop in Winston, and drove
to Charlotte to try TCBY. We loved the taste, texture and the nutrition was
better than any of the others.
Did you receive a
military discount?
Yes, I received 20-25% off the franchise fee of $25,000.
Are you involved
with any charities or do any community outreach with your business?
Yes, we are very active in the community hosting fundraisers, sponsoring local schools and organizations. Below are some different events that we have hosted and we always continue to find more ways to support our community as a whole. have done several events very recently, which
represent our larger vision of supporting the community:
·
We had a fundraiser for one of the
schools giving them 10% of the sales brought in.
·
We gave out 60 sample cups to a
school for teacher’s appreciation.
·
We gave out 300 samples
cups of yogurt to people in Lowe’s hardware store as part of an event that day.
·
We gave away free frozen yogurt on Mother's and Father's Day.
·
We support Relay for Life with 10% of all
net sales on the day goes to the organization.
What challenges
have you overcome to get where you are now?
Getting business experience was a learning curve and
finding the space was challenging. But mostly, it’s been a challenge to run a
company, which I have never done before. We’ve done very well so far and every
day we’re learning new things.
What is your
staffing like?
About a year ago, my daughter married a Chick-Fil-A
franchisee, so all of these job interviews have been with the help of him.
Right now, we have 12 plus me and my wife (Kim).
