Franchisee Spotlight: Steve Rudzinski, Winston-Salem, NC

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).