Entrepreneur Highlight

When I was in college a good friend of mine was an employee at McDonald's. He started his freshman year and by the time he graduated he was a store manager. Although I lost contact with him and am not sure if he pursued a life long career with the company, watching his progress there enabled me to see it as a career choice beyond simply working the line as a customer service person. Lately, I've been exposed to the many different ways that people become owner/operators with McDonald's and I think it is absolutely fascinating! This month I had the opportunity to speak with John Hurt. 

Like my friend, John started working with McDonald's during college and now is the owner/operator of 11 McDonald's. He made the decision that he wanted to make this a career choice and moved up in the company until he became a joint venture partner (co-owner) with McDonald's in 1995. In July 2010 he bought out McDonald's shares and now is the sole owner of his locations.

He has a 31 year history with the company and when I asked him the most rewarding aspect of his career he said "this is a people business and I get fulfillment from developing people. It is very rewarding to see people go from a crew worker to move up the ranks in a McDonald's career."

I also asked him for advice for people who are interested in a similar career and he said "make sure this is 100% your type of business to get into. Be 100% committed."

I think those are wise words for all individuals interested in the entrepreneurial lifestyle, I know they work for me!

Disclosure: I am a McDonald's network blogger and have been compensated for this post.