Interview with John Scardapane 2010-03-10
Posted Date March 2010
By: Entrepreneur Success
1. What do you do? I am a self-made entrepreneur; the Founder/Chairman/CEO of Saladworks, www.saladworks.com, the nation’s first and largest fresh-tossed salad franchise concept.
2. What is the biggest key to your success? The biggest key to my success comes in three parts. First, you have to have a strong culture. The Saladworks culture is our company DNA, and we continuously develop and reinforce our culture and values throughout the entire organization. We are a franchise company, and we want everyone from the home office to the franchisee to the store employee to be as passionate about our brand as I am. Our culture, our values, is truly what enables us to empower, share, and execute the common mission of bringing our fans America’s Best Salads. Saladworks Core Values: Do the right thing, Do whatever it takes to get it done, It’s all about the customer, Best people, Value each other, and Passion to be the best.
We also offer a unique selling proposition – we are America’s Best Salads. We are the first and largest salad restaurant concept in the country. We understood what our differentiators are and we became great at them. Great companies know what they’re strengths are, and stay focused on it while continuing to improve.
Finally, we strive for a fanatical execution. We create fans, not customers. Our model is built around creating the greatest customer experience that exceeds their expectations. We offer fanatic’ly fresh salads every day for our fans.
3. What is the biggest piece of advice you’d give to aspiring entrepreneurs? An entrepreneur is creative, and their minds are always spinning with new ideas, deals, and concepts. The biggest piece of advice I can give to an aspiring entrepreneur is to keep an organized mind; build your organizational skills.
4. What’s the best tool/strategy you’ve used to enhance your business? Strategic planning is key. We rely heavily on the SWOT analysis – identifying our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It may seem basic, but it is extremely helpful in identifying areas where Saladworks can develop even further.
5. How can we learn more about you? Chairman of the Executive Committee at Saladworks and founder of Commerce Bank, Vernon Hill, is writing a book about his successful experience with Commerce Bank, and how Saladworks is following suit in making our business all about the customer. There is no release date yet, but be on the look-out for it. Also, you can always check out our Web site at www.saladworks.com.
