Franchisee Spotlight: Nathan Lee

“When I was in high school and my friends and I would walk around, I would say I had this goal of driving through a city and owning everything,” Nathan Lee says. “I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit.” The 24-year-old received his bachelor’s degree in finance from Georgia State two years ago and took a job with AT&T right out of school. After six months of leadership training in Georgia, the company placed him in Chicago where he managed three different stores for a year. But moving to a big city where he knew no one was a struggle for the southerner. “That year taught me that if I’m going to invest 70 to 80 hours a week in work, I want it to be with people I’d like to spend time with,” Lee says. “I learned an awful lot by being thrown into an unfamiliar territory with no true support system.”

Lee’s entrepreneurial dreams are supported by his parents, particularly his father Garry, who is also going in on the Lenny’s franchise. The two toyed around with the idea of one day opening a motorcycle shop, a hobby they share, but realized that the economic downturn didn’t exactly make that a viable option. Garry, 60, studied public relations at Eastern Michigan State and held a number of managerial roles at both General Motors and Honda. “My dad brings a lot of experience from his previous careers, and I’ve got the energy and excitement,” Nathan says. “He’s helping me out with financing, but as we grow and become more successful, I’ll begin to buy him out as he retires.” Garry says he and his wife are thrilled to assist their son’s dreams and that Nathan’s work ethic is second to none.

How did you learn about the brand?

There’s a Lenny’s in Cumming, Ga. run by Bruce Longmore where my family has eaten for the past eight or nine years. While I was in Chicago, I started researching franchises and Lenny’s came to mind because of the quality of food, the great experiences we’d always had at that location and the fact that it’s run by really stand-up people. Their leadership made us want to move into their type of organization over some of the others we looked at.

Why else did you choose an opportunity with Lenny’s?

They’re still a small brand, with only about 140 units. We were also in talks with Jimmy John’s, but with 600 or 700 units, it doesn’t have that tightknit feel. I’m only 24, so I want something that I can grow with. Lenny’s will give me a lot of opportunity in the future.

Once you open, do you have plans to get involved with any charities or do any community outreach with your business?

Gainesville has a lot of local churches, so we’d like to get involved and help fund mission trips or lend our experience to help further their work.

What challenges have you overcome to get where you are now?

The biggest one was moving 800 miles from home to Chicago where I had no family or friends. I was investing 70 to 80 hours a week, and not having anyone to really bounce ideas off of was challenging.

What are your expansion or development plans? What is your end goal with Lenny’s?

My goal has always been to run more of a holding company and to have multiple locations, so I’m able to supply and help other people finance their businesses. Figuring out the Lenny’s brand will give me the first start. I’m going in as the operating manager so that I can truly understand the business from the ground up. That will give me that knowledge base to lead at a higher level as I expand. Ideally, my goal is to have anywhere from five to 10 locations. That will be a significant impact, but it will still allow me to have my hand in all of the stores.

What are some of the publications you read? Local? National? What is your goal publication with your business?

I follow Ink, Fast Company and Forbes. I haven’t been back in Gainesville long enough to be too familiar with the local media.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies or passions?

We live on one of the largest lakes in the country, so I love spending time out there and wakeboarding. I spend a lot of time outdoors. I like going on motorcycle rides and enjoy pretty much anything with motors and having the ability to go fast.