Only 34 and owns a McDonald’s
After undertaking a four-year degree in law, commerce, and management, Lauren McAuslin had plenty of options on where to take her career.
Most of her coursemates ended up in the legal profession or working in finance but McAuslin chose to sell Big Macs and milkshakes at McDonald’s in Blenheim.
But McDonald’s is a family business for McAuslin. She took over management of the Blenheim franchise from her parents at just 22 after her father became ill, and bought the franchise aged 30. She did not want to disclose what it cost her.
At 34, she is the youngest McDonald’s franchisee in New Zealand, and owns a successful New Plymouth restaurant that rakes in about $10 million a year.
‘‘I remember being at friends’ birthday parties and people from law school would ask ‘which firm do you work for?’ I’d say, ‘I’m working at McDonald’s’,’’ McAuslin says.
‘‘They’d say, ‘really?’ But I choose what I do, and I have control over my work life.’’
McAuslin remembers the early days of running her parents’ business. ‘‘I was 22, and that was the toughest part. People were suddenly looking to me for advice, and that can be pretty difficult when you don’t have a lot of life skills.’’
Her hard work caught the eye of McDonald’s NZ senior executives, who offered her the chance to take over in New Plymouth in 2017. The restaurant is now one of the top five revenue earners in Australasia.
Being a franchisee can be lucrative. McDonald’s has 171 restaurants across New Zealand, with more than 90 per cent owned by 52 franchisees.
Competition to buy a McDonald’s franchise is fierce. Aside from a long waiting list of would-be first-time buyers, existing franchisees are often also keen to snap up another restaurant.
Would-be buyers need to go through a lengthy application process. Buyers will eventually get the chance to buy a franchise.
‘‘About 95 per cent of sales processes involve another franchisee,’’ McAuslin says.
‘‘McDonald’s doesn’t like to get involved. There’s no set price so it can be quite a drawn-out process.
‘‘You negotiate and go through the valuation with the person you’re buying from, you get financing, and you pay for it.’’
McDonald’s owns the land and property, and franchisees buy the right to operate and use the brand. Franchisees pay a rental and royalty fee and marketing levy to McDonald’s Restaurants NZ, a subsidiary of the United States parent.
Franchisees also pay for food, running costs, utilities, wages, uniforms, legal and accounting fees, and take the profits from what is left.
McDonald’s Restaurants NZ earned revenues of $252.3m in the 2018 financial year, making a post-tax profit of $66.3m.
The New Zealand business is a wholly-owned subsidiary of US giant McDonald’s Corporation. It pays New Zealand tax and sometimes pays the parent company a dividend.
Over a 20-year franchise agreement, franchise owners foot most of the bill for the interior and equipment. Renovations of large restaurants can cost up to $2m a time.
McAuslin says she’s regularly ‘‘head down’’ on the restaurant floor, ensuring her business runs smoothly. She doesn’t regret following her family into the business.
‘‘I watched them [former coursemates] take jobs to sit in desks, go into work at 6am and leave at 11pm, working under intense pressure,’’ she says.
‘‘They didn’t seem to be having a lot of fun. But I can come into work, laugh with the crew and have a good time.’’