Lee's Donuts
Originally posted to: chenmark.com/weekly-thoughts
Lee's Donuts? Attitude Determines Altitude? ?
One lesson we learned the hard way in Chenmark’s early days was that the person running a company makes or breaks its’ success.? If a leader has a growth mindset, a strong work ethic, and an ability to make decisions, incredible things can happen.? Conversely, if the leader has a victim mentality, a tendency to cut corners, or is indecisive, outcomes will be unimpressive.? It’s all fairly predictable.?
Sometimes all a small business needs is a bit of energy and a new perspective.? Take, for example, the story of our favorite donut store, Lee’s Donuts on Vancouver’s iconic Granville Island.?
Founded in 1979 by Alan and Betty-Ann Lee, Lee’s Donuts build a reputation for handmade, high quality (and delicious) donuts.? Tourists and locals alike flock to Granville Island to fill one of Lee’s an iconic bright yellow boxes with tasty treats.?
In 2017, the Lee's retired, and local husband and wife team Celine and Allan Bacani bought the donut store.? This is where things get interesting.? A Business Transitions Forum article shared some perspective:?
“when they bought the company at the end of 2017 their initial goal really was just to make sure they were breaking even.? They felt blessed with a business that’s been around at that time for almost 40 years.? So it had already established a very good will and good cult following of customers and people already had in their minds what their favorite donuts were. 'So, as far as Celine and I were concerned, we didn’t really have to innovate anything. It was more so an opportunity in operational gaps.? And transaction gaps and digital marketing,'?said Allan.”
As it turns out, when you buy a company with a brand larger than its financials, and are willing to invest in operational improvements and upgrade marketing, good things happen.? Since 2017, the Bacani’s have grown from one location to (almost) seven, with plans in the works for national growth.? We’d bet good money that ten years from now, this brand will be significant.?
Now this isn’t a typical private equity growth play.? This is just two hard-working people who saw an opportunity and are building something interesting through sheer force of will.? Allan provided insight into their perspective:?
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“When asked what advice they would give to entrepreneurs looking to grow their business, Celine, the company’s COO, said: 'I think the one thing that comes to mind for me is that your business will grow to the extent that you do. That’s some of the best advice I ever got. So if you want to grow your business, you really have to work on yourself because I do believe, and I tell this to my team all the time, that how you show up personally is how you show up professionally. So I think I attribute a lot of our success . . . to really working on ourselves and just stepping up to the plate in terms of personal and professional growth.'”
With that perspective, we’d bet that Celine and Allan would have been successful no matter what business they bought.? It all comes back to one of our favorite Zig Zigler quotes: "Your attitude determines your altitude."? We’re excited to see how this (delicious) story develops.
Have a great week,
Your Chenmark Team