Manage to Own
Program
Manage to Own
Program
Overview
The Manage to Own Program is a vehicle for high calibre individuals
who ultimately want to own their own franchise, but do not necessarily
have the financial capability to do so.
Candidates are able to make their dream of business ownership a
reality through the route of managing, business leasing, and ultimately
purchasing their own franchise.
Manage to Own Road Map
3-9 MONTHS
• Baker/Sales Clerk/ Bakery Manager/
Production Manager/ Sales Manager
• Training to be a manager and a fully trained Franchisee
6-12 MONTHS
• Manage a store to specific goals and KPIs with an
option to become a Business Lessee once KPIs are met
12-24 MONTHS
• Become a Business Lessee for a minimum of 12 months
to grow and build your own equity
• Use Equity built as down payment and combine with bank
financing to purchase a bakery
• 10 Year Franchise Agreement
Manage to Own
Program
CoBS manage to own Program
Simple 3 Step Plan:
• Employment
• Business Leasing Concept
• Purchase
examples of income/Benefits at each Step
$140,000
$120,000
$100,000
$80,000
$60,000
$40,000
$20,000
$0
work
Lease
Buy
Buy and grow
Sales
SteP 1: emPLoyment
• Train to run a COBS Bakery business under our competency based system
• Continue to develop your leadership skills
• Obtain all the competencies needed to run a bakery and earn a
Certificate Iv in Small Business Franchising (Bakers delight Training Program)
• demonstrate the ability to run a bakery at 5 star standard for a minimum
of 6 months
• Program takes 6-24 months to complete depending on the applicant,
demonstrated ability and available bakery opportunities
• Earn a salary of $42,000 per annum during your three-month training period
• Manage to Own Salary increases to $45,000 - $50,000 following the
three-month training progam
4
Manage to Own
Program
Step 2: Business Leasing CONCEPT
• Run business as a franchise through your own Company
• We own the assets of the bakery and rent them to you at a fixed fee
(lease payment)
• You have the opportunity to run your own business in a similar fashion
to a franchisee without the initial financial outlay of purchasing a bakery
• You are responsible for:
– Purchasing ingredients and packaging
– Fixed and variable costs (including rent, utilities, maintenance, etc.)
– Hiring and paying staff through the company
– Payment of royalties, marketing fee and business lease fee
– The operating profit is yours to retain and save towards
your ultimate goal of purchasing a franchise
Step 3: PURCHASE
• You exercise your option as set out in the business lease agreement to
purchase the bakery
5
Manage to Own
Program
Example Bakery - Achieving KPIs
$60,000
$50,000
$40,000
$30,000
$20,000
$10,000
$0
KPI Operating Point
Business Lease
Portion of OP
Business Lease Fee
1
6
Time (months)
12
*All things being equal, business lease oppor tunity to typically gain $15,000 OP
throughout its company over 12 months on top of Salar y paid through the baker y,
based on hitting the pre-agreed KPIs.
Example Bakery - Over Achieving Against KPIs
Improved Operating Point
$70,000
$60,000
$50,000
$40,000
$30,000
$20,000
$10,000
$0
KPI Operating Point
Business Lease
Portion of OP
Business Lease Fee
1
6
Time (months)
12
*Potential growth by growing the OP from $50,000 to $70,000 over the 12 months.
Business lessee can gain up to $35,000 of OP through its company, on top of salar y.
6
Manage to Own
Program
Example Bakery - Not Achieving KPIs
$60,000
$50,000
$40,000
$30,000
$20,000
$10,000
$0
KPI Operating Point
Business
Lease Portion of OP
Break Even
Business Lease Fee
1
6
Time (months)
12
*All things being equal, business lease opportunity to gain $15,000 OP throughout its
company over 12 months on top of Salar y paid through the baker y, based on hitting the
pre-agreed KPIs. This example shows the potential risk factor should the business lessee
not achieve the pre-agreed KPIs. The business lessee still receives a salar y, however, does
not make much operating profit and ultimately does not gain the right to business lease.
7
Success
Stories
wholesale Pharmaceutical sales and
marketing Management after completing
my MBA where I spent most of my
career. Joining the COBS family was
a major deviation from what I was
accustomed to, but it has definitely been
ver y exciting and rewarding.
Curtis CHARAN
Fox Creek
Please d escribe your
back ground experien ce .
I come from a small town in Trinidad
where my family was involved in
sugarcane farming. I majored in
Agriculture at University, however this
was not my true passion. I moved into
Emily MIRSKY The
Annex
H ow are you involve d i n your
local community?
Working within the local community
over the three years has been such an
important part of our business. We have
made strong ties with many local schools,
community programs and participated in
many local festivals, and events. Getting
our product into the community is one of
the easiest ways to hook people on to it.
We believe in what we do, and if people
see and taste it, they will too!
How do you stay motivated?
Motivation is driven by so many factors,
8
What attracted you to
fra n chisi n g / busi n ess
ow n ership ?
After migrating from Trinidad and
working for large corporations for most
of my career, my goal was to devote my
talents, exper tise and passion to doing
something I can enjoy and that can be
my own. Franchising with COBS has
helped me reach that goal of enjoying
what I do while working for myself.
and over time I have found what
motivates me changes. In the beginning
learning the business motivated me.
I wanted to know all the ins and outs
of the baking process, and how to
manage situations in the baker y. Now
that I am comfortable with those things
I am motivated by numbers. I strive to
achieve sales targets that are better than
last year. Those sales are achieved by
getting the right staff in the baker y and
motivating them, by building relationships
in the community and baking the best
product each and ever yday.
How do you maintain
work-life balance?
It is something you have to work at. I
believe that anyone who is serious about
owning a business is somewhat of a
workaholic. As a workaholic you need to
actively plan your time off, and believe
the world is not going to end if you are
away from your business. Over time, this
gets easier. You find the right people to
work in your business and you trust them
when you are away. You plan vacations,
take your days off and make sure you are
W hat attracte d you
to C OB S B rea d ?
It was purely by accident, while surfing
the net, that I stumbled upon the
oppor tunity to franchise with COBS
through their MTO program. After
exploring this oppor tunity and learning
more about the company I thought this
is definitely something I can be proud to
be a par t of.
W hat hav e you fou n d to be
your g reatest key to success?
Being fully hands-on in the business and
working ever yday side by side with my
staff has resulted in a ver y dedicated
and results-oriented team. Getting to
know my customers on an individual
basis has also definitely created a strong
tie to the community.
as productive as you possibly can be in
an 8 hour day.
W hat ben efits hav e you see n to
your lifestyle si n ce becomin g a
C OB S B rea d fra n chisee ?
My now husband and I, took over the
business together and were able to
get married during our second year of
business. As odd as this may seem, we
believe this can be listed as a benefit to
our lifestyle. Before working at COBS we
had worked together but not as a team,
like we do now. Being able to spend
so much time with the person you love
is fantastic and this has been a pretty
awesome benefit to our lifestyle.
W hat hav e you fou n d to be
your g reatest key to success?
In my experience forming relationships
with ever yone in your business is
the greatest key to success. Forming
relationships with staff helps you to
better understand their needs, which,
in turn, impacts your needs. Forming
relationships with the community helps
build your sales.
Success
Stories
while attending the School of Business
and Economics at Thompson Rivers
University. COBS’ corporate culture of
giving and being an active participant
in the community was a huge draw for
me – I wanted to know that my efforts
would be helping grow a company that I
believed in.
KYLE NARZT
Aspen Landing
Please describe your
background experience.
My background experience includes
work in a variety of fields – from
lifeguarding to audit work, but most of
my background is in retail management.
I have a Bachelor of Business
Administration with a double major in
Marketing and New Venture Creation,
and a minor in Environmental Economics
and Sustainable Development.
What attracted you to COBS Bread?
I saw COBS Bread and the MTO program
in particular as an opportunity to own my
own business, a goal I had set for myself
How are you involved in your
local community?
Like all COBS bakeries we donate all
of our unsold product to local charities
at the end of each day. It feels great
to know that we’re doing such a huge
amount of giving… people cannot believe
how much bread we donate ever y year
when I tell them! Beyond our end-of-day
giving program, our baker y regularly
does guided baker y tours for Sparks/
Girl Guides/ Brownie groups, sponsors
and supports community events, sporting
events, and fundraisers including the
annual Motorcycle Ride for Dad, which
raises funds for prostate cancer research.
What have you found to be your
greatest key to success?
The support of the people around me.
successes, and there is always someone
who has tried something that may work
for you, so I am very pleased about the
openness of all the operators.
Ryan KLASSEN
Sunwood Square
What networking opportunities
are available to you (with other
franchisees)?
I’ve had a lot of great connections with
other Franchisees and corporate Managers.
We often compare results, difficulties and
How are you involved in
your local community?
We work hard to stay involved in the
community. We participate in a lot of
local events, and do our best to help the
community that shops with us. A lot of
people are so happy to hear that we will
help them with product, which helps them
add a lot of interest to their events.
It would be easy to take all the credit
and claim it was nothing but hard work
and smart strategic planning that got
me to where I am today, but honestly,
the support of my family and loved ones
has been instrumental in my success.
Specifically, my Mother Candy, Brother
Greg, and now fiancée (and business
partner) Mar yflor have kept me sane
by providing the emotional support
I needed to navigate through the
MTO program. The support of COBS
employees has also been invaluable.
Ever y person in the system from bakers
at corporate locations who can help out
if your staff call in sick, area managers,
regional directors, right up to the top
with Roger and Lesley Gillespie. Ever y
single person in the system is working
together to build something better. The
feeling of community and family within
this company is unlike anything I’ve
ever experienced. I felt that I always
had someone in my corner looking out
for me and my interests, no matter what
happened. I can share my success with
ever y single person who has been part of
this journey.
can fulfill them. The bakery can be very
flexible in that way, if you are willing to
train your staff to be responsible, so that
you know it’s in good hands when you are
not around.
What future opportunities do
you see for yourself?
I’m looking forward to many more years of
growth in the bakery I’m in right now, but
I’m also always looking for the opportunity
for another location!
How do you maintain
work-life balance?
The biggest key is to be aware of your
own needs, and then make sure that you
9