08/ 01/ 2004
by Tamara E. Holmes
When Lori Alan opened her first Mocha Delites franchise in the Atlanta area three and a half years ago, it was on a lark.
“I knew the owners and was kind of joking when I saw how well it was doing,” she says. “I told them, ‘Let me know when you franchise the first one and I’ll buy it.’ They called me on it.”
Alan sold the franchise one-and-a-half years later for three times more than she bought it for. Her success is typical of all 28 locations, thanks to an innovative franchising program, says Veronica Edwards, president of Mocha Delites Inc.
About 50 percent of the Mocha Delites locations are in former retail establishments or mom-and-pop stores that have closed. Edwards, who founded the company with her husband, Gregory, says their strategy is to renovate places that don’t have a professional look and then bring in entrepreneurs who want to own Mocha Delites (http://www.mochadelites.com) franchises.
“Sales typically increase 30 percent over what they were before the stores were converted into Mocha Delites franchises,” says Edwards.
Edwards has relationships with property management companies throughout the southeastern United States, who often call her when a retail establishment opens. There are currently 22 Mocha Delites franchises in construction today, which will bring the total number to 50.
One of the best things about the Mocha Delites program is that franchise owners don’t have to start from scratch when it comes to building a customer base. But Alan, who has recently bought her second Mocha Delites franchise with partner William Coleman, says that a built-in customer base doesn’t mean she can rest on her laurels.
“Yes, there was a customer base but we had to build on it,” she says.
