Most mornings, it’s not hard to find Judy Young. At 7 a.m. sharp — 0700 in military time — this retired Marine captain is eating oatmeal and apple slices at McDonald’s. And, yes, breakfast is always at Mickey D’s. You could say this former corporate executive is just protecting her investment.
Young owns six McDonald’s franchises in Connecticut, including four in Hartford. Her plan is to, eventually, acquire a couple dozen more.
As a McDonald’s franchisee, Young thrives on structure and autonomy. In the fast food business, you are measured daily on the quality of food, speed of service and cleanliness of the building. With its automated machines, uniforms, attention to detail, promptness and professionalism, the parallels to the military are unmistakable.
Young is a woman who likes to be in charge. Her corporate and military pedigree (along with master’s degrees in business and education) have provided her the experience and confidence to lead. Hers is the story of the corporate executive who hit a glass ceiling — and decided to take a risk and become an entrepreneur.
“I always wanted to own my own business,” said Young, 60. “I didn’t have an idea specifically of what I wanted to do. But in doing my research, I found that franchising was a great opportunity for people who wanted not to reinvent the wheel, but have that structure. I liked the idea that someone already had this safe, more secure structure, rather than going out (totally) on my own.”
Structure was part of Young’s middle class background, growing up as the younger of two girls in New York City in the 1950s. Her mother, Lorraine, was in advertising. Her dad, William, was a Marine veteran and a contractor. Education and discipline were stressed.
“My father felt the Marines developed good leaders,” Young said. “And that you had to have a college education to go directly into the Marine Corps as an officer. He was an enlisted person and he had a lot of respect for the officers.” Her mother earned her college degree in her 30s, while working fulltime. Young graduated from City College in New York in 1974 and later earned a master’s in education from Pepperdine. After a stint as a Citi Bank assistant vice president, she attained a master’s in 1982 in business administration from MIT.
The 1974-78 hitch in the Marines, however, shaped Young. She was a 21 year-old African American woman leading 25 mostly white men in the meteorology division at a Yuma, Ariz. air base. It was their job to outline and chart the weather expectations for Marine pilots.
“While you can get challenged subtly by the enlisted who work for you, there is a structure — and you have to respect the boss,” said Young, who started as a second lieutenant. “And if you don’t respect the boss, you’re in a lot of trouble.”
Young entered the corporate world in 1978 at Citi Bank, eventually elevating to assistant vice president. An advisor there told Young that she would need a master’s degree in business if she expected to advance further. Young received her master’s from MIT in 1982. From there, it was on to AT&T, where she worked until 1990 and was promoted to marketing vice president.
Young concedes there was turbulence in the transition from military boss to corporate senior executive. When she said “jump” in the corporate world, the response wasn’t always “how high.”
“I rarely dealt with peers when I was in the military,” she said. “I dealt with subordinates or superiors. When I was in corporate America I had to deal with people on the same level. So, I had to start negotiating now. ‘Please can you get this done by this date?’ … I had to learn how to negotiate and be persuasive. ”
In the late 1980s, the itch to be her own boss was growing stronger. Young took a few McDonald’s franchise-owner training classes and opened her first shop in the Bronx in 1990. She later moved to Connecticut and sold the New York restaurant. Now, Young owns six franchises — four in Hartford, one each in New Britain and Willimantic. Each shop employs 45 workers. Similar to the military, an efficient business requires strong managers and a disciplined rank and file.
The fast food business is highly automated. Burgers are no longer flipped; they are pressed with machines that cook both sides at the same time. If a hamburger has been sitting in the warmer for too long, it is thrown out. Inventory is vigorously managed and monitored. There is a clear meritocracy to advancement. Franchise owners learn every aspect of the business, from cleaning bathrooms to running the fry station to balancing the books.
“It was difficult,” Young said, “because I was now in charge of every aspect. So, I learned that in running a business, not only do you have to market it and run the operations and be fiscally responsible; you have to be 100 percent about human relations, people management and you have to have a plan and a vision. You have to be hands on 24/7. McDonald’s said we don’t want owners, we want operators.”
A restaurant is only as strong as its weakest link. Young said she puts a lot of attention into hiring reliable and ambitious people.
“In the military, we really consider ourselves family,” said Young, the mother of an adult daughter Aneka, a partner in the business. “And in the restaurant business, it’s the same thing. I’m really interested in people who have an interest in moving up and making McDonald’s a career. That’s really what we emphasize during orientation. If a person just says ‘I’m really just passing through, looking for a job’ … We’re not really interested.”
She is particularly proud of a staffer who did not have a high school diploma when hired. But after several months, the young woman was on the catalog cover as a student at Capital Community College.
Young — lean and fit — is an early riser. Before breakfast, her day starts at 4 a.m. with a run or swim.
The discipline of the military contributes to her success running a fast food operation.
Stan Simpson is host of “The Stan Simpson Show” (www.Foxct.com/stan and Saturdays, 5:30 a.m., on FoxCT). His ‘Faces in Business’ column appears monthly. Know someone who’d make a good subject for ‘Faces in Business’? Contact Simpson at stansimpson@comcast.net
