Ex-NFL Player Tim Biakabatuka Expands Bojangles Franchise Operations

It was a career ending injury in 2001 that took away his lifelong passion and primary revenue stream overnight for Tim Biakabatuka. That career impermanence drove him toward the idea of business ownership. After being involved in various business ventures, it was the stability and consistency of the franchise model that best suited his aspirations.

The 40-year-old former running back for the University of Michigan and Carolina Panthers entered the Bojangles’ franchise system in 2008 when he purchased and renovated a Walton Way restaurant. This summer he opened up his fourth Bojangles location in Northwest Georgia, with plans to add two more within the next two years.

Biakabatuka first joined the annual Professional Athlete Franchise Initiative (PAFI) Summit when he was just the owner of two Bojangles restaurants in Augusta. His initial interest in

involvement with PAFI was more about inspiring young athletes to look at franchising. However, his engagement ended up providing him an opportunity to network with other like minded individuals and learn more about his craft.

During a recent interview with PAFI founder Michael Stone, Biakabatuka discussed what has helped him most during this growth period, including how helpful Bojangles corporate support had been. “They provided the approved architect and contractor for the first three locations and sent in an All-Star team to assist in the store opening process and the first two weeks of operations. For the fourth store you lose your All Star team but by then you have begun to develop a team of your own and they provide other support” he explained.

Stone points out that as you take a

closer look at Biakabatuka’s operations and listen to his words, you start to understand the value of his new team. “We are just getting the construction, development and launch process down to a science,” Biakabatuka stated, adding the he invested early in an area supervisor.  Typically you bring this position in after getting to the five to six store mark. “When I first started I was much more involved in the day to day operations. Now most of my work is administrative and site search.”

Check out tips for finding success in a second career as a franchisee on the next page…

He still remains involved with the operations team on running the stores and he communicates with his managers daily; however, they do the major lifting and he helps keep them focused in the right direction. With his focus on long-term growth and stability, Biakabatuka keeps a close eye on the real estate aspect of his businesses. He is interested in developing a long-term wealth building source that is regenerative and provides an on-going increase in equity.

 

Here are a few of tips for athletes looking to follow the path that he is blazing:

 

Tip 1: Build strong banking relationships.

As I have grown in the business, I have realized how important that it is to build a strong relationship with multiple banks as early as possible. Those relationships are critical. With more success, the bank’s confidence in you grows and you will be granted more favorable terms.

Tip 2: Take an accounting class and learn how to read numbers.

When you learn accounting, you

start to learn the language of business and banking. Find a mentor who has experience and can help you understand how the small numbers correlate to businesses success. Learn everything that you can and stay very close to the numbers. This allows you to bring in a team and scale up without losing a grip on the important factors that shape your business.

 

Tip 3: Find the right people and trust them to do their job.

You can maximize your time and ability by building a great team. I was not effective when I was running the business day to day and trying to find deals. I lost a lot of early momentum by trying to do everything at once. You cannot operate the business and develop the business.