ON A ROLL

Multi-unit franchisee Simon Keegel was working in Roll’d when he saw the potential to own a franchise... and now he’s stacking up the stores.

WHEN DID YOU BUY YOUR FRANCHISE? I bought three Roll’d stores in 2018. At that time, it was with a silent partner who I have since bought out. I now have five Roll’d stores in the ACT.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE ROLL’D? I’m close friends with one of the founders, Tin Ly. We were at school together in South East Melbourne and then were also housemates for about three years from 2012, which was the year Roll’d was established.

So, I saw the progress and reputation of the business in its early stages. I was at the opening day for the first Roll’d store in Melbourne and was in awe of the massive lines of people that were keen to get some fresh Vietnamese.

Growing up, I used to go to Springvale in South East Melbourne and get Banh Mi from local Vietnamese bakeries so had a great appreciation of Vietnamese food from early on.

WHAT WAS YOUR WORKING BACKGROUND? I worked at Pizza Hut from when I was 16 and a couple of other takeaway pizza stores following that up until I was about 23, so I did have hospitality experience.

I studied science at uni but never really pursued a career in that field. I worked as a state manager for a company that audited the Coles Liquor Group. I also have a Bachelor of Accounting which I chose to study to get a better understanding of business.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR CAREER PATH? I was a Roll’d employee for three and a half years before making the move to become a franchisee.

In 2015, I was seconded to Canberra to assist in the management of the then two stores that were in the ACT.

The turning point for me was being able to grow the sales to a level where I saw good potential to be successful as a franchisee.

WHAT TYPE OF TRAINING AND ONGOING SUPPORT IS PROVIDED? I was fortunate as an employee to be able to learn the in-store management required to successfully run a store. As a franchisee, I have always been given amazing support from the head office team whenever I need it.

As a multi-site owner, I received some great advice on how to move to more of an area management role. HAS YOUR WORK/LIFE BALANCE IMPROVED SINCE BUYING THE FRANCHISE? It has considerably improved since becoming a franchisee! I used to dedicate a lot of time to Roll’d as an employee and now I think I have learned how to better manage my time to maintain a much better balance as a franchisee.

I got married in November 2018 and had my first daughter earlier this year so I try to spend as much time with my family as I can while trying to be smart with the time I spend managing the businesses.

I am lucky to be able to rely on the dedication and amazing efforts of my store managers and other team members.

IS THERE ONE ASPECT OF THE FRANCHISE SYSTEM THAT STANDS OUT? The family culture. Even with 100 stores, it feels like every person involved including the founders, head office team, franchisees and their teams all care about each other like a big family. n