Following a Dream, Taking Risks, and Making Family Your Top Priority While Building Several Successful Businesses (with John C. Lopez)

On this episode, John C. Lopez shares how he turned his role in a Latino community economic development program into an opportunity to become an established McDonald’s franchisee before changing tracks in his 50s to become a premiere supplier to the nation’s largest quick-service restaurant system. John C. Lopez is a successful entrepreneur who rose from modest beginnings in Glendale, Ariz., to become owner of four profitable McDonald's restaurants in Los Angeles before McDonald's approached him about taking over an Oklahoma City meat processing plant.  John rebranded and renamed the plant Lopez Foods in 1995 to reflect its diverse heritage. John left college after an injury cost him a football scholarship and worked as a banker helping minority business owners raise capital. But he decided to follow his own entrepreneurial dream, which he has passed on to his five children. His three daughters own McDonald's franchises in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas, and his two sons are executives at Lopez Foods. His greatest success is his family. “We enjoy giving advice to our family. The friendship that we have developed as a family is unbelievable. Unmistakably the most wonderful thing it can be… we’re all best friends.” www.thecapitalchartroom.com