Innovating Your Franchise During COVID-19 with John Kutac of The Whimsy Cookie Company

John Kutac brings a plethora of experience to his role as President at The Whimsy Cookie Company. Previously Kutac served as President for Growler USA including 10 years with Romano’s Macaroni Grill, owned by Brinker International, where he worked his way up to Managing Partner. There he assisted in growing the brand to over 200 locations. Following his time with Brinker International, Kutac held leadership roles at Western Capital Partners and Clear Choice Dental Implants before taking on the role of Chief Operating Officer of WellBiz Brands, Inc., one of the world’s largest wellness organizations.   Key Takeaways: [0:18] Today’s episode of Franchise Euphoria is brought to you by IndyFranchiseLaw.com, a leading resource in the franchise space. Head over to IndyFranchiseLaw.com learn more! [0:59] Josh introduces today’s guest, John Kutac, the president of The Whimsy Cookie Company. [2:12] Josh welcomes John to Franchise Euphoria. [2:37] John walks through his extensive history in franchising and describes how he came into the opportunity with Whimsy Cookie. [4:06] John describes how Whimsy Cookie went from an in-home operation to a franchise system. [7:04] All of the current Whimsy Cookie locations are currently fully built out locations with big kitchens, but John believes moving forward, a “hub and spoke” model might be more efficient for future locations. [9:47] John shares how COVID-19 has affected the Whimsy Cookie locations. [14:15] John describes what the experience of visiting a Whimsy Cookie store location is like. [17:44] The ideal Whimsy Cookie franchisee is someone who is first and foremost passionate, but they are now targeting franchisees who will develop larger territories. [19:43] In John’s opinion, anyone looking to franchise their business needs to be sure everything is documented ahead of time and do all the heavy lifting upfront. [22:35] If you want to learn more about the Whimsy Cookie Company, visit their website listed below. [23:06] Thanks for listening, and please, reach out to Josh anytime through email at [email protected]. If you enjoyed this interview, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.   Mentioned in This Episode: [email protected] www.franchiseeuphoria.com www.indyfranchiselaw.com https://whimsycookieco.com/franchise/