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What does it take to be a successful pizzeria owner? A great product? Great marketing? A little of both? You could also say great operations, great employees and the right marketing, but how much difference can attitude make? How many of you have ever complained about 60 or 70 hour work weeks, never being able to leave the store or just complained about being dead on your feet or tired of standing in the shop all day? It’s easy to do with the day-to-day grind. Even I have caught myself complaining about long work weeks and deadlines…then I had the privilege to talk with Staff Sgt Robert Doughty.
When I first heard about Robert, I was inspired by his story. Robert is a veteran of the war in Iraq who now owns a Little Caesar’s store in Paducah, Kentucky. While serving in the Army, he lost both of his legs to an IED (improvised explosive device). Have you ever thought about what you would do or what your attitude would be if you suddenly became disabled? Would you just throw your hands in the air and give up? I think Robert’s story is a great lesson and inspiration for any business owner, regardless of if you own a pizzeria or a hardware store.
Why Join the Army?
Since the seventh grade Robert wanted to be in the Army. “I am just an adventurous person,” he told me. “After reading stories in military books as a kid, I knew it was something I wanted to do. There was a sense of patriotism, but my adventurous nature also spurred me on. Being from rural Kentucky, I wanted to see more.”
Robert went to Army basic training between his junior and senior high school in Paducah, Kentucky, and received training as a combat medic. In 1993 he transferred from the U.S. Army Reserves to Active Duty, and moved into Military Intelligence. About two weeks after arriving at his first assignment in Fort Drum, NY, the U.S. invaded Haiti in Operation Uphold Democracy and Doughty was deployed there.
“That was my first real wake up call,” Robert said. “I went into a Third World country and got to see how other people lived compared to here. The first thing I noticed getting off the plane was the unbearable heat, but then I saw the living conditions…it was nothing more than mud huts. Being 19 years old and seeing that makes you appreciate the U.S. so much more. That was my first real ‘You’re in the Army now’ moment.”
From there, he tried to get good assignments; doing all the things he needed to get promoted and make a career out of the military. He spent a couple of years in the 101st Airborne division, which is one of the premiere major combat units in the U.S. Army. He reenlisted after three years at Fort Campbell, and went to Ft. Lewis in the Pacific Northwest. Thoroughly enjoying duty at Fort Lewis, Doughty was shocked to find out he was being reassigned as a U.S. Army recruiter.
“They Hit the World Trade Centers”
“I never really wanted to do recruiting,” Robert said, “but it was good for my career. About nine months into that is when the World Trade Centers were attacked. Having previously been in an intelligence unit, I was trying to figure out what organizations were capable of putting together an operation like this. Some other recruiters and I were discussing what the military would do…either send a few Tomahawk missiles or launch an invasion. About a month after that we invaded Afghanistan.”
Aching to get back into a combat unit, Robert still had about a two and a half year wait because of the recruiting assignment. In 2003, about six months before the end of his recruiting tour, he got to choose his next assignment.
“I wanted to be in a combat unit I knew was focused on the Middle East so I volunteered to go into the Special Forces,” Robert said. “I went to the 5th Special Forces Group out of Ft. Campbell, which is located alongside the 101st Airborne Division. To be in a combat unit…well, that was my job.”
He would get shot at, but, “It wouldn’t be the first time, but hopefully it was the last…that is the mentality,” he said. “It’s like a baseball or football player…when you get to the Super Bowl you don’t want to be sitting on the sidelines. I am not saying war is like playing a game, but it’s the same kind of mentality. You are trained for years to do this and you want to go do your job.”
Going to Iraq
Before he went to Iraq, Staff Sgt Doughty met Lloyd Allard, who had requested that Staff Sgt Doughty come down and coordinate intelligence for the six Special Forces teams in his company. They flew to Iraq together.
“When I first met Lloyd, he was a big, joyful, larger than life kind of guy,” Robert said. “In the Army you have to get to know people quickly and get on to your job. We hit it off really well together. Lloyd was getting ready to retire after Iraq and was sort of in the job market himself. We had discussed it a little, but I was thinking I still had 18 years in the Army.”
In mid-2004 Staff Sgt Doughty and Lloyd got to Iraq. “Getting off the plane you just put yourself in a mindset; same type of problem, just a different environment and you are there to do your job,” he said “You just prepare yourself.”
Days in Iraq for Staff Sgt Doughty often consisted of traveling out to where the teams were located to check on them and collect, distribute and coordinate intelligence. The teams are scattered out, sometimes up to 100 miles from headquarters.
The Day Life Changed
About two months to the day after he arrived in Iraq was when Staff Sgt Doughty’s life changed forever. It happened while he was in a convoy travelling from Tikrit to Balad.
“That day we were going to Balad,” Staff Sgt Doughty explained. “We knew there had been a lot of activity in the area where we were to travel through, so bombs were no surprise. It was probably about 9 or 9:30 in the morning. As we were driving, we were anticipating trouble. We’re traveling between 50 and 60 miles an hour and trying to be totally aware of anything going on. They are very sneaky about the way they hide these things (IEDs). Many times you don’t see anything to indicate trouble is there. I was in the passenger’s seat and a helicopter was flying relatively close to us doing their normal patrol through the area and we waved at each other. Then, within 30 seconds or so, the roadside bomb (IED) went off.
“You see the smoke and the light first and then hear the explosion later. The explosion itself, aside from the shrapnel, sucks the air and life right out of you. It creates almost like a vacuum in space. I remember that happening. You never want to stop if you find yourself in an ambush, so we traveled another half mile or so. Once the bomb went off they started shooting at the helicopter and shot one of the pilots.
“I never went unconscious or into shock and when we stopped, I called for medical support. Our medic was in the third vehicle and ran up and started working on me. The guy in our turret was brand new and was a little shaken up with cuts, scrapes and bruises, but he was able to get down and he worked on one leg and the other guys worked on the other leg. These guys aren’t just medics, they are highly trained Special Forces guys and can almost do things doctors can do…we often solely rely on them for medical care in the field. At that point, my legs were still attached, but seriously damaged.”
Going Home
While in rehab in the U.S., Tom Porter, a Korean War vet, came and visited Robert. He realized when the War on Terror kicked off that there would be a lot of service members coming back as amputees. He had been in the infantry in Korea and had stepped on a mine. The explosion blew him onto another mine, which caused him to lose both legs below the knees. He was strong and recovered and basically has lived a good, successful life even after a tragedy like that. He was a great example for those who might have been thinking life was over at that point.
“That never really crossed my mind,” Robert said. “The medical staff at Walter Reed had a lot to do with my attitude…they were never down and had the right kind of attitude for the job of dealing with traumatically injured service members coming back in various conditions. Also, being in a place like Walter Reed, when you are recovering you are surrounded by other service members with injuries like your own, so it’s not just you and the injury. Each day you go into physical therapy with other soldiers who are making progress by leaps and bounds and you say to yourself ‘I can do what this guy is doing’ and after meeting someone like Tom Porter you say ‘I can do what that guy did’. You recover as a group and challenging each other every day provided the right atmosphere.”
Life Takes a Turn
Robert was in the hospital for about five months. “There is assistance through the VA to help you find a new career or go back to school,” Robert said. “But some don’t use all the assets there to get prepared to get back to a normal life. I was looking at a couple of options, one of them was to go into the medical field, but I hadn’t made up my mind yet.”
While at the hospital, a reporter from USA Today came up and did an article on Robert. Mike Ilitch, founder of Little Caesar’s, read it and was impressed by his attitude. “I read later on that he was asking himself what he would do if he were in that kind of situation, what would his attitude be like,” Robert told me. “He thought he would have taken it pretty rough. He had also been a Marine and had seen Marines come back from Korea injured. He made up his mind that he wanted to do something.”
Robert got a call from Mr. Ilitch’s VP of U.S. Development. After an interview process, they spoke on the phone and Mr. Ilitch made Robert an offer…a free Little Caesar’s franchise. Robert didn’t hesitate a moment in accepting the offer.
Difference in Business and Being a Soldier
The first thing Mr. Ilitch told Robert was that he thought he needed to get a partner. Lloyd was the first person that came to mind. They had kept in touch and he was getting ready to retire and was “all-in” just like Robert was. Transferring from soldier to civilian to business owner wasn’t that difficult for Lloyd or Robert.
“You have to have a serious work ethic, leadership skills, management skills, and be aware of the flow of logistics…we learned all of that in the Army,” Robert said. “It wasn’t a difficult transition at all, but that is not saying it wasn’t hard work. The most difficult part for anyone is being prepared to work long hours. Just because you’re the owner of the store doesn’t mean you can sit back and let the employees do it all. When you are just opening, you have to be there from day one training employees so you can one day enjoy being the owner. You have to be able to multitask. If you can’t manage employees, customers and use logistics all at the same time, this isn’t the business for you. That is just another day in the Army though,” he laughs. “It’s just another job to do and you have to put yourself in the right mindset to do the job.”
Put in the Time
At the time of this interview, Lloyd and Robert had only taken about two days off in the past 21 days. “We could have spent less time, but we want to be involved with the day-to-day operations,” Robert said. “The quality of your restaurant hinges on you as a leader and we are the store’s leadership. The owner’s presence is a big part of a store’s success. If you want to make more and get more returns, you have to be willing to sacrifice yourself. If you want to do better, you have to involve yourself more and get closer to your customers. Give them something to take away other than the pizza itself…that is Mr. Ilitch’s philosophy.”
Little Caesar’s Veterans’ Program
When asked what the most rewarding part of the whole experience is, Robert said it was the creation of Little Caesar’s Veterans Program. After Mr. Ilitch offered Robert the franchise he went to his management team and said he wanted to find some way to do this for others. Now, honorably discharged veterans can get $10,000 off of their initial fees and start-up costs to get their foot in the door. For disabled veterans, they can get up to $68,000 to get into business.
“Being a Marine, Mr. Ilitch knows what kind of leaders come out of the military,“ Robert said. “I think this program will become wildly successful.”
“You’re in the Pizza Business Now”
The pizza industry is a special group. I have listened to countless stories of people who worked as machinists, mechanics, teachers and just about every sort of non-restaurant related profession taking their life savings and opening a pizzeria. At some point in the beginning they all have that first “I’m in the Army/pizza business now” experience, but like Robert Doughty, you have to prepare yourself for these situations.
When you think about it, you are the leader and the intelligence officer of your business. Many times your business and your employees’ jobs depend on collecting as much information as possible and using it to make the right decisions. Learning what food, labor and other costs are and using this information can be the defining difference. When you explain your goals and concerns to your management they will have the information they need to keep business on track.
Very seldom will you have a market to yourself; there’s always competition out there trying to run you out of business and no matter how much you are paying attention, there will be times when things blow up on you too. Just like the moment Robert Doughty’s life changed, adversity will try to suck the air right out of your lungs, but this is the time not to give up.
Just like the Army’s training staff, inspirational people like Tom Porter and the staff at Walter Reed Hospital, our industry has an abundance of professionals here to help you either get started or overcome obstacles. Through any of the trade shows, trade publications, consultants and online help, there is a support group that you can rely on for assistance. You can go to places like PMQ.com’s Think Tank and there you can access thousands of operators just like yourself. As a group you can learn from others who have had, or are having the same problems you do and overcome obstacles and get inspiration from their stories. All the assets you need to survive are there, but you have to be prepared, be a leader and use the tools that are available.
Regrets? None.
I asked Robert if he had any regrets about the decision in his youth to go into the Army. “No, it was a tremendously rewarding experience,” he told me. “I learned things you will never learn anywhere else and saw a big chunk of the world. I learned a lot and it gave me the confidence to do what I am doing today. Half of me will always be in the Army, but you can’t be a soldier forever.”