Franchise Speak

Be very careful if considering this franchise. I worked for one for over a year. The owners of the parent company have no franchise experience and don’t provide any real support. Buying this franchise means you get access to some recipes, and mostly from the Internet - nothing authentic. Beyond that you are on your own.

Most locations are losing thousands every month. Call around and talk to the franchisees to see what their experiences are. Look at how many are for sale on the Internet. Even some as cheap as $30K for open locations! Each month, a large number continue to go out of business losing hundreds of thousands of dollars invested and ending up with tons of debt on top.

Someone ought to really look into this from a legal perspective because it seems that many people have gotten taken and were sold a rotten bag of goods. There is lots of fluff on the outside (cute pictures of smiling kids, promises of a successful program), but no substance. Many don’t find out until it is too late.

Try to also get a more updated UFOC. The one listed above is old and MANY locations have since gone out of business since that was printed.

Do your homework!

By Karen on Oct 30, 2007

I am an owner of a Young Chefs Academy and what has been posted here is true. They claim in the marketin hype that this program is successful. I don’t consider losing hundres of thousands of dollars to be a successful venture. I guess they can say that because they are raking in over $80,000 a month in franchise fees.

They used to have on the website “168 locations and growing!” Well, there have been so many closures this year that they finally had to remove the number because it was too embarassing. So far, about 30 of these have gone out of business this year alone and lost EVERYTHING!

Last month we had a conference where we all flew to Houston, TX. This was SUCH a waste of time. One of their “experts” to speak to us was someone who has not even been in business a month. They probably had to get someone new who hadn’t been open long enough to know how much they would lose in the long run.

Instead of having any answers for all of the struggling owners (which are most of us), they just put us in rooms together to figure out the answers ourselves. Worse, they don’t even have a business plan for the franchise, but wanted the franchisees to write the plan. How do you sell franchises to people and manage a franchise with no business plan??? The reason so many are failing is because there is no support from YCI and they have idea how to translate their “vision” (assuming they have one) into a business venture. There is much more to a business than showing pictures of happy kids in a kitchen and pulling some recipes off of the Internet.

This Young Chefs franchise is the worse mess I have ever seen after having been in business for over 30 years. The owners of YCI have no franchise experience and have no idea how to pull this thing out of the toilet. They spend more time trying to tell everyone to be positive than they do on actually creating the business. Somehow, they think that if everyone just thinks happy thoughts, all of the problems will go away.

This I will tell anyone considering buying this franchise - DO NOT BUY A YOUNG CHEFS ACADEMY! Call the franchisees and talk to them. You will be surprised how many have never made a profit after 1-2 years in business. Even the very first location had to close last month. Ask them about the level of support. Ask them whether they would buy it again. Even people who initially bought multiple territories have dumped them once they saw how poorly run this organization is.

Karen is right. Someone should look into this from a legal perspective. I think it is high time someone did.

By YoungChefs on Nov 12, 2007

Young Chefs Academy is a really great idea. As a former teacher at one, I know these franchisees pour a lot of their heart into this business. The teachers do too.

The problem is that the owners of YCI don’t know what they are doing. They don’t know how to run the franchise or how to make the business successful. There is no business plan?? I didn’t know that, but it makes sense when I look back on it. That should be criminal to sell a franchise with no business plan.

The future should look great for this business, but those founders are running it into the ground. They just sit in Texas and pretend that the problems don’t exist, hoping the problems will just go away. Anyone who talks about the problems become a pariah.

It’s also all in the family with family members of the founders set-up as required vendors where franchisees have to pay them money each month. They have set themselves up to live high on the hog and get rich off of the backs of people who have sunk hundreds of thousands of dollars into this failure of a business.

In all the time I was at Young Chefs, not ONE time did YCI ever come visit or call to see if they could help turn the business around. For months my boss contacted them asking for help, and they did nothing. I even heard they started collecting additional national advertising fees each month and there is still no national advertsing. They are really sucking the life from the franchisees to fatten their pockets and don’t seem to care.

This I know, I had fun teaching at Young Chefs, but the owner lost around $4,000 a month each month. From what I heard, this is the norm for most of the franchisees. I would NEVER buy a Young Chefs Academy. I think they should be investigated before being allowed to sell anymore businesses. It just seems like a big fraud is being pulled off here.

By Lillian on Nov 30, 2007

In case the page on that one forum above is pulled, I think people should have a record of what young chef people have been saying about this business. ________________

Sandy
March 22, 2007 at 3:18 pm

You are right to be concerned. My best friends purchased one and they said the ongoing support is basically non-existent. They are very disappointed in that part of it because there seem to be a lot of questions from owners, and no direction is being given. Apparently, many times they don’t even respond to questions if you can believe that. If I were you, I would just start calling a few of the locations myself to get a real picture of what is going on.

Anyway, I still think it is a very cute idea. My friends said they may sell it if nothing changes, but I hope not. My kids love it! There is nothing else like it in our area and my kids have learned a lot. They do actually cook and they have lots of fun.

keyroses
March 30, 2007 at 4:39 pm

We too are looking into opening a YCA. Unfortunately, we have contacted the Findley group several times over the past few weeks and have yet to hear back from them. My husband and I are pretty bummed about that because of all the franchise opportunities we have been exploring, it definitely is our #1 pick.

startupprincess
March 31, 2007 at 3:39 pm

I hope you will be contacted soon!

George
April 30, 2007 at 12:38 pm

My daughter is considering this Franchise opportunity. Has anyone out there received information on gross sales/unit? I realize that they have not been open very long and that numbers vary by location, but I would still like to get a sense of what the highs and lows are as it relates to gross sales. I assume the company does not quote those figures in their UFOC? Has anyone spoken to current franchisee’s regarding their numbers?

chef lady
May 7, 2007 at 7:54 am

I purchased a Young Chefs Academy franchise & will be open soon! Our estimates for profit are extremely promising! Start-up costs are estimated based on the cost of living in the company’s home city-Waco, TX. It has cost us more to open our location than it would have in Waco, TX, but we are still optimistic that our investment will pay off! We have had lots of interest so far & we’ve booked lots of reservations even though we’re still in the build-out process.
It is certainly what I would call a flexible franchise. I like the fact that the curriculum is established yet we have some room to still be creative as owners.
I feel that my suggestions have been heard & implemented at the franchisor level.
Also, territories are selling quickly, and several other owners I’ve spoken with wished they would have made the commitment earlier (so as to lock-in the territory of their choice).
I can post again in a few months when we’re up & running.
Also, fyi, the company that franchised Young Chefs is owned by Gary Findley. You may recognize that name because he was the original franchisor of Curves for Women.
Anyway, I encourage you to contact the sales guys & get the info from them. Then apply that info to your area-rent, utilities, city regulations, build-out costs, etc. to see if it works for you. I devised a “calculator” of sorts which I used to determine profit/loss & determined that my store needs to be aroung 33% full to break-even. Other locations in our area are full or nearly full within one year of opening.
Hope this info helps!

Kidz Cook
May 9, 2007 at 2:43 pm

I too am a Young Chefs Academy owner, but I am already open. My experience does not match that of the previous poster. There is also some incorrect info in that post.

The Findley Group and the expertise of Gary Findely is a major reason why many have bought into this franchise. However, he is no longer associated with YCA. If you are interested in pursuing a franchise, you must contact the YCI corp.

There are major operational issues which directly affect finances. You are right to ask about numbers and I would perform due diligence before making any investment.

Our initial investments were also very promising, as well as initial interest. The reality has been much different than what we were sold.

I will not go into details, but leave it to say that if I had to do it over again, I would not have purchased it.

Sorry I don’t have better news to give.

Nicky K
May 13, 2007 at 5:07 am

I first saw this franchise about a month ago and was interested in starting one myself in another city/state. To date, my request for further info has gone ignored. Not even an email saying they are getting to it. Not a good sign when you don’t reply to people who want to pay you money!

I’m not sure you could count on this company for support if you needed it.

Sandy
May 25, 2007 at 11:43 am

Oh well, my friends have decided to sell [*sigh*]. They say that things have just gone from bad to worse lately, and the company just does not seem to care. From what they say, a lot of franchisees are fighting mad and also trying to sell because the company is doing next to nothing to support them. This is all just a shame, because my kids have enjoyed these classes.

I was even thinking about buying my friends Young Chefs, but I searched today on the Internet and a lot of these schools are up for sale in a number of states. That is kind of scary since this business is so new. Kind of changed my mind.

Me too
June 26, 2007 at 1:35 pm

I am a young chefs owner and I too have decided to sell. Anybody know a good franchise broker who can help with selling this?

Kerry
July 11, 2007 at 7:15 pm

May I ask what has been the biggest disappointment considering this is such a new franchise? Support? Fees? Cost? Seems like a great concept

advice
July 22, 2007 at 12:53 pm

If anyone knows of any young chefs franchisees that feel that young chefs academy breached its franchise agreement in connection with the sale of its franchises should call einbinder and dunn. They specialize in representing franchisee rights and have an excellent reputation for such representation.

Roger
August 4, 2007 at 10:14 pm

Hi,
I am looking to open a YCA. I have read previous emails. It’s been quite mixed response. What are the real issues with this franchise? Bad support, not enough revenue, high cost…? Any information would be helpful.
Thanks
Roger

Richard
August 6, 2007 at 3:10 pm

Dear Kelly,

My name is Richard Nettles and I am the husband of one of the founders of Young Chefs Academy. I also work for the founders in their merchandise company, which supports the Young Chefs Academies that are currently operating.

Young Chefs Academy was the subject of one of your blog posts from August 9, 2006. Your post generated quite a lot of interest in the concept and even resulted in some folks licensing a franchise. After your post, comments started appearing that indicated there was trouble with the company…and there was.

My wife, Suzy Nettles and her business partner, Julie Burleson started the company with the idea that children and young people can benefit from a culinary education that compliments the academic skills taught in schools, taps into the creative energy of children and shows kids that cooking is, most of all, fun! These aspects of Young Chefs Academy have not changed.

What has changed with the company is what I believe is the making of a terrific interview for you to post on your blog. In January of this year, Julie and Suzy almost lost their company. During the long months leading up to May, 2007 they fought to keep control of Young Chefs Academy. Their hard work, tenacity and faithfulness to their vision has resulted in a company of which they are sole owners; a company that has a growing national brand recognition with a proven operating system; a company which has 100 operating academies; and a company that recently completed a co-promotion with Disney-Pixar for the animated film “Ratatouille”. There are several other partnerships in development as I type this.

I hope you can see why, as a husband, I am so proud of my wife, Suzy and her best and closest friend, Julie. I believe they have a compelling story and a wealth of information that your readers may find useful as they achieve their own entrepreneurial dreams. If you would like to contact Julie and Suzy directly, their e-mail address is or they can be reached at 254-751-1040.

Sincerely,
Richard Nettles

Kelly King Anderson
August 6, 2007 at 10:51 pm

Thank you Richard for representing YCA, we’ve been having this discussion for a year…so it’s great to see you here. Glad to hear that things are looking up! Congrats. I’ll be in touch and yes, I would like to interview your wife and her friend.

Angelia
August 7, 2007 at 1:29 pm

Great!! I just received a magazine out of our local newspaper and have to comment on Young Chefs Academy’s behalf- American Profile has put them on the COVER page!! A great article also!! Look FUN and something I am peronally looking for!!

Julie’s answers
August 9, 2007 at 7:53 pm

I don’t believe that Julie’s questions have been answered here. I am considering purchasing a territory, but the comments above worry me. I know the answers to some of these.

Does the franchise require that you are owner-operator? This I don’t know, but I will tell you that from what I see teaching yourself may be the only way to make any money. Payroll is a huge expense.

What does their monthly royalty fee include (theirs is $395 a month)? It includes curriculum. Oh and by the way- there’s a monthly web fee (the owner’s son own’s the design firm) which gives you essentially a link to their site and a flat template to use for your own pages.

What kind of initial and on-going training do they provide? There is an initial training, and an annual convention.

Do they require that you send them an overage check (percent of sales) if you exceed a certain amount in revenues? Don’t know this

What non-compete clauses are you required to sign (for example, if you do a Color Me Mine franchise you are not allowed to do another arts/crafts store)?
Teachers are required to sign a non-compete agreement. They are not allowed to teach cooking anywhere but YCA. All ‘products’ you want to sell and ‘classes’ you want to teach on your own (outside of their curriculum) must be approved. It takes at least 2 weeks to get approval.

What does their suggested store build-out cost? Length of lease required? How much square footage do they require?

Does your franchise fee include build-out? NO and one reply above says they base the estimates on Waco, TX costs. I don’t believe that’s representative of most of the rest of the country. Be careful and research on your own.

Are you allowed to create your own products to support theirs and sell in your space? Again, there must be approval of any products sold inside the store.

Required hours of operation? Are you required to be there when there are no classes in session (for example, to answer questions to a walk-in client)? I don’t know if they require it, but if you’re in a high traffic area you would want to be there.

Suzy
August 10, 2007 at 10:28 am

Good afternoon to all! We would welcome the opportunity to speak to any of you that have questions about Young Chefs Academy as a franchise possibility. As many of the comments made here are false, it would be best to call us directly at 1-877-341-1041, or email us and allow us to address these questions.

Keep on Cooking!
Julie Burleson and Suzy Nettles
Co-Founders
Young Chefs International

Lisa
August 12, 2007 at 11:34 am

Before you buy a franchise, any franchise, read The Franchise Fraud by Robert Purvin. I seriously regret buying a franchise, not YCA, but another that seems to be in a simmilar situation! I say, if you really believe you want own a business, start it yourself. If you think a franchise will be easier, you are fooling yourself and will be sadly mistaken. Also, do an informal poll of 100 people and if less than 50% can’t say anything good about the concept you are considering, walk away–the only thing you are buying when you buy a franchise is name recognition and if it isn’t there, walk away! Just my opinion, but one I wish someone had given me three years ago, Lisa

Common $ense
August 25, 2007 at 6:46 am

Beyond the warm & fuzzies and sales pitches, you would be smart to ask questions. This is afterall a business decision and not a pen pal program.

There do seem to be a lot of these for sale on the Internet as one poster stated. Postings for the business on different franchise sites place the total investment as between $89,350 - $208,000. But a number of these existing locations for sale are going for much cheaper. That may not be a good thing.

Everyone claims to have a ‘proven’ program. Look for evidence of this. Have any franchisees gone bankrupt? Have any gone out of business? How has the franchise been growing? Are they growing too fast? Too slowly?

How in tune with franchisees is the franchisor? Do they conduct on-site visits? Do they communicate regularly? Have them quantify the type of ’support’ provided (when you are opening and afterwards) so you know what you are getting into.

Speak to existing franchisees - and not just the ones they give you. Call around and ask questions. Their current situations will give you a perspective into what the franchisor may not divulge. Ask the hard questions like how they view the franchise and franchisor relationship. How do they rate the support and the program? How long have they been open? Is their program growing? Knowing what they know now, would they invest again if they could do it over?

Most importantly, take your time and do not rush into a decision. Do your homework. Ask questions.

Too late for me
August 29, 2007 at 3:44 am

I really wish this info had been available before I bought this franchise. Someone asked what the problems are, there are many. A lot of them listed here. Everyone says this is a wonderful concept, in many aspects that is all it is.

A major part of the problem is listed above in the statement that there “were” problems in the past but not anymore. Most anyone who owns one (and not someone just trying to sale more franchises) would find that laughable.

A growing number are going out of business and just losing everything. To answer one question above, I would definitely NOT have purchased this again if I knew what I know now. I would sale mine too but many of those for sale haven’t found buyers after months of trying. Really a bad situation overall.

startupprincess
August 30, 2007 at 12:27 pm

Hello to all,
I just got off the phone with Suzy and Julie the owners of YCA and will be preparing “their side of the story” interview and feature on our new site, http://www.StartUpPrincess.com very soon…just to calm the storm a bit, my questions were answered and I can say that those of you who are owners are definitely in good hands! Be of good cheer and know that YCA has a bright future ahead, they are aware of the concerns and are working toward solutions. More on this soon.

Kelly King Anderson
Founder of StartUp Princess

renaissancedame
August 30, 2007 at 3:17 pm

Well, this has been some very interesting reading! As a former owner of two franchises and now a YCA owner, I feel that I have some experience in the above-mentioned areas and will be happy to share my opinion.

First, I have owned a Young Chefs now for a little over 1 1/2 years. There is probably no person out there who has started a franchise with as little start-up capital as I had when I bought my YCA. Young Chefs is a “new concept” and takes a while to establish in any new area. This means hard work and perseverance! I have gone to visit schools, given community demonstrations, participated in marketing events, put out fliers, press releases, and given countless items for donations. All this in an effort to get the YCA name out in the community. The result…my business is growing! It may be slower than I had hoped, but I will have my loans paid off within the first three years of business. I think this is a great testament to the business.

Some other issues…
A flat monthly royalty fee of $395 is extremely low. Most other franchisors take a percentage of the gross amount. I’m thrilled with $395!

The curriculum staff at YCA cannot be beat! I was a teacher for over twenty years. A person who would like to start their own cooking school can, in no way, create the support materials and tested recipes that YCA has provided for its franchisees. Daily, this staff is coming up with new ideas and events for us.

I’m actually not sure what the franchise fee is at this point, but if it’s under $30,000, it’s low. Also, build-out costs do vary according to your area, but my build-out ran true to my expectations. Did I want to pull my hair out during some of the build-out experiences? Sure, working through the codes and local ordinances was exhausting, but everything finally worked out for me.

There is a non-compete form that is signed by everyone which truly protects the franchisee as much as anyone. It keeps teachers from teaching for me, gathering my materials and beginning their own business.

Finally, to something mentioned above, one founder has a young son and the other has two sons under the age of 13 (I think). None of these guys run the website. The website is run by someone related to the family who is extremely capable and has exceeded my expectations as a franchisee.

As all new businesses do, YCA has had growing pains, but the changes being made in this company are for the best. There are successful and happy franchisees out there. I guess, life is what you make of it, huh?

Chef Teach
August 30, 2007 at 3:36 pm

As for “Too late for me”, it sounds like you ate too many of the lemons that were meant for the cookies. And kudos to “Lisa”, for the franchisee does not “own” the site. If you want to “own” your business, you must start it from scratch, like grandma’s wonderful chocolate cake. A franchise is more like a box cake where the cook takes the provided ingredients and makes something delicious. Even box cakes can be ruined if not used as directed. I am a YCA partner and have had a great time laughing, cooking, and earning. Yes, earning. The corporate office does a great job of providing curriculum, business tools, and the opportunity to succeed whereever you are. I know Julie and Suzy at the corporate office are focused on one thing, the success of the franchisee. However, the success of the site is up to the franchisee, not the corporate office. I am very happy with YCA and my experience has been life changing for me, as well as for the children I teach. I’ll keep cooking!!!

YCAOwner
August 31, 2007 at 1:44 am

Been a YCA owner for 2 years now. Recipes? Originally from the Internet mostly, but much much better now. Real improvement and good variety.

True, many are losing lots of money each month, but it is new. It takes time to establish and work out the kinks. A number are going out of business, but those who hang in will probably see things turn around.

Agree fees are very low. You kind of get what you pay for. This is the beginning of the opportunity. You are getting in on the ground floor. If corporate had more answers about how to make this work and be successful, it would probably cost a lot more. They are learning as we are, both about the business and franchising. In the end, it should payoff because this is such a great concept.

Surprised no one mentioned it takes a lot of work. Not the business for someone who wants to be part-time, hands-off, or has small children, which is how it was originally sold. I don’t think they are selling that way anymore. But anyone should know that if thinking of buying. This change in selling is another positive for what Julie & Suzy have done.

So if you call around to franchisees you probably will find those who are not happy. That comment about sour lemon cookies was funny, but I am sure you know about what that poster was talking about too. There have also been some valid points here about the support problems and such, but I think things will get better. That is why I stick around.

Also really agree that this is fun. Everyone enjoys it and I enjoy owning it. No, I personally am not making any money and don’t know of more than 2 or 3 who are. Most seem to be struggling financially, but it really does take time. Time to build relationships, time to tweak your program and pricing, time to find out what sells in your area. This corporate cannot do for you.

There are things corporate should be doing to better support us and responsiveness can be pretty crummy, but again give it time. Let them get their feet wet and see what they can do.

Basically, in spite of the poor financials, this is the best ‘job’ I have ever had. I cannot wait to keep cooking and see this thing turn around.

Too late for me
August 31, 2007 at 3:49 am

Well, many of us cannot afford to wait around while losing thousands each month. Things will turn around? When? The people who head up corporate are the same people who have managed operations of this franchise for well over the past year. Yeah, they now do the sales part too, but they have always been responsible for operations. How long does it take to do what you are supposed to? Even you acknowledge that people are losing lots of money and they don’t even respond half the time.

Of course corporate will try to spin it. They need to sale more franchises. You know what? If prospective buyers call around to existing owners like one poster said, then they will know. Whether my comments (and others here) are true or not, they will find out for themselves. I\’ll leave it at that.

Too late for me too
August 31, 2007 at 7:31 am

We also were attracted to the business because of Gary Findley and his actual proven franchise success. As I am sure with any franchise in the beginning they shower potential franchisees
with attention and approach every conversation with enthusiasm about how wonderful everything is. And as long as you are making money,not questioning anything they do or ask for any help then they stay that way. If not, look out! How do I know? I owned one and after nearly a year I had to close it. When I asked for help because I was losing my business they said they would get back to me but never did. They weren’t interested
in me beacuse I was struggling. Another
franchisee I spoke with who also closed said she begged for help and never got any. Shouldn’t there be something in place to help those who are hanging on for dear life? Isn’t that part of franchise support? When it got to the point that I knew I was closing and I loooked into it a little bit I realized I wasn’t the only one. There are quite a few who have closed, are for sale, or who are seriously struggling. I’m not saying there aren’t people out there making money because there are, it just seems that they are a select few. Someone stated that there are many for sale and that’s true, but are they selling? I know of many that have been for sale for quite some time.

As far as Suzy saying there are false comments on this board, I have not seen any. Everything I have read here were similar to my experience.
Nobody wants to hear negative things about their company, but you have to address problems and not sweep them under the rug because they make you uncomfortable. I think this franchise can be successful if you can afford to hang on for 3 to 5 years. I hope that for the sake of the friends I have made through this venture that it is,
but with the current leadership I’m not sure it will.
All in all what I learned from this experience is along what the lines of what ‘Lisa’ stated in her post, stay away from a franchise. Save the money you would spend paying a franchise fee to help market your business to get it off the ground. There are quite a few cooking schools
for kids out there that seem to be doing very well and they aren’t restricted with what they can offer. Most importantly do your research, call around to talk to franchisees other than the ones they tell you to call. Then you will know what is really going on.

Michelle Steckley
September 24, 2007 at 9:22 am

Make sure all of the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed. Leave no stone unturned if considering a Young Chefs franchise. It is a Great concept but NOT what it is cracked up to be. There is nothing for the fees. If you can get questions answered, you are lucky. There are also additional fees for advertising, wesite usage, credit card usage, etc.
I have recently had to close my academy and with a huge debt in tow.
BE CAREFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow Am I Amazed
September 27, 2007 at 6:01 pm

Holy cow do I wish I had found this board before I bought into this franchise. Everyday I wish that I had simply taken my $30,000 franchise fee and put it into starting my own business. The only thing worth any money here is that they provide you with recipes to use, and that just saves me some time, its nothing I couldn’t just do myself. Other than that it’s pretty much nothing but restriction after restriction and they’re super anal about having approval over everything. Understandable but still annoying.

Then I read about the partners of YCI, and I can’t believe it. Their merchandising company is the founders husband? And the website company (horrible company) is another relative? That really makes me sick to my stomach. The website company is absolutely horrible and rakes in $85.00 a month from every franchise while accomplishing nothing. I happen to know for a fact that a website 10X’s better could be built for 1/10th of the price, but they obviously won’t look for a better priced web company thanks to the nepotism. (Note 150 franchises x $85.00 = $12,750 a month salary to build a website… ridiculous)

And the merchandising company… some stuff is reasonable, but there are many things that are vastly overpriced. If I had known about the nepotism, I never would have gotten into this. There’s no way these “founders” are making objective business decisions when it might hurt their family.

I just spoke to a business broker about selling and the price he said I may be able to get barely covered the franchise fee. Therefore I will stick it out, and I will make this profitable because I know I can do it. But if I had it to do over again, I would have simply done it myself and saved 30G’s and $700 a month. (Which is what the nickel and dime fees end up being.)

I will make this work, but when I do, it will be in spite of the road blocks from their nepotism, not because they did their best to make sure costs were low.

startupprincess
September 30, 2007 at 3:27 pm

Hello to all…this post has become quite the conversation about YCA. I have decided to not allow any anonymous comments on my blog so if you would like to comment, you must put your name (not “mickey mouse” or “YCA Owner”) and if it’s not a legitimate name, I won’t post your comment. If you have something to say, say it and be responsible for what you say and show respect. Thank you.

Make a Wish, Make it Happen,
Kelly

Anonymous
October 2, 2007 at 7:24 am

Just my two cents, but anonymous whistle blowers are the key to saving people from getting involved in a personal dispute that could hurt their business, when it’s obvious they are already being hurt enough. Without anonymous whistle blowers you’d have no whistle blowers. Hopefully you reconsider your commenting decision.

Young Academy
October 2, 2007 at 9:25 am

On one hand I’m glad this information is posted here. On the other hand, as someone trying to sell their store I wish it were not!!!

Melanie
October 3, 2007 at 9:25 am

When will the interview with Julie and Suzy on “thier side of the story” be available? See entry from August 30. Is it on the website? I can’t find it.

Young Academy
October 3, 2007 at 11:57 am

Give Julie and Suzy have to ‘prepare’ their side of the story makes me very suspicious.

I can already almost tell you what the response will be. Something along the lines of, “YCA is all about bringing kids and parents into the kitchen. While we realize there are some issues that need to be addressed we at YCI have taken many steps to improve upon our offering including hiring a franchise consultant, slowing down franchise sales by bringing that aspect of the business in house, adding more curriculum offerings and establishing a franchise advisory council.”

Lip service.

startupprincess
October 3, 2007 at 1:38 pm

Hi there,
Julie and Suzy didn’t “prepare” anything for our interview, the only delay has been on my part in publishing it. We had a great conversation and I have 6 pages of notes I need to spend some time pulling together to feature soon..after Oct 12th because I have a conference I’m producing for Startup Princess.

Remember, no more anonymous comments. thanks.

Melanie
October 9, 2007 at 3:37 pm

OK. The most positive post from an owner was on January 29, 2007 (Cindy Bartman). “My only regret is that I did not buy two.”

Well, 7 months later, Cindy is selling her YCA with an asking price of only $75,000. Google her store in Pittsburgh and it indicates sale pending.

What is going on???

patty
October 9, 2007 at 4:03 pm

I also saw her store up for sale. Actually there are quite a few for sale. They are also some of the store YCA is touting as their most successful.
I also own a YCA and I am doing fairly well, but I know of alot of franchisees who are not doing well.
Corporate is trying to support us better, but not in the way we need. Too many franchisees went into this with no experience with children or with business and they need help. The franchise allowed them to spend way…… tooo much money opening up. They thought the money would come pouring in. It is a great concept and I love it, but the reality is we are not going to be millionaires.

MJ Says
Be very careful what you wish for. I was told of Young Chefs by a very well educated friend who bought several territories. I opened and am now closed. My friend is frustrated as well and hopes that she will not have to close as well. There are too many questions that go unanswered from corporate. Do not get caught not seeing the forest through the trees.

cg Says

I work at a Young Chefs Academy and we too are closing. If you are planning on buying a franchise, we have asked our corporate office for help for over a year and our questions have yet to be answered. Our state has over 5 locations for sale and several have closed their doors. The concept is great the kids love it but did not generate enough cash flow for our location.

Sarah Knight Says

YCI did dissolve its relationship with the original broker this year, but Julie & Suzy have been leaders of the franchisee training sessions from the beginning. They have also been managing operations from the beginning. How can they now distance themselves from policies they were repeating, supporting, and profiting from?

If they believe that the previous broker was misleading franchisees in the sale of licenses, they should attempt to rectify this and not simply watch more and more people lose their shirts each month.

Julie & Suzy are great examples of how we as women can be empowered to work for ourselves and fulfill our own dreams. That is what first attracted me to work for YCA. I just hope they don\’t also become examples of how a great vision can still result in a failed enterprise in spite of all the best of intentions.

I know my boss has been asking Julie and Suzy (not the previous broker) for help for months, and no help has been offered. Nothing has been done to repair these damages.

Many of the investors in this business are women too. Women entrepreneurs who believed in the vision of these founders and have been let down by their silence on this issue and many others.

By Concerned for a Friend on Dec 18, 2007

I have no interest in YSA except as a landlord of one of the franchisees.

Our YSA has been open about 6 months and seems to be doing well. As in any personal service franchise, much depends upon the franchisee’s capital position and willingness to make the business work. We will be doing a feature on her shortly on my website.

One aspect of YSA that can be troubling is that many cities are not familiar with the concept. We were able to convince our local jurisdiction that as no food was leaving the premises YSA did not need to be fully NSF compliant, nor did the State require an inspection for the same reason. This was a major cost and time savings for the tenant.

I’ll be happy to answer any question from a landlord’s perspective, and may refer some questions to our tenant as well.

By LC on Dec 27, 2007

I am a current Young Chefs owner who carefully looked at the franchise. It is a great CONCEPT and vision but the franchisor seems to be VERY much weaker than I had thought when I bought into this. They are nice people but extremely paranoid and inexperienced. This inexperience DOES affect my business in many negative ways. In my opinion, they try to bully around even the best of their franchises which just pisses us off even more. They have VERY little background in actually running a kids cooking school on a retail level.

Family Ties hurt the franchisees-
The website is owned by David Hooper who is married to Julie Burleson’s sister.
The only approved vender for the majority of the products is Hodgepodge which is owned by Julie and Susie’s husbands.
There are MANY other family connections but the gist is that the concept seems set up to enrich the familial members and the franchisees get soaked with nobody to complain to.

I’ve tried to look past this inexperience and paranoia but it really does hurt my business. I try to mind my own business because the kids and parents really like us. We like them too but I have more than enough capital to withstand the continuing negative cash flow months but will not do so for long. If anyone was interested in buying my location for anywhere near what I put into this (which was much higher than they had told me it would be), I’d sell it in a flash. But so far I havn’t put it on the market. Maybe later this year. 80 hour weeks are not uncommon. Creativity is stifled. Corporate support is negative (they never pick up a phone) except for a great curriculum department.
If I had the money, I see great possibilities with purchasing YCI (the franchisor, not a franchise) but unfortunately, the first to go would have be those with the big egos and unfortunately, those two people are the founders who really are nice, just, in my opinion, not competent to run a company.

I, as a franchisee, get called all the time by prospective franchisees. It happens all the time. However, I truthfully share my opinion that despite the fun I’m having working with the kids, the YCI franchisor seems to put up so many roadblocks to allow me to succeed. I truthfully ask them if their goal is to make money or just to have some fun. It it’s just fun, I say give it a shot but be willing to accept that all forms of creativity are being taken away. I then ask if they are looking to make money. Most are and frankly, most are so under-capitalized that they could close much sooner than the many others who seem to be closing. I tell them to go with their gut but to call at least 10 franchisees still in business and to try to get ahold of some that have left the business. They can then make a more informed business decision.
It’s a very sad situation and in my mind, the franchisr really needs new ownership if the franchisees are to work. There might be a possibility of a hedge fund buyer but they are only interested in buying distressed companies. If the number of franchisees drops low enough, we might see them place an offer and who knows what might happen then.
In the meantime, I’m hanging in here but if a buyer came a knocking, I might listen pretty closely.

By Harold on Jan 10, 2008

Harold, that’s a disappointing report. My only experience is as a landlord, and what I have seen from corporate is that they do not understand California codes. We did a lot of work for the franchisee and actually help out others out of our area because they are so frustrated. Things are different in Waco, I believe. (I think it’s Waco).

I’m fortunate because I have no axe to grind in any of these franchise topics. I’m not a franchise salesman, just a landlord who has about 30 years in dealing with franchisees and franchisors.

I think your comments sound very fair, thanks.

John
www.localcenters.com

By LC on Jan 10, 2008

Well, looks like the very first Young chefs - the one originally started by the founders which was sold to some unsuspecting couple last year - is now out of business too.

That is a great selling point. Not even the location the founders started (and it is located right in the same city as the franchisor) has been able to stay in business.

You would think that the one store the founders started, sold, and were in the same city with could make it. They couldn’t even hold on a year.

If they cannot even keep open their own location, then what in the world gives folks the confidence that these founders have a “recipe for success” for any other location?

This whole Young Chefs franchise sounds like a recipe for a disastor to me.

By CryingShame on Jan 29, 2008

I am a prospective franchisee and while doing my due diligence I stumbled upon this website. I have to say, I am shocked at all the negative vibes. I was really convinced this was the right franchise for me and my husband but now I am having second thoughts. I have done a lot of research on different franchises and this one “appeared” to have the right stuff according to all the ratings. My question to anyone reading is, if it is such a mess, why is it rated in top 500 franchises and why is it #22 in top new franchises?

As a current succesful business owner, I understand about long hours, hard work and I was going into this assuming the franchise fee was going to buy me the general concept, the curriculum, and the marketing concept. I figured the rest would be up to me anyway. I dont think I would expect someone in Waco Tx to be able to solve problems here in So Cal.

Are the biggest issues the support problems? After all, it is your own business and it is up to you to make it successful. Maybe a lot of the failed franchisees just weren’t good business people. I dont mean to offend anyone, I am just trying to make an informed decision. I’ve run the numbers in my area and it seems like a no-brainer to me. Am I being naive?

By Karen on Feb 2, 2008

Many people have lost money in this venture, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. In all fainess, some were just not good business owners. Some were sold a bad bag of goods by the previous franchise broker. Many however have been previous franchise owners (i.e. Curves for example) or have been successful business people. However, they have had to shut their doors because there is virtually no “program” to sell.

It takes time for anything to grow, but there are some obstacles in this franchise that must be addressed before the potential of what we all bought into can be realized. One, the competence of the current leadership. While nice people, they have no experience in managing/growing a franchise. The founders need to step aside and let someone with the right expertise manage things - even if they stayed around to provide creative input (which they might be good at). Two, being burned by the previous broker, the founders are now very mistrustful and defensive - even with their own franchisees. They spend more time stifling growth than inspiring it. Three, they have no understanding of the market. They struggle to understand what the customers want/need or even define what a successful program should look like (i.e., no business plan). Four, according to them you would NOT be a business owner. You have been granted a license to run THEIR business. This attitude permeates a “Big Brother” sort of mentality and level of paranoia that I can only call juvenile. They continuously act without input from franchisees and make unilateral decisions that directly (and negatively) affect viablity of the business without forewarning or an invitation to discuss.

If you are expecting the franchise fee to buy you the general concept and the marketing concept, you will likely be disappointed. The only thing your franchise fee gives you is access to use the logo and some recipes. Although the curriculum has greatly improved over the past year, which is good.

I am also personally concerned about their ability to deliver more than just promises - and they are full of promises. Last summer, they told the owners in Georgia that they had oversold the market and would not sell any more franchises in the state. At the conference last fall, they repeatedly referenced how they needed to address the saturation issues in Georgia. Yet now, they are marketing Georgia territories to be sold. Also, they rolled out a program a year ago with all these promises about what the children would receive if they enrolled in the program and stayed in it for a year. After that year there was nothing. None of what they had promised as part of the program was available and we had nothing to offer the children who had believed the promises made.

YCI will promise you the world, they just rarely deliver on anything.

You talk about a number of industry “ratings”. You should examine the criteria for these lists and when these ratings were assigned. Also, remember that the sell of these franchises started out with a bang. It just turned into a fizzle shortly thereafter because there was nothing of substance to sustain it. I would not consider a franchise that is consistently losing franchises each month to be successful even if it is a novel and creative idea.

Have you asked them how many have gone out of business? It may not be in the UFOC yet unless they have updated it. Since these founders have taken over, more than 30 locations have gone out of business. Have you looked at the financials of the franchisor? Have you asked how many who had initially purchased multiple territories tried to sell back the others once they opened their first operation? Have you searched on the Internet to see how many are trying to sale their Young Chefs, even for ridiculously low prices? Have you called to speak to franchisees (not just the ones they give you)?

The decision to buy also seemed like a no-brainer to me. It has been a great disappoointment. Not the struggles, every new business must go through that in order to establish itself. I was not expecting easy money and those who went into this with that mindset were in error. However, I did expect a franchisor who understood the market, had a vision for the brand, a desire to make this franchise #1, and the knowledge to realize the mission. That is unfortunately just not in place.

By Look B4 U Leap on Feb 2, 2008

Thanks for the heads up. It sounds as though I may be better off saving the $30,000 and doing this on my own since it soinds like I’d be on my own anyway. I appreciate your honesty and wish you luck.

By Karen on Feb 2, 2008

Hi Karen, Don’t make that decision based on my feedback alone. You said you had already started looking into this; that is my best advice. Look very carefully before decidng to buy this so you won’t have any regrets. In hindsight, I would have gone with my own business over this. I personally have not found one thing they have provided that I could not have done on my own - probably better and cheaper. Being “on your own” is one of the top complaints I have heard from other franchisees here; you just begin to wonder what you are paying for. Yet, I am in this and only continue because I am hoping things get better and I don’t want to lose everything I have put into this. In the meantime, we will continue to run the best store we can and try to minimize the distractions caused by corporate.

Maybe one day they will understand that being a franchisor is more about successful business management than controlling their business “partners”. Maybe one day they will begin to treat franchisees more like partners than indentured servents. Maybe one day they will start to use the advertsing fees we pay each month to actually advertise and promote the brand. Maybe one day they will realize that pretending there are no problems will not stop the fiscal bleeding and will ultimately hurt all of us as more and more businesses simply close their doors. For some, that day didn’t come soon enough. I hope that it does come soon.

By Look B4 U Leap on Feb 3, 2008

There have been a few improvements.

Curriculum - Has been consistently ready at least 1 month out which is really good so we are not scrambling at the last minute.

Ads - While they don’t provide many targeted ads, the camp ads were available much earlier this year. Much better timing than last year. Quality of recent ads (over the past 7 months or so) have also improved.

New Program - No they didn’t deliver on all of their promises, but they eventually provided one of the products we were supposed to have. Better late than never I say.

Communication - They did start having conference calls with franchisees and formed a franchisee council. Some communication is better than nothing. Not sure of the effectiveness of the council which seem to be hand-picked people who do not cause waves, bt we will have to wait and see.

I am not sugar-coating and yes there are major issues still. If I had to do it over again, I would not have purchased this, but that is not the situation we are in. We have to make the best of what we have.

For those who are owners, unless yo want to close your doors or sell it for nothing (and still wind up losing thosands), then we have to focus on what is needed to make this better. My partner and I are just focusing on trying to be profitable. We don’t get much from YCI but we know not to expect much either.

If you get into this with any expectation from YCI other than some recipes, then you will be disappointed. Just focus on and grow yor business as best you can.

By Added Perspective on Feb 3, 2008

Karen,

Young Chefs is rated #22 by Entrepreneur Magazine probably based on number of franchises sold. Harold hits the nail EXACTLY on the head. The concept is great, the support is horrible and the smiles on the faces of the kids make it all worth it. Oh, profits are non-existent.

Someone asked what the specific issues with corporate are. Communication is number 1. There really isn’t any to speak of. Of course if you ask corporate they will tell you they send out weekly emails that act as their communication. The 2nd biggest issue is the lack of ability to develop a brand. Again, corporate will tell you they are doing just that. If your idea of brand awareness is hitching your wagon to someone else’s brand then yes, corporate is doing just fine. Hooking up with Disney, Rachel Ray’s Yum-O and others. In reality there may be kickbacks to corporate but nothing financially beneficial to franchisees. 3rd, corporate restricts the ability of franchisees to customize programs for their local market. If you don’t follow their very restrictive guidelines then you quickly become blacklisted. The founders have not displayed any forward thinking in terms of ideas, strategy or development. I could go on but I think you get the idea.

Yes, there is bad blood between me and corporate. I am one of those who has been blacklisted because I am not afraid to tell corporate (read founders) how I feel. They have no business acumen to speak of and they know it. They pretend to be family oriented and friendly. They win you over with their personalities and laissez faire, easy go lucky personalities. Truth is they only care about themselves and family members. They only really care about selling franchises and not supporting them. Their business philosophy is to sell franchises, let them close/go out of business and then sell the territory again.

I too am trying to sell my territory. I would like to get some money out of it but unfortunately no one has expressed an interest. I figure the only thing that will stop corporate is a class-action lawsuit. Franchisees need to group together and pony up more money (most don’t have) to go against corporate. Even if 10 franchisees would band together we could make progress.

By Not a Fan on Mar 23, 2008

Not a Fan,
We are not fans either and had to close our YCA last year. We also BEGGED for help and got zip. It broke my heart to close it, but after losing over $160k I had no choice. Good luck trying to sell your territory. It seems that once a franchise goes up for sale it’s closed within six months.
As far as ‘hitching their wagons’ you’re right. They take the credit for things they had no hand in. If I remember correctly Disney contacted them about Ratatouille (how can we forget the thousands of postcards they sent us with ‘invitation’ spelled wrong) and a FRANCHISEE was resposible for YCA being in the Chicken Soup for the Soul cookbook. A photographer from the company that produces the books contacted her and she let them use her kitchens and supplies to do several photo shoots for free. All of the YCA pictures in the book were taken in her shop. Well, she has closed and they have taken ALL the credit. What a shock right? If you’re serious about the class action I am sure you could find 10 to join in with you, I certainly would. I would get out that trusty manual they give you and see which franchisees are missing, look them up and give them a call. I have talked to several who would be willing to participate and it’s time somebody hold their feet to the fire.
As for people who are looking at this and considering a franchise, think carefully. What do we have to gain from sharing this info? Nothing. What do they have to gain by calling us liars? Lots of money.

By rene on Apr 30, 2008

What a tremendous dissapointment my venture into YCA became. I bought a franchise with my sister in 2006, we closed at the end of 2007. We lost our entire investment ($180,000) when we closed, but since we were continually losing money every month, there didn’t seem to be much choice. I understand Karen’s comments about the responsibility falling on the shoulders of the individual owners and I agree, however most of us signed on because the association with the Findley Group. We heard only raving reviews about the support from the room full of Curves owners who were at our training sessions who had also bought into YCA because of the shared relationship with Gary Findley. It was Curves success that prompted us to look at YCA (we had actually looked at a local Curves franchise but opted for the child-geared business instead). What we ended up with was two women who had a pretty good idea, yet no experience in how to pass it on and help it grow. We were very surprised at the paranoid attitude of the home office. No sharing, NO NEGATIVE COMMENTS even for the purpose of bettering the business. E-mails sent from one franchise to another would suddenly be qouted on the chat page by the home office. They were even reading the emails that went the server. The franchisee chat was monitored and edited daily, even individual websites would be altered from one day to the next by someone other than the franchisee. A number of franchisees were “blackballed” because they wrote something negative on the chat page. I have another type of franchise that originated in my local area and we learn so much from each other by just complaining and problem-solving with each other. I expected to be able to do the same with the other YCA franchisees, but it was impossible to do so with all the editing and deleting from YCI. It is hard to function when you get lesson plans and recipes at the last minute. It was almost impossible to talk to anyone in the home office. We asked for help, suggestions, anything that we might be missing that would allow us to remain open from Suze and Julie. We did not even get a call back. Typical.

By Pam on May 1, 2008

I am a shopping center owner and developer in Northern California, and do have YSA as a tenant. I’ve been reading these remarks for some time, and have had growing concern.

Yesterday I met with my tenant. She has been open less than a year and is very, very close to profitability; she’ll probably hit it by the full year’s term. I asked her if she had concerns or disappointments with the franchisors, and she shook her head fiercely and said “NO! They have been great and incredibly helpful.”

She did say that the company had been sold I think, or that someone had taken it back, I was unclear, and that prior to that there were some problems but currently the support is great.

It is my guess that some of the complainers either 1) have or had a poor location, or 2) were not in sync with the operation requirements and simply did not work the concept well. This is appears to be a solid concept, does not have direct competition locally, and her enrollment charts look terrific with a strong upward slope.

I hope those that have failed have the ability to take at least some responsibility for their failures, rather than put 100% of it on others. I know it’s a tough loss, and though this concept is not for everyone, the model appears to work.

By LC on May 1, 2008

LC

While I respect your comments, one instance of a successful operator does not mean the model works. I have been a SUCCESSFUL business owner in the past, and while this concept is solid, the management is not. Those who have been successful have either not followed the so called ‘plan’ or they have followed it enough to get past corporate and still colored outside the lines.

The MOMENT you say anything negative, corporate does blacklist you and you can forget about any chance of recovering. The co-founders spend so much time worrying about what franchisees are doing wrong they have no time to focus on running the business. They are closed-minded, egotistical wannabe corporate executives who have not clue what running a successful business is about. Communication, support, open-mindedness and a community spirit are non-existent. And don’t even think about trying to collaborate with fellow franchisees. I could go on but what is the use. Until enough people get together (franchise owners) to file a lawsuit things will not change.

By Not a Fan on May 1, 2008

My tenant talks to franchisees statewide. Matter of fact, one was having some problems with the agencies and we were able to help her some from afar. I think franchisors will sometimes “blacklist” franchisees that 1) feel they have a better model, in which case they probably should have gone independent, or 2) are indeed a simple PITA.

By LC on May 1, 2008

You forgot the franchisors who are selling recipes from the internet repackaged as a “concept”.

By Not a Fan on May 1, 2008

LC,
I was not one of the ‘blacklisted’ and it was my experience that they were very helpful as long as my questions/problems were fairly benign. It was when I called and said ‘I am on a sinking ship, what am I doing wrong and can you please help me figure it out’ that I got dropped like a hot potato. We were in a great location with tons of drive by traffic. I did as much advertising as I could afford and contacted tons of schools and daycares to try to get our name out there. I did everything I could think to do. We followed the information they provided. The problem was that there was no back up plan for those who weren’t doing well. They franchised very quickly (not entirely on their own) and I think we just ran into problems that they had not encountered in their market. Also, as another poster mentioned above, their original shop where the franchise was born is no longer in business.

I know that some of what is written here sounds like sour grapes, I think many of us are hurt and not only financially. We bought a franchise and paid for that franchise so we would have that franchise support and when we needed it because we were struggling it just wasn’t there. Did we think they were going to come in and run our shops for us? Absolutely not. We believed in this concept and many of us still do just as much as the founders do. We poured our hearts and our money into these businesses and believed not only in the concept, but in Julie and Suzy. I don’t think they are ‘bad’ people, I think that they got in over their heads and they are trying to find their way out. I hope for them and everyone else still in business that they can.

By rene on May 1, 2008