![]() Without lawyers, they forged an initial agreement, and in 2007 Liautaud sold 28% of the business, netting $130 million after taxes. ![]() He selected Weston Presidio, a private equity firm in Boston, after one of its partners came to visit him at home in Champaign. “I knew that if I could make $2 million a year, no matter what happened to Jimmy John’s, I could live my entire life,” he says. ![]() In 2005 Liautaud decided to diversify his fortune by selling off a piece of the company. “Pilots that use checklists typically live longer than pilots that don’t,” he says. Store layouts were strictly standardized, from the size of the walk-in refrigerators to the placement of the sinks. Meanwhile, Liautaud implemented systems that ensured consistency at every restaurant. Jimmy John’s started selling franchises that same year, mostly in the heartland states, in order to expand even faster.Īs the business grew, the menu stayed simple-today’s has six meats, three breads and provolone cheese-which set Jimmy John’s apart from the competition and kept food costs down. To create buzz he printed ads with headlines like “PARTY” and, strangely, “NO ZITS.” By 1994 Liautaud’s ten stores were making $1 million a year in gross profit, he recalls, on roughly $4 million in revenue. Liautaud opened his second shop, near Western Illinois University, in 1986, then expanded to Champaign, Illinois, where Jimmy John’s is headquartered. He generated slightly higher figures the following year, then bought his father out for the initial $25,000 loan plus interest. In his first 12 months, Liautaud pulled in $154,000 in sales, netting $40,000, which he split with his dad. “Well, when I wrote the payroll checks, the bank balance went down.” Within months of his grand opening, he began to stagger the arrival times of employees in 15-minute increments rather than have them all arrive at once, saving a few dollars each shift. “I watched what makes the bank balance go up and what makes it go down,” he says. (Virtually all Jimmy John’s stores still deliver, typically for a flat fee of $2.) He worked 18-hour days and learned basic finance on the fly. To increase his customer base, Liautaud targeted college students and personally delivered to their dorms, charging 25 cents a sandwich. He and his dad split ownership, 52% and 48%, respectively. The first Jimmy John’s store opened among a cluster of bars near Eastern Illinois University in 1983, the day after Liautaud’s 19th birthday. At first Liautaud considered a hot dog stand, but the equipment was too expensive, so he opted for a sub shop set up in a converted garage. ![]() He gave his son $25,000 as seed money to start a business, on the condition that he would join the Army if it didn’t take off within a year. “I graduated second-to-last in my class in high school, and I was a fat kid.” By the time he graduated, Liautaud’s father had found success with a plastics-molding firm. This information will not be shared with any other third persons or entities.“My early years in life were an utter failure,” he says. Privacy Policy Notice: All information collected voluntarily from you will be used to personalize your experience, improve our website and improve our customer service. and its subscribers disclaim any and all representations and warranties as to the accuracy of the property listing data and information, or as to the accuracy of any of the Images, set forth herein. The property listing data and information, and the Images, are for the personal, non commercial use of consumers having a good faith interest in purchasing, leasing or renting listed properties of the type displayed to them and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties which such consumers may have a good faith interest in purchasing, leasing or renting. from third party sources, including sellers, lessors, landlords and public records, and were compiled by MLS Property Information Network, Inc. The property listing data and information, or the Images, set forth herein were provided to MLS Property Information Network, Inc.
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