Making a Franchise Success of your Passion with Abby Taylor

Abby Taylor is the Co-Founder and creative genius behind Playa Bowls, a 90+ store franchise that has an Instagram-cult following of loyal customers, making acai bowls that contain one of the highest percentages of acai pulp in the country. Featured in media publications such as Forbes and The Washington Post, and listed No 6 in the top 50 restaurants by Restaurant Business Magazine, Abby has made a successful franchise out of her passion for travel and healthy eating. Abby began her entreprenista journey after returning from some of the world’s most exotic surfer destinations, including Hawaii and Nicaragua. She brought with her a business idea that morphed into a million-dollar franchise. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art, Abby leads the Playa Bowls brand marketing, menu creations and social media strategy. More importantly, she is the fearless leader of her ‘Playa bros and babes’ and an inspiration to entrepreneurs everywhere.

Today Abby joins us to share her journey from surfer beach babe with a passion for a certain South American fruit, to one of Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2019.  She remembers the simple food stall she set up in 2014 in Jersey Shore with her friend and business partner Robert Giuliani. We discuss how that little hustle project in front of a pizza store created queues around the block, and then across the U.S. We discuss her initial reluctance to franchise out Playa Bowls, but how creating the right team and gauging trust with her franchisees allowed the business to explode. We discuss what Abby describes as ‘the worst day’ of her professional life when a worker’s strike affected her supply chain, and what she did to overcome that. We discuss Abby’s belief in a ‘trickle down passion’ within her business and why with the right management, all of your employees can love what they do for you. Abby also shares her thoughts on ‘work life balance’ and shares advice on how to take care of yourself when taking care of business.

“Don’t let anyone tell you you’re too young to accomplish something. A baby shark is still a shark” – Abby Taylor

This week on SocialFly’s Entreprenista Podcast:

• How Abby went from surfer nomad to being listed on Forbes ‘30 under 30’
• Abby’s grassroots approach to sharing her love of acai with the world
• Abby’s philosophy on successful business partnerships
• Why choosing franchise partnerships for Playa Bowls has evolved with experience
• How making mistakes can help learning and growth in a new business
• Abby’s advice on building the best team to support business expansion
• How passion in your business will trickle down through the ranks 
• Abby’s most challenging business day and 4th of July
• Why it’s okay to employ people smarter than you
• Abby’s philosophy on customer and employee welfare in the time of COVID-19
• How Abby achieves a work life balance while overseeing 97 stores
• Abby’s advice on starting your business passion project

Our Favorite Quotes:

• “It doesn’t matter if you feel like the question is stupid. Just ask questions and sort of educate yourself and surround yourself with people who are smarter than you” – Abby Taylor
• “If you have a really good idea and you’re passionate about it, don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do it” – Abby Taylor
• “Pick the things that you’re good at. Don’t force stuff. Don’t force yourself to do things you don’t want to do, or that you don’t enjoy because then you’re not going to do it that well” – Abby Taylor

Resources Mentioned:

• Playa Bowls ‘Helping Heroes’ initiative 

Connect with Abby Taylor:

• Playa Bowls Website
• Playa Bowls Twitter
• Playa Bowls Instagram
• Playa Bowls Facebook
• Abby Taylor LinkedIn
• Abby Taylor Instagram

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