Smoothie Operator
With 4 successful stores, this juice enthusiast has all the right moves.
Sam Osborne had enough courage to join the Air Force during
wartime, but the thought of working for someone else had him
shaking in his boots. After serving in Desert Storm, Osborne
pursued a business management degree from Florida State University
while running a successful personal training service on the side.
During a training session, one of his clients mentioned that he was
putting together a smoothie shop franchise business. Osborne saw
his opportunity.
Today, Osborne, 32, owns four Tropical Smoothie Café
franchises in the Tallahassee, Florida, area. He's also the
Orlando/Gainesville area sales developer, assisting new franchisees
and inspiring them with his contagious enthusiasm for the company.
"Aside from hitting the Powerball lottery," he says,
"I couldn't imagine doing anything else."
Though his four stores have each generated impressive annual
sales ranging from $200,000 to nearly $500,000, he has no plans to
expand in the near future. His current focus is "taking the
things I've learned in the past six to seven years and pushing
that with new franchisees. That's where I'll be a bigger
help."
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Osborne credits his success to a little luck and lots of
persistence. He laughs at his attempts to secure a loan back in
1997 for his first Tropical Smoothie Café. "I was turned
down by four banks," he recalls. "They didn't know
what a smoothie was." Things have certainly changed in the
past seven years, as America's interest in healthy eating
continues to grow. In 2000, Tropical Smoothie Café began
serving sandwiches, wraps and salads along with their signature
smoothies. Shortly thereafter, they secured a deal with Boar's
Head Provisions Co. to exclusively use their meat and cheese
products-and to advertise that fact. The Boar's Head brand
recognition caused a huge jump in sales.
Apparently, franchisees have been taking notice. There are
currently 140 Tropical Smoothie Cafés nationwide, with plans
to open 40 more this year. With the demand for healthy fast food on
the rise, Osborne feels confident he is "right in the middle
of a really good thing."