Case study: Dawn LaFreeda, Restaurant Franchise Owner

Summary
Dawn LaFreeda is a Denny’s Restaurant franchisee from Texas. Her personal enterprise, which now includes
75 Denny’s restaurants, ranks among the largest single-owner franchisee portfolios in the world, raking in
close to $100 million in annual revenue.
In her early twenties, she went out on a limb and purchased her first Denny’s restaurant. She credits a
youthful openness to risk taking for helping her to get her start. LaFreeda faced many hurdles and difficulties
as she worked to build her fledgling enterprise. One of her challenges as a younger woman was getting older
bankers and businessmen to take her seriously. The 9-11 terrorist attacks created difficult burdens for
LaFreeda’s growing business. LaFreeda’s restaurants faced additional challenges during the Great Recession
of 2008. She credits her success in weathering the storm to frugality and saving. LaFreeda remained resolute
and persistent in the face of rejection and other difficulties. LaFreeda’s philosophy is this: I try never to live
beyond my means, and I always save for a rainy day. That philosophy has really helped me get through the
times that happen that we can’t predict.
Critical Thinking Questions
1. Dawn LaFreeda says, “When you’re 23, you’re not afraid to take risks.” What sorts of risks do you
think entrepreneurs face when they are first starting out? What risks do you think you would take when
trying to get your business off the ground?
 Risks that entrepreneurs face when they are first starting out include insufficient funds, limited
financial literacy, having wrong team members, difficulties in entering market, etc. The risk I would
take when trying to get business off the ground is selecting business partners.

2. Think of the last time you decided to “Go for it” only to fail or be rejected. How did you respond to
your temporary failure or rejection? After reading Dawn’s story, how might you respond differently in
the future?
 I took a step back as a respond to temporary failure or rejection. I would look at what I did and try to
analyze what I have done wrong so that I won’t repeat the mistake. After reading Dawn’s story, I
learned the value of being persistent, I should keep looking and creating opportunity for myself.

3. Imagine you are a business owner similar to Dawn LaFreeda. What products and/or services would
your business provide?
 I always wanted to travel by myself. Anyhow, there are risks for travelling alone as a woman. I wish
to create a tour service for solo women travelers.