Last Updated on June 20, 2022 by BVN
Phyllis Kimber Wilcox |
Norman and Nathan Carter are not only father and son, they own McDonald’s franchises in Southern California. In honor of Father’s Day, Black Voice News sat down with both of them to talk about their business, their lives and their relationship.
BVN:
Can you tell me a little bit about where you were born and what in your background made you want to go into business?
Norman:
I was born in Los Angeles, lived most of my life in East Los Angeles and then South Central L.A. but just working, I knew that I didn’t want to work for someone all my life. I wanted to try to figure out a way in which I could own my own business. I don’t know where that came from, but it was just a career goal of mine.
BVN:
What were some of the obstacles you faced getting started in the business?
Norman:
After I met [an] African American owner operator of McDonald’s I looked into their requirements. They had significant requirements. One of the requirements was to have managerial experience. At that time I was working, I was an employee but I didn’t supervise. So, I waited. I actually waited until I became a manager and gained that experience. And then, the biggest obstacle was probably the financial part of it. And I waited again until I accumulated the resources necessary to qualify for the [franchise] program. Even though the financial requirements were a lot less back then, they were still substantial for me.
BVN:
It probably took a whole lot to be able to do that.
Norman:
Yes, it did. But you know, the good thing is I looked at opportunities for me to try to start to accumulate wealth and one of the easiest ways back then was to start buying real estate. I started small. I bought a house, sold a house; bought a duplex, sold a duplex; and bought a bigger house. It was the equity in real estate that allowed me to be in a position to at least meet the financial requirements of a McDonald’s franchisee.
BVN:
What surprised you most about your success?
Norman;
Probably at that point in my life I was surprised at my will to succeed and my willingness to do whatever it took to be successful. At some point that meant working fourteen, fifteen, sixteen hours a day in order to make that happen. I’m surprised that I was willing to put forth the effort to make it happen.
BVN:
This question is for Mr. Carter the younger. Can you tell me what inspired you to go into business with your dad?
Nathan:
I grew up in the restaurant. He exposed me to McDonald’s really early on. When I had the opportunity to try something else besides McDonald’s I realized that working for my father and learning from my father was something I wanted to do. I get to work alongside him. I get to learn from him. I get to build basically what he started and I get to create something on my own and try to build from there. I always was motivated to get into McDonald’s and grow the business to where hopefully, one day, my kids will be able to get into McDonald’s and they can be third generation.
BVN:
How has working together affected both your business and personal lives?
Norman:
Working together I think has been very easy for us because again, like he said, he’s always been around the restaurant.
For me, realizing that I’m older now and that I don’t have the energy I once had, I need to allow him to take over more responsibility of the business. It’s been an easy transition in that sense. It’s been easy because I think in a way it’s brought us together. Not only do I get to see him almost every day, but during the weekends, we do play golf together too. So personally, it’s been really a godsend. It’s been a good working and personal relationship.
Nathan:
I would say the same. I was going to reiterate the same thing as far as seeing him every day, working alongside him, learning from him and you can tell that we don’t hate each other because we still play golf together on the weekends. And, he’s the best Pop Pop to my two young kids so we’re always around, [a] very close knit family. I’m always very appreciative of that and [the opportunity to] continue learning from him and like I said before, hopefully the third generation will pick up where we left off.
Norman:
I do want to say one thing and remind him [Nathan] of something he said to me a long time ago when he was a little kid. Not only did he go to the restaurants with me but I used to take him to all the business meetings and stuff too. One time, we had a business meeting at Lake Michigan or somewhere in a resort. He was so happy to go, he told me that one day, when I became old, he was going to take me to a business meeting with him. So, one day when the business is his and I’m out of the business, he still owes me a trip to a business meeting.
BVN:
Let’s reverse it a little bit. (to Nathan) What would you say are your father’s strengths?
Nathan:
Maybe it’s just me always kind of looking up to him but I believe everything is. Being in the business with him I got a strong understanding of the operations and how to run the business, how to communicate with the crew and have them motivated to come in every single day. I can say I learned that from him. As well as the financial side too. Him being first generation having to go through some ups and downs with running your own business and being the first one to start it off…my financial acumen has always grown from seeing what he’s been doing and always asking questions.
BVN:
Norman, what would you say are your son’s strengths?
Norman:
I would say a willingness and ability to learn everything. Look, to be honest with you, I was probably different than most fathers in the sense that I made it hard on him. Because I know one day I’m not going to be around so he needs to have a complete understanding of the business. So, I didn’t make it easy. A lot of his second generation friends were already operators while he was still in the program. Because I made him have to learn every aspect of the business so that he didn’t necessarily have to rely on me going forward or rely on any other employee. [I wanted to ensure that he knew how, he had the expertise to run the business on his own.]
BVN:
What kind of father is your father?
Nathan:
He’s the best father I can even ask for. I have a lot of friends and they have different relationships with their fathers but me and my dad work together and play golf together. When I was younger he taught me how to play basketball. We have always been close. I say I have the best of both worlds. He’s my mentor and he’s my father and friend. So I couldn’t ask for more.
BVN:
What kind of son is your son?
Norman:
He’s a great son. I look at [it as] if he wasn’t my son would he be a good friend of mine, and I say yeah because he’s a good person. And he’s a good father. He’s surprised me at being the kind of father he really is. I lost my father when I was about ten or eleven years old. I lost him when we were getting close. It sort of shaped me into being the kind of father I wanted to be [in order] to have the kind of relationship [I have] with my son. I think he too has developed into the same kind of person and having the same kind of relationships with his two kids which is a great thing to see. Especially being African American and all the negative stuff you hear about Black fathers and the roles they play in the family. I think this is an indication where it’s truly worked. We’ve been able to carve out a real good relationship between us.
BVN:
Some people have qualms about mixing their business and with their family or personal relationships. What would you say about that?
Nathan:
I would say we’ve been very fortunate. Vendors [whose services] we utilize, some of them are first generation [business owners] and they want their sons to continue on their legacy and their business and they see how me and my dad interact and I constantly get asked how we are the way we are. But I think it’s just our relationship in general. Like I said, I’ve always looked up to my father and I knew early on I wanted to be the man he is. Getting into the business, having the same drive and enthusiasm was easy on my part.
Norman:
Getting older and understanding that you can’t do something as well as you used to before [because] you don’t have the energy or just the understanding of the aging process, there comes a time when you need to let go and allow the next generation to take leadership and take control. And you see that’s the thing, there’s no jealousy or no protectionism. I’m not trying to guard or hold on to anything. If anything what I want [is for] him to do better and to be more successful than me and I know that he’s already made some changes in the organization that’s better [and] that I probably would have never made. It’s just a realization that when the time comes . . . to let go.