474: What It Takes to Launch a Chick-fil-A Franchise w/ Kareem Edwards
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474: What It Takes to Launch a Chick-fil-A Franchise w/ Kareem Edwards

57:33 Aug 6, 2025
About this episode
This week in the guest chair we have Kareem Edwards, one of the very first men to grace the Side Hustle Pro guest chair! Hailing from Far Rockaway, Queens, Kareem got his start in major corporate roles at Lehman Brothers, Kraft Heinz, and Google—all while dreaming of owning a business. Kareem decided to pursue franchising and balanced a 9-to-5 at Google while working nights at a Chick-fil-A to master the day-to-day operations.In this episode she shares:The importance of community impact, creating an empowering work culture, and leading with empathyKey lessons on staffing, building trust, and innovating with different revenue channelsThe art of balancing grit and grace when trying to grow your businessHighlights include: 00:00 Intro03:00 Early career in finance09:00 Discovering Chik-Fil-a franchising 17:00 Choosing the right location25:00 Opening during a pandemic34:00 Staffing strategies43:00 Leaving a steady paycheck46:00 Expanding sales methods52:00 Tips for entrepreneursCheck out episode 474 of Side Hustle Pro podcast out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Links mentioned in this episodeKareem’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kareemjedwards/ Kareem’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kareemedwards Posse Foundation: https://www.possefoundation.org/ Chick-fil-a Franchising: https://www.chick-fil-a.com/franchising Chat GPT: https://chat.openai.com/ Uncle Nearest: https://unclenearest.com/ Click here to subscribe via RSS feed (non-iTunes feed): http://sidehustlepro.libsyn.com/rssAnnouncementsJoin our Facebook CommunityIf you’re looking for a community of supportive side hustlers who are all working to take our businesses to the next level, join us here:
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