How I Did It: Jerry Murrell, Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Along with his sons, Jerry Murrell of Five Guys Burgers and Fries built a 570-store chain that enjoys a cult following.

Business Sherpa says... "Interesting read for anyone in the food business."

As Told to Liz Welch
Apr 1, 2010

Sell a really good, juicy burger on a fresh bun. Make perfect French fries. Don't cut corners. That's been the business plan since Jerry Murrell and his sons opened their first burger joint in 1986. When they began selling franchises in 2002, the family had just five stores in northern Virginia. Today, there are 570 stores across the U.S. and Canada, with 2009 sales of $483 million. Overseeing the opening of about four new restaurants a week, the Murrells are proof that flipping burgers doesn't have to be a dead-end job.

Read more to find out how they did it… click here.

When It's the Time for Plan B

Wall Street Journal, Small Business
WSJ.com, December 19, 2010
By: Accidential Entrepreneur

Two months after launching Brand Thunder, Patrick Murphy sensed that sales were sluggish becuase he was charging too high a fee for his sole product, a customized Web browser.

So he temporarily slashed the price by more than 75% and gave the product new, income-generating features, including ads and a search tool, by forming partnerships with other businesses.

The original fee "was a leap for something that wasn't proven," says Mr. Murphy, who started the Dublin, Ohio company in 2007 in anticipation of a pink slip from a large internet company. "We had to be nimble enough to make that change or this business would not be here today. It was live or die."

To read more... click here.