Lexington, KY - With a background in basketball and banking, Cedric Jenkins is now a franchise owner. He bought the General Nutrition Center in Hamburg on Christmas Eve last year. He and his wife were already big-time GNC customers, and he's excited about the opportunity to combine his passion of sports and fitness with his financial acumen.
The former Wildcat played basketball his freshman year under Joe B. Hall and the next three years for Eddie Sutton. He is probably best remembered for his last-second tip-in leading to a 76-75 UK victory over Louisville on Dec. 12, 1987. Jenkins earned a degree in marketing (in 3.5 years), then played pro ball the next five years for the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and overseas in Japan, Italy, France and Belgium. "It was a great experience, a chance to see the world," he said.
He made decent money and decided to step into the real job market in late '93 by spending a year in advertising sales, where he learned he really appreciated autonomy. "Give me goals and let me go for it," he said. He then took an offer with a CBA team to play ball and work in their marketing department. It turned out to be more playing than marketing.
"It was ugly. I was old. I should have stayed retired."
Jenkins worked an insurance sales job for about six months, then spent from 1996 to 2008 in the mortgage, finance and banking fields, including a couple of self-employed stints brokering mortgages and commercial loans. Over the years he worked both sides of the lending process, packaging deals with banks and for banks.
"I always wanted to own my own business," he said. "I've sat with business owners. I saw their mistakes and what they did right." Having been groomed in the financial world to know what banks are looking for in a good business risk, he was doing some online research for a business to buy. When the opportunity came up to become a GNC franchisee, he did his due diligence on the 70-year-old company, and because he was already a customer, it seemed a natural fit.
"I wanted a clean business model," he said. "I didn't want to reinvent the wheel. If you want something started from scratch, I'm not the guy."
The franchise already had time-tested processes in place on how to order products, how to watch for theft. "The only thing I control is payroll," said Jenkins. "Inventory a little. The rent is what it is."
He "inherited" a handful of part-time employees. "The reason this transition was so easy is because they stayed through the acquisition," he said. "I was the only one doing training."
He calls himself the only full-time volunteer at the store. "I can set my own unrealistic goals instead of having someone else setting the unrealistic goals," he said. Throughout the summer, his part-time employees are able to work more hours in the store, giving him flexible time during the week. "When they're back in school, I'm on lockdown," he said.
Jenkins has always been pretty good with money. "Growing up, my parents were not great financiers, but they had sound, basic principles. If you can't afford it, don't buy it." This made his early years in the work world easier. He saw how quickly people could fall prey to credit cards, confusing needs with wants. Life experiences made him mindful of money and taking care of his credit. "For the longest time, the best asset I had was a very good credit score."
He knew that late 2008 was a great time to buy a business for people who had the capacity to do so. Depending on the industry, that is. "Even in this economy, GNC and the [nutrition] industry are still trending up," he said. "People are educated and proactive about their health." Projections are good, and his particular store's sales are increasing.
Jenkins has plans to be a multi-store GNC owner after he has at least a year under his belt with this location, learning all the ins and outs.
"In short order, if you're not passionate you won't last," he said. "You can fake it, you can tough it out for a while, but only with passion will you stick it out."
Kathie Stamps is the co-founder of www.ISBO.biz, an online directory of independent/small business owners.