Built to Last

Marc Shenken became a McDonald’s franchisee around five years ago, after a successful career in accountancy. He now runs four outlets in the Glasgow and West of Scotland area.

What did you do before McDonald’s and what led you to this point?

I’m technically still a chartered accountant. I used to advise companies on taxes, inheritance planning and so on … and as a result, I always had a bit of an affinity with running a business and fostered an ambition to eventually do so.

In accounting, I’d become a partner, I had an amazing team and I absolutely loved it, but when the firm was sold, and merged with another, my aspirations to have my own business came to a “Now or never” point! It was something of a lifelong dream, so the opportunity arose, I was just about to turn 40 and thought: let’s go for it!

A former client had told me he was thinking about the McDonald’s opportunity. At the end of my training, I messaged him: “You probably don’t remember, but that throwaway comment about McDonald’s changed my life – I’m about to join!” He texted back: “That’s weird, I was thinking of finally going for it. I feel like your message is a sign!”

And now he’s a franchisee – in the territory right next to me! So we’re both the reason for the other becoming a franchisee. He’s a good friend I’ve known for a long time. For us to be business neighbours is great.

I started the application process in late 2018, went through the final interview in 2019 and was due to start training in May 2020. Of course, the world had just changed. I’d gone from a steady paycheck in a normal job – one that adapted to Covid lockdown and home-working – to all of a sudden, having left that, not knowing what was going to happen! Stores were shut: how was I going to train? What was happening to the fast-food sector?

I was supposed to start on the 10^th of May, and… on May 10th, I started my training! They’d worked out a programme of how to train remotely, safely distanced, but comprehensively. McDonald’s said it would be a year – and they delivered. To this day I’m still baffled as to how they made that happen, but they did and it sets the tone for how the relationship works.

That must have been reassuring under the circumstances?

Yes! Those were uncertain times but McDonald’s really set the tone, and my confidence in them, early on. No-one could’ve predicted the pandemic and its effects but one thing for sure about McDonald’s is the consistent strength of the brand. Being able to rely on that means you have a clear path forward and are part of a bigger system. That’s a comfort blanket that makes such a difference, I wouldn’t change it for the world.