Financing

A former McDonald’s franchisee looks back at her long career

A Deeper Dive: Tracy Johnstone sold her restaurants after more than 30 years in the business. She talks on the podcast about learning to love the business and thriving in a male-dominated world.

Tracy Johnstone wanted to go into academics. Instead she found plenty of teaching opportunities with McDonald’s.

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features the now-former, longtime McDonald’s franchisee, who discusses her more than 30 years in the business.

Johnstone has been an enthusiastic ambassador for McDonald’s restaurants and was fully intent on continuing until a cancer diagnosis led to her decision to sell her restaurants in Florida.

She initially planned to go into academia before she married the son of a McDonald’s operator and ultimately became fully immersed in the system—after surviving the chain’s long approval process. She talks about that and about the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated business of operating restaurants.

Johnstone also talks about how much the business has changed over the years, how it’s gotten better and how it’s become more challenging.

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