Before Neil Hershman ever cleaned out a frozen yogurt machine or restocked rainbow sprinkles in a toppings bar, he built financial models in Microsoft Excel.
At 23, Hershman knew little about running a frozen yogurt shop when he left his job in asset management to buy a 16 Handles franchise using $160,000 in savings and around $400,000 in loans to fund the purchase.
Today, the 30-year-old is the CEO and majority owner of 16 Handles’ franchise operation, as well as the owner of six individual locations. His advice for others looking to run their own businesses: You don’t have to be an expert to jump into a new venture.
“Some people sit on the sidelines a little bit too long,” waiting to learn everything about an industry before diving in, he says.
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When Hershman bought his first frozen yogurt shop in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, he says he spent months working every shift at the counter, listening to employees and speaking with customers to learn the business.
At times, it also took a bit of trial and error, he adds. He says finding the best way to promote new store openings and developing marketing strategies that worked to drive traffic was “sort of like when you throw paint on the wall and see where it sticks.”
Since taking over the company in 2022, Hershman says same-store sales have increased by over 10% year over year. In 2024, the New York-based chain with 40 shops brought in $20.6 million in systemwide sales.
“You don’t have to learn everything there is to know before you start,” Hershman says. “Sometimes you just have to do something and then you learn through the process.”
Hershman is not the only entrepreneur to leave a white-collar job to run a consumer-focused business. Lesser Evil CEO Charles Coristine, a former securities trader at Morgan Stanley, had no food industry experience when he bought the failing snack company in 2011, he told CNBC Make It in April.
“I didn’t know anyone in food … to ask whether I was crazy or not, but that’s probably good,” Coristine said.
He said his team had to reinvent how the company manufactured its snacks and rebrand its products to become profitable. In April, Coristine sold the business to The Hershey Company in a deal worth a reported $750 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Gurmer Chopra was studying for his certified public accountant exams when he decided to quit and focus full-time on a streetwear reselling business that would eventually grow into the lifestyle clothing brand YoungLA, he said in June. From overseeing manufacturing to developing a marketing strategy, Chopra said he had to learn everything on the job.
“You learn so much when you’re actually in it,” Chopra said. “I think figuring those things out teaches you so much about the world, but also about yourself.”
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