Cover story
After a career in retail, Laura Wilder took the leap into franchising and now runs two McDonald’s restaurants in Bristol
What did you do before franchising? My background is in food retail. I worked for one of the UK's largest supermarkets, straight out of university, managed stores and then progressed into various head office roles for about six years, before becoming a franchisee.
What was the turning point? I got to a point in my career where I wasn't fulfilled, plus I had a lifelong ambition to run my own business and I've always loved the McDonald's brand – we all grew up with it, didn't we! It was actually my husband that said:
“Have you considered franchising? Have you considered McDonald's?” I didn't even realise that so many of their restaurants were franchised.
“It's part of my DNA, my values, and those that I've instilled in my team”
Soon after, I went along to the National
Franchise Exhibition in Olympia, London, to the McDonald's presentation and met some representatives and a few franchisees who'd spoken that day, and it was at that point where I thought: this is for me.
So, it was an instant attraction, then? Yes! Like I say, I love the brand... It aligns with all my values and I feel so passionate about it. Right there and then, I knew I was making the right decision to apply. After getting a “yes” at panel, I resigned from my job before starting training and went on to become one of the first franchisees to complete the 26-week fast-track programme. It was an amazing experience – you’re so well supported. It's a rigorous process and you can see why: McDonald's want to partner with the right people – and it is a partnership. It's really important to remember that your success is their success – and vice versa.
The support you get throughout is
brilliant. Training in the restaurants was so valuable because in order to be a successful franchisee, you have to understand your business by having worked in every role, from Crew Member to Shift Manager to Business Manager to then spending time with a franchisee, it really sets you up for success. As franchisees, we live and breathe McDonald's. While we run our own company, have our own business – it's under the Golden Arches. We’re incredibly passionate about our teams and we're very ambitious and we're also incredibly hardworking people – all of us franchisees share those qualities.
And then you get a restaurant of your own – how did that feel? It was incredible. I'll never forget the day I took over my first restaurant. Aged 30, getting the keys to my first restaurant was fulfilling a lifelong ambition. And I was McDonald's youngest-ever female franchisee at the time. I'm super proud of that. It's still a pinch-me moment when I drive to my restaurant, that this is my McDonald's, this is my franchise.
McDonald’s restaurants tend to be quite community-focused, how are you involved in yours? It's a huge passion of mine, supporting the community, I employ over 200 people who live within it and serve customers who are part of that community, so being able to help and give back where you can is really important. It's part of my DNA, my values, and those that I've instilled in my team. All my senior leaders in the business
have two paid volunteer days a year. So if we’re approached to support initiatives, there’s a certain number of days that we can absolutely commit. We also support Ronald McDonald House at the Children’s Hospital in Bristol, where we participate in volunteer days that are greatly enjoyed by my team. Helping young people is a big passion
of mine – over 80% of my workforce is aged under 25. We couldn’t do what we do without all these amazing young people that we have in our teams. I've partnered with a youth charity to help fund a project locally – a youth club
18 | The Franchise Magazine 2027
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