When she was five, Angela Coté was hard at work in the back of her parents’ Kitchener, Ontario shop, sticking labels on boxes. It was the beginning of M&M Meat Shops (now M&M Food Market), a successful franchise whose legacy Coté carries forward today in her own business, Angela Coté Consulting. Her mission: to help business owners convert to the franchise model and to help established franchisors find areas of opportunity to take growth to the next level.
It’s something she’s very familiar with, and she learned from one of the best. Her father, Mac Voisin started M&M Food Market in 1980 and it grew to as many as 450 locations across Canada. After working in the business and completing a business degree, Coté moved to Vancouver in the late 90s to develop the franchise across Western Canada. Then, in 2000, Coté moved to the Island, switching from franchisor to franchisee, opening three M&M stores in a year and a half.
When the Royal Oak store opened, projections for that year were $900,000.
“We did $1.7 million because the market was ready,” says Coté. But by the time her kids were in their early teens, Coté felt an entrepreneurial restlessness rising. “People were coming to me in my network, saying, ‘So-and-so wants to franchise their business; would you meet with them?”
So she did some coaching to clarify her path and launched into the world of consulting. Now firm in her direction, Coté is thankful to be able to carry on the M&M legacy in a way that truly resonates with her strengths and passions.
Q&A with Angela Coté of Angela Coté Consulting
What’s the best business advice you’ve ever been given?
It’s from Brené Brown: “Comparison is the thief of happiness.” When I decided I wanted to be a franchise consultant and talked to others in the industry, it became clear to me they had this vision of what a franchise consultant does. I became nervous, thinking, “I don’t know if I can do that.” But you have to realize that we all have our different strengths and talents. I firmly believe that if I use my strengths and talents that I can help people in the best way for them.
What’s the biggest challenge you faced starting out?
Figuring out how to deliver my services. I had all this knowledge, but I had to turn it into a tangible format. [Entrepreneur] Marie Forleo says nothing ever got done by
just sitting around thinking about it, so I thought, “Ok, I’m just going to go out there and do it …”
Angela Coté Consulting Business Profile
Type of business: Franchise consultant and business-growth specialist
Year founded: 2015
Owner/principal: Angela Coté
Employees/contractors: 0
What sets you apart? “I grew up with the M&M Meat Shops brand. My father is the founder. I have an extensive background as a franchise consultant and as a franchisee for M&M.”
This article is from the April/May 2017 issue of Douglas.