现年48岁的杰夫·西内利开玩笑说，他“一丝不挂地从娘胎里出来，把脐带卖给了医生，此后就再也没有停止做生意。”事实上，他的生意头脑在10岁的时候就彰显无遗。彼时，他经常在老爸的夜总会捡拾烟头，以换取一些零花钱。后来，他开始经营俱乐部和餐厅连锁店，其中包括Which Wich至尊三明治。这家连锁餐厅以其可定制的产品和订购流程而闻名：客户只需用店里提供的水笔，在一个附有菜单的纸袋上勾出自己喜欢的食材，交给店员，就可以吃到一份为自己量身定制，装在那个纸袋的新鲜三明治。Which Wich现在拥有438家店面，2016的营收额高达2.17亿美元。让我们一起来倾听西内利自述的创业故事：
我是在密歇根州哈姆特拉米克市一栋两层楼房里长大的。我们住在一楼。我的祖父母住在二楼。他们依靠一个政府资助的食品券计划解决吃饭问题，并且同时打三份工来维持生计。我的父亲毕业于法学院，然后开始经营夜总会生意。
当我10岁的时候，他会在每个周六带我一起去上班，然后让我在停车场捡拾烟头和瓶盖。我经常跟爸爸讨价还价，以换取足以购买糖果的酬劳。这段经历告诉我，任何工作都不是渺小的。
我后来考上密歇根州立大学，并在1990年获得通信工程学位。大四的时候，我一边上学，一边为职业长曲棍球队底特律Turbos打球。在西雅图城市大学完成MBA学位之后，我开始为老爸工作，做酒吧侍者，管理他的俱乐部，以及打长曲棍球。
Jeff Sinelli, 48, jokes that he emerged from the womb “naked and broke, sold the umbilical cord to the doctor, and hasn’t stopped since.” In truth, his hustle manifested itself at age 10, when he eked out cash by picking up cigarette butts at his dad’s nightclub. He later began opening clubs and restaurant chains, including Which Wich Superior Sandwiches. It’s known for its customizable offerings and ordering process: Customers mark up a bag with a menu on it; the food is delivered in that bag. Which Wich now has 438 stores, and 2016 revenue was $217 million. Sinelli’s story:
I grew up in a two-story house in Hamtramck, Mich. We lived on the first floor, and my grandparents lived on the second. My grandparents were on a government assisted food program, and both of them worked three jobs to make ends meet. My father graduated from law school, then got into the nightclub business.
When I was 10, he would take me to work with him on Saturdays and put me in the parking lot to pick up the cigarette butts and bottle caps. I would negotiate my pay—enough to cover my candy. That experience taught me that no job is too small.
I went to Michigan State and got a degree in communications in 1990. My senior year, I played professional lacrosse for the Detroit Turbos while going to school. After finishing an MBA at City University of Seattle, I worked for my father, playing bartender, managing his clubs, and playing lacrosse.
在Which Wich达拉斯总部，西内利特别喜欢玩五彩纸屑大炮。| 图片提供：Nancy Newberry for Fortune
有一次，我特意飞赴达拉斯看望我的哥哥。我可以闻到弥漫在空气中的创业精神，随即判定，这才是适合我发展的城市。28岁那年，我创办了一家名为“主街避难所”(Main Street Asylum)的俱乐部。一场大火吞噬了这栋建筑的屋顶。所以，我获得了一份很划算的租约，然后将其改造为一个户外庭院酒吧。那是1996年。从装修到开门迎客，总共花费了10万美元左右。这笔钱来自我的大约2万美元存款，从亲戚朋友那里借的几千美元，以及分散在20张信用卡上的8万美元债务。
我住在一位朋友的后屋。在长达一年的时间里，我白天向广告代理商推销电视节目的广告时间。每当夜幕降临时，我就在车内换上牛仔裤和夜总会的服装，去经营我的庭院酒吧。
由于这栋建筑没有屋顶，我们不得不在冬天歇业，在春天重新开放。但当酒吧重新营业时，我们利用一个为期4天的长周末，在俱乐部前门外举办了一个艺术节，最终斩获逾10万美元的啤酒销售额。我用这笔钱清偿了债务。这门生意起飞了。
在接下来的几年里，我开设了10家夜总会和餐馆。每当小赚一笔的时候，我总是开始经营别的生意，从马提尼酒吧到一家汉堡餐厅，不停地折腾。我喜欢创造新概念。后来，我决定寻觅一门可以扩展，并在其他城市复制的生意。
Then I went to Dallas to visit my brother. I could smell the entrepreneurial spirit and decided that was the town for me. At 28, I started a nightclub called the Main Street Asylum. The building didn’t have a roof because of a fire. So I got a great lease and turned it into an outdoor patio bar. It was 1996, and it cost about $100,000 to open. I had about $20,000 in savings and borrowed several thousand from friends and family. I had $80,000 in debt spread over 20 credit cards.
I lived in a friend’s back house, and for a year I sold TV airtime to ad agencies during the day. At night, I’d change in my car to jeans and my nightclub clothes and work at the club.
Since we didn’t have a roof, we had to close the bar in the winter and reopen in the spring. But when we reopened, there was an art festival outside our front door over a four-day weekend, and we made more than $100,000 in beer sales. That cleared the debt, and the business took off.
I opened 10 nightclubs and restaurants over the next few years. Every time I’d make a little, I’d start something else, from martini bars to a hamburger restaurant. I was having fun creating concepts. Then I decided I wanted to find one thing that I could expand and replicate in other cities.
2003年，杰夫·西内利出席首家Which Wich餐厅的开业仪式。使用棕色纸袋这一灵感，来自这位创始人的母亲为他包装学校午餐的一个标有其名字的棕色粗布袋。| 图片提供: Courtesy of Which Wich
我看到一位朋友正在做蒙古烧烤。我认为，通过将这个概念现代化和品牌化，我可以做得更好。于是，我卖掉手头上所有的生意，在1998年创建了成吉斯汗烤肉坊(Genghis Grill)。我花费15万美元创办了第一家餐厅，然后动用越来越多的资金让每家餐厅变得更大更好。现金流很好，我还从美国小企业局(SBA)获得了一笔贷款。
人们开始打来电话，希望获得特许经营权。我本来无意出售特许经营权，但当你接到如此多咨询电话的时候，你知道你正在经营某种特别的生意。但我发现，一些挥舞着支票的人不一定信奉我的价值观。有些家伙想自行其是，而不是恪守我们的特许经营制度——这种制度旨在确保客户无论身处何地，都能获得相同的用餐体验。有一次，我走进一家成吉斯汗烤肉坊，发现它竟然在经营未获授权的产品。我不得不把它们丢到垃圾桶里。你总会碰到一些不守规矩的加盟商。我总是非常礼貌地向他们解释为什么我们要这样做，这种策略一直很有效。
2002年，Consilient餐厅收购了成吉斯汗烤肉坊，给了我一笔足以让我开启新征程的资金。在悉心研究了诸如比利姆派餐厅的托尼·孔扎、赛百味餐厅的弗雷德·德卢卡和吉姆·约翰餐厅的吉姆·约翰·利奥托等三明治创始人的传奇经历之后，我的脑海里突然萌生了一种想法。我想书写一个类似的长期故事。
就这样，我创办了Which Wich至尊三明治餐厅，并让它成为一个欢迎加盟商的餐饮品牌。我亲手设计了餐厅的标识，并在全美餐饮协会大会上分发名片。在我们制作第一个三明治之前，多家行业杂志就报道了这个概念。小时候，我妈妈经常将我的午餐放在一个棕色的粗布袋中，并在上面写上我的名字。这就是Which Wich订购系统的灵感源泉。客户走进餐厅后，只需在一个附有菜单的棕色纸袋上勾出自己喜欢的食材，交给店员，就可以吃到一份为自己量身定制的新鲜三明治。许多人看到这个创意后，都想成为其中一份子。
I saw a friend doing Mongolian barbecue. I thought I could do it better by modernizing the concept and branding it. So I sold off everything and started Genghis Grill in 1998. I spent $150,000 on the first restaurant, then more and more to make each one bigger and better. The cash flow was good, and I got an SBA loan.
People started calling, wanting franchises. It wasn’t my intent to franchise, but when you have that many inquiries, you know you’re onto something special. But I found out there are people waving checks who don’t necessarily hold your values. Some guys wanted to do things their way, rather than keep to our franchising system, which ensured that customers had the same experience everywhere. One time I walked into a Genghis Grill and there were unapproved products in the food line. I had to throw them in the trash. You always encounter situations like this with franchisees. I’m always respectful and explain why we operate the way we do, which has been successful.
In 2002, Consilient Restaurants bought Genghis Grill, giving me enough money to start something new. The lightbulb went off after I studied the legacy of sandwich founders like Blimpie’s Tony Conza, Subway’s Fred DeLuca, and Jimmy John Liautaud at Jimmy John’s. I wanted a long-term story like that.
So I started Which Wich and made it franchise-friendly. I designed a logo and passed out business cards at the National Restaurant Association convention. Industry magazines wrote about the concept before we made our first sandwich. My mom used to put my lunch in a brown sack and put my name on it. That inspired our ordering system. Customers would come in, write their orders on a brown paper bag, and the sandwich would be made to order. People read about the idea and wanted to be a part of it.
2003年，第一家Which Wich餐厅在达拉斯主街开业。这个店面此前是一家赛百味餐厅。西内利透露说，是他说服房东不要续租。图片提供：Courtesy of Which Wich
当时有许多赛百味和奎兹诺斯餐厅，但我认为我可以做得更好。2003年，我们的首家餐厅在达拉斯主街开业。我说服房东不要与赛百味餐厅续约。他知道我们创建成吉斯汗烤肉坊的历史，询问我们会经营哪些不一样的食品。我说，“奶昔。”他说，“成交。”
我们扩张到全美的很多地区，然后开始走向国际。五年前，我飞赴印度进行了一趟探险之旅，但我觉得在那里开店的时机还不成熟。不过，这趟经历帮助我创建了一种面向非传统地点的系统。现在，我们拥有不同规模的店面，从公用电话亭那般大小的店面，到面积达1700平方英尺的旗舰店，不一而足。塔吉特百货邀请我们进驻其百货商场。所以，我们目前在加州的9家塔吉特商场开设了分店。
我很早就学会了关注周遭的一切。我每天都会查看我们的邮箱，我喜欢签署每一张支票。从市场营销到房地产，再到日常运营，经营一家连锁餐厅涉及很多层面，你必须全面了解。
杰夫·西内利|我最好的建议
Which Wich连锁餐厅创始人，首席执行官兼首席氛围官
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