From football star to franchise owner
Former Business Bronco and athlete scores Chick-fil-A restaurant
The former Academic All-American graduated from Western with a bachelor’s degree in sales and business marketing as well as an MBA. The Haworth College of Business provided him with many opportunities to express his talents during his college career. He now strives to bring his skills, faith and experiences as a student athlete to his role as a business owner.
In this interview, Hiller discusses his time as a Business Bronco, an athlete and a new franchise owner for the famous chicken chain.
What drew you to WMU? How did the Haworth College of Business contribute to your success?
Initially, the athletic recruiting process for football is what put WMU on the map for my family and me. We were quickly so impressed with the Haworth College of Business and all it had to offer, as well as the beautiful campus and the Kalamazoo community.
The sales and business marketing and MBA programs prepared me to lead and direct people, and to build meaningful relationships that help get work done as a team.
Tell us about your athletic and coaching careers.
Playing football at WMU afforded me more opportunities than I could’ve ever imagined. Football taught me how to grow as a leader. It gave me grit and taught me how to overcome adversity, and it deepened my faith. Coaching was simply coming to the other side of the table and mentoring young people through the same things I experienced—setting goals, working hard, being a great teammate and overcoming challenges.
Today as a business owner I consider myself just that—a coach. Setting a vision, building goals around it with our team, guiding and challenging the team toward those goals, empowering and equipping them with what they need—it’s all coaching, just in a different context than on the athletic field.
What are your most memorable highlights from your athletic career?
One of my favorite memories was beating Illinois at Ford Field in 2008. My grandfather, who was an incredible friend and mentor in my life, played football at Illinois and won a Rose Bowl there in 1952. To have him and all our family and friends there, and then to win the game was an incredible experience I will never forget. Receiving the Wuerffel Trophy, which honors a college athlete who combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement, is also still an amazing blessing.
What has been your most memorable work experience to date? Why?
While I am extremely grateful to be in the position to own a business, I don’t think it would’ve been possible without the experiences I had at Stryker, serving in various roles in service, human resources, and sales. I learned a great deal about leadership, working well with others, and understanding how to get the most out of people to fulfill their potential and meet business goals. Stryker is truly a great organization I’m so thankful to have been a part of.
How did you initially become interested in business ownership?
My grandfather was a World War II veteran and a mechanic. He owned gas stations and later sold those businesses and owned a NAPA Auto Parts franchise. Growing up and seeing those experiences planted seeds about business ownership. My in-laws have also been in the automotive business for four generations. They have been tremendous encouragers, coaches, and supporters of me pursuing an ownership opportunity.
Tell us about your current Chick-fil-A venture.
Our family was awarded Chick-fil-A’s newest Grand Rapids location and we recently opened October 14, 2021. We have an incredible team of about 120 employees and every day we are all working together to look at our local purpose, which is “to make every life we touch better.”
What are the biggest opportunities you see in your industry? The biggest challenges?
Chick-fil-A has made incredible investments in the right technology to make ordering easy for our guests and to make high-quality food production safe and efficient. People are busy, and making every part of the process—ordering, food delivery, payment processing—as fast, simple, and easy as possible. To me, that is the crucial opportunity. I think delivery, which has ramped up amidst the pandemic, is only going to grow as well.
The major challenge every business is facing is hiring. Great businesses get that way because of great people. In our industry, it’s about having enough team members, but more than that, it’s about having people with character and the right training at the right times of day.
What advice would you give to current Business Broncos who aspire to become business owners?
My advice to current students would be to do research and interview several business owners to decide if the opportunity is right for you. It’s also important to believe in yourself. Being an athlete showed me that I could do and achieve more than I realized I was capable of. Those challenges strengthened my faith in God and taught me the value of grit, patience and endurance—all of which continue to serve me in my personal and professional life. Knowing your strengths and limits will only help shape you into the person you aspire to be.