Testimony of Bryan Tipton, Owner of Tipton Investments — Senate Small Business Committee, March 16, 2022

Summary

Written testimony of Bryan Tipton, owner of Tipton Investments, for a U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship hearing titled "Small Business Franchising: An Overview of the Industry, SBA's Role, and Legislative Proposals," dated March 16, 2022. Tipton describes being a fast food franchisee and says franchising brought the experience, buying power and advertising support of the Arby's franchise. The testimony states that the legislation discussed seems to address a problem that does not exist and that added government oversight would raise the cost of franchising. It says Tipton did not take a second PPP or a Restaurant Revitalization grant and, doing it over, would not have taken any PPP, and it blames such programs for record inflation and labor problems. The statement says the opinions expressed are Tipton's own.

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                                        Testimony of Bryan Tipton
                                        Owner, Tipton Investments

                U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Hearing
     “Small Business Franchising: An Overview of the Industry, SBA’s Role, and Legislative Proposals”


Chairman Cardin, Ranking Member Paul and Members of the Committee, I would like to thank you for
having me at today’s hearing. My name is Bryan Tipton I have been in the restaurant and bar business
my entire adult life. I am now a proud fast food franchisee and I have been for many years. I hope that
my experience as an operator can be helpful to this committee today.

I would like to start by saying that by pursuing a franchise, I knew that before I ever opened the door of
a restaurant, I would have over 50 years of experience that the Arby’s franchise has gained at my
fingertips. As it turned out I was right. I also knew that I would have buying power and support that I
would never have on my own and as a group we are able to advertise and promote our company in
ways otherwise unimaginable.

Even before the pandemic, the restaurant business has been a very tough business and everyone knows
that lately has been even tougher. It’s a retail business that in most cases is open over 16 hours a day
with strict regulations from health codes from every health department in every city and county in
America. As a franchisee of a large restaurant group, I can tell you there is already a lot of oversight,
paperwork, reporting etc. required of the franchisor and my process with my franchisor was extremely
transparent. The legislation discussed today seems to be addressing a problem that doesn’t exist. I just
can’t imagine adding more to that in the form of government regulations and oversight. It would only
add to the cost of franchising at a time when franchising is helping navigate an already difficult business
environment. I just don’t see the need.

I would also like to mention that in the beginning of the pandemic there was a lot of uncertainty. Many
if not all business owners were very scared and unsure of the future. A lot of restaurant owners took
PPP assistance but I think that we are seeing the terrible consequences of this program and a lot of
other government giveaways and now what we thought would help us is now hurting us in a big way.
I did not take a second PPP or a Restaurant Revitalization grant and if I had to do it over again, I wouldn’t
have even taken any PPP. Because of these programs there are record levels of inflation and the biggest
labor problem in my career. Industry-wide and almost everywhere in this country they have seen the
same problems since the beginning of the pandemic: unemployment due to stimulus. There may have
been good intentions but I certainly don’t think that more government intervention is going to fix it
now. Restaurants have been resilient and if they are not making it now, there is likely another reason for
it. Additional grant funding or government-backed loans will only further the inflation problem.
The government needs to get out of the way of business owners. At the same time, the taxpayer taking
on risky business loans isn’t the answer either. Most small business owner’s needs including my own can
be met by the private lending market. More red tape to navigate, on the other hand, is the last thing
that my business or any other small business needs right now.

All opinions expressed here are my own, and are not necessarily those of organizations I am affiliated
with.


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