McDonald's franchisee Robert Pyles bought his first McDonald's in 1998. He was in the military for 15 years and started working part-time at McDonald's during that time as a crew member, later becoming a shift manager. Then he had the opportunity to get into the owner-operator program. After he opened his first store in Milwaukee, they had rapid growth, he says. They had 23 locations and over a thousand employees at one time. Right now, they have seven McDonald's, which is the right size for their organization. Pyles loves McDonald's. He loved it then; he loves it now. He never thought he could be an owner before he did it. For his stores, sales are up double digits since last year. In addition to having a good location, she what he thinks makes stores successful at the link in our bio. As told to Kelsey Vlamis (Credit: Getty Images) #mcdonalds #franchise #fastfood