Alumni focus: Woody Johnson
Woody Johnson didn’t always know he would end up in the pizza industry. Vice President of Pizza Guys, L.L.C. and Marco’s Pizza area representative for Augusta and Savannah, Johnson and his business partner, Rick Poston, are currently responsible for seven locations. Nonetheless, the two entrepreneurs are looking to expand in the future.
Originally from East Point, Ga., Johnson graduated from Georgia Southern University in 1978 with a degree in management. It was his father’s landscaping business that inspired Johnson to think about owning his own business. “After watching my dad for all those years, I knew I wanted to get the skills necessary to own my own business,” Johnson said. “That’s why I entered into the business school at Georgia Southern.”
While attending Georgia Southern, Johnson was an active member in the Kappa Sigma fraternity. He held numerous leadership positions and eventually worked his way up to president of the fraternity. Looking back on this experience, Johnson now realizes running a fraternity was a lot like running a small business. “We were trying to pull together 75 people and actually do something in a coordinated effort,” Johnson said. “We had a budget, but we had to take that budget and make it work for us for an entire year.”
As Johnson prepared for graduation, there wasn’t any particular industry that piqued his interest. “I was just looking for something that would be an opportunity,” said Johnson. “I wanted to connect with something and create my business from there.”
It would take Johnson several years before he ended up in the pizza business. His first job out of college was actually in consumer sales with Hanes Menswear. After a year living and working in Minnesota, Johnson decided corporate life just wasn’t for him. “Corporate life just didn’t suit me,” said Johnson. “I came back to Georgia and worked myself into my first partnership in the mobile home business.”
During the next few years, Johnson worked in the Atlanta area successfully selling mobile homes. He went on to work in the banking industry for a year, and then moved his way into the commercial real estate business. He worked for a company called O’Neill Management Company and progressed up the ladder to president. As president, Johnson was responsible for 1.8 million square feet of commercial properties.
The skills Johnson gained working at O’Neal were a great help when he started his own company in 1990. This company, called Southeast Properties, was a commercial real estate management development and sales company. For 18 years, Johnson worked to select and build locations for national companies such as CVS Pharmacy, Blockbuster and Papa John’s Pizza. “That’s really how I got into the pizza business,” Johnson said. “From 1999 to 2004, I built three locations for a gentleman named Rick Poston a Papa John’s franchisee.”
Over the years, Johnson (pictured right with his wife, Vicki) and Poston developed a good working relationship. In 2008, Johnson sold Southeast Properties and was looking for a new business interest. His old business partner, Poston, called him and began discussing the idea of buying the rights to open franchises known as Marco’s Pizza. After some consideration, the two decided to buy the rights to the Augusta and Savannah area and they began opening stores. Long time friend and fellow Deacon at his local church, Mike Wolf is also a partner of Johnson’s in the Savannah market.
Marco’s Pizza was originally started in Toledo, Oh. in 1978 by the Giammarco family. The family migrated from Italy to Detroit, Mich. and then ended up in Toledo. Today there are over 200 stores in operation, seven of which have been built and are now owned by Johnson and Poston. “During our first year we have actually been very successful,” Johnson said. “Two of our stores have been top 10 in the chain consistently since we opened.”
As vice president, Johnson uses his commercial real estate skills to benefit Marco’s. By studying area demographics, putting together negotiations, working with landlords and putting construction costs together, Johnson determines locations for new stores. “That’s what I have done throughout my commercial career,” said Johnson. “I work to find commercial locations for national tenants. Then I turn it over to my partner, Rick, for operations.” In the next five years, the two partners have a goal set to build a total of 20 stores.
For any students looking to become entrepreneurs, Johnson advises to never give up. “I never accepted no for an answer,” Johnson said. “If you’re going to be an entrepreneur, you will have success and you will have failures. You should expect failure, but never accept it.”
Since Johnson (sons, Hunter and Chase pictured left) left Georgia Southern, he has remained active with his fraternity brothers. Now, he is looking forward to getting involved with the Center for Entrepreneurial Learning and Leadership at Georgia Southern. He is in the works of being able to offer internships to Georgia Southern students studying in the business and hospitality schools. “I really want to reconnect with the Statesboro market and network some of the students in the area to become a part of our business,” Johnson said. “I want to show them the opportunities we have inside our company and the opportunities they can learn from.”
In additional to Johnson’s work with Marco’s, he regularly volunteers every week at the Men’s Ministry and Discipleship at New Hope Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Ga.
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