(Image: Tenisha Patterson and Everette Brown. Photo by Cendino Teme Photography) When Tenisha Patterson Brown took on her first client, Everette Brown, little did she know that they would one day own a successful smoothie shop together. As a sports attorney, Tenisha specialized in contracts and endorsement deals, but also recognized the need to help young college athletes figure out life after football. When her husband, former linebacker for the Carolina Panthers, shared with her that he always wanted to be a business owner, she leveraged her experience to help determine what type of business would work for them, their lifestyle, and their values. One thing they knew for sure was that they wanted something that aligned with their foundation, the Everette Brown Bag Foundation, which was created to promote health and fitness among children and families. After frequent visits to the gym, the Brown’s recognized that they really didn’t have high quality, tasty, smoothie and snack options available in their neighborhood. They were familiar with the Tropical Smoothie brand from their time at Florida State, and loved the products.  After doing some research and going through the discovery process with Tropical Smoothie Cafe, they determined it was the right business for them. Tenisha shared with me that while the decision to purchase the franchise was relatively easy, they did have several challenges once the store opened.  Because they were the first store of this franchise in the Charlotte, NC market, educating the community about the brand was difficult, particularly when it came to trying to… [Read full story]
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