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<h2 class=”tw:mt-0 tw:mb-1 tw:text-2xl tw:font-heading”>Key Takeaways</h2>
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<li>Lorraine Pater left an auditing job at KPMG to stay at home with her two daughters for a decade, then re-entered work on her own terms as a franchisee.</li>
<li>She and her husband, Todd, chose Smoothie King because it fit their active lifestyle, they were longtime daily customers and they had seen a neighbor successfully scale to 40 locations.</li> 
<li>Starting in 2016 with one store, they’ve steadily grown to 10 locations clustered around the same area in Florida.</li>
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<p>For years, Lorraine Pater had her eyes on the prize — making partner at <a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/big-four-firms-keeping-hybrid-work-ey-deloitte-pwc-kpmg/487125″>KPMG</a>, one of the <a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/meet-the-leaders-of-the-big-4-ey-deloitte-pwc-and-kpmg/485168″>Big Four</a> accounting firms. </p>
<p>She had interned at the company for two summers in college and joined its ranks of auditors right after graduating. She recalls spending one New Year’s Eve doing an inventory <a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/science-technology/ai-audits-are-coming-heres-the-5-step-checklist-you/498217″>audit</a> of diamonds — counting them, measuring them and looking at their color and clarity to ensure they passed inspection. </p>
<p>“That was kind of fun,” Lorraine tells <em>Entrepreneur</em> in a new interview. “You audit all kinds of different stuff.”</p>
<p>Her main task was auditing a bank’s quarterly financials for her first two years on the job. Lorraine says that she “loved” her job, but was at a crossroads after she had her first child, her daughter Brooke. She was about to get back to work after a five-week <a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/when-3-of-my-executives-went-on-maternity-leave-at-the-same/379733″>maternity leave</a>, and was having an anniversary dinner with her husband, Todd Pater, when he asked her a difficult question: “Are you excited about going back to work next week?”</p>
<p>“I started crying,” she recalls. “I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to go back. I think I want to stay home with Brooke.’”</p>
<p>Todd had a copier business at the time that was doing well, so he said that she didn’t have to go back; they could afford for her to <a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/starting-a-business/moms-side-hustle-started-in-garage-makes-5-million-a-year/498587″>stay at home</a>. </p>
<p>“It was a random conversation,” Lorraine says. “After being home for five weeks with her [Brooke], I didn’t want to leave her. So we always laugh about that.”</p>
<p>About a year later, Lorraine had her second child, another daughter. She took a 10-year break from work to be present for her children.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading”>Considering a franchise</h2>
<p>When the girls went to elementary school and middle school, Lorraine found herself with a lot of time on her hands. The family was living in the Lakewood Ranch/Sarasota-Bradenton area of Florida at the time, and Lorraine began looking into buying a franchise. </p>
<p>“We had always been huge fans of Smoothie King,” Lorraine says. “We have a very active lifestyle, so we were drinking them every day for lunch and meal replacements.” </p>
<p>The couple also had a front-row view of what the <a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/new-smoothie-king-menu-caters-to-growing-glp-1-usage/482210″>business could look like</a> at scale. After the girls were born, they had lived in Houston, Texas, where a neighbor owned roughly 40 Smoothie King locations in the suburbs. That exposure made the franchise model feel tangible, not theoretical.</p>
<p>“We had been a fan of the product for so long that when it was time to look for something to do and what franchise to get into, that was definitely our top one,” Lorraine says.</p>
<p><a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/directory/find-your-franchise?utm_source=entrepreneur&utm_campaign=quiz&utm_term=quiz&utm_medium=franchisearticle&_ga=2.153277822.713547630.1674509148-1165896089.1674065165″><em>Considering franchise ownership? Get started now to find your personalized list of franchises that match your lifestyle, interests and budget.</em></a></p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading”>Startup costs</h2>
<p>In 2016, Lorraine and Todd opened their <a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/find-your-perfect-side-hustle-franchise-type/456369″>first Smoothie King location</a>. Todd, who had built and sold companies in the copier and residential trash industries, brought a long track record as an entrepreneur, and he provided the funds to get the business started. </p>
<p>“He calls himself the visionary,” Lorraine says with a laugh. “I’m more of the details person.”</p>
<p>That first build-out required a <a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/the-5-fastest-growing-franchises-of-2025-according-to-the/484899″>significant investment</a>, though quite reasonable when you compare it to today’s prices. Lorraine estimates that opening a Smoothie King from scratch 10 years ago cost around $250,000, including improvements and equipment. Now, she says, the price tag to open a new store is closer to $450,000 to $500,000 — driven up by construction expenses and higher rents.</p>
<p>Still, the model has worked well enough that Lorraine has continued to double down in her local market. Over time, she and Todd <a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/heres-who-made-the-franchise-500-hall-of-fame-in-2025/487378″>opened additional locations</a> and acquired existing ones nearby, steadily building density around Lakewood Ranch and the broader Sarasota-Bradenton area. They recently purchased their 10th location and have a letter of intent (LOI) out for an 11th, all clustered close enough that operations and oversight remain manageable.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-large”><img loading=”lazy” decoding=”async” height=”768″ width=”1024″ src=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Lorraine-1.jpg?w=1024″ alt=”Grand opening ribbon cutting for the Smoothie King store that Pater (left) opened in April 2025. Credit: Lorraine Pater / Smoothie King ” class=”wp-image-416100″ srcset=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Lorraine-1.jpg 3000w, https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Lorraine-1.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Lorraine-1.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Lorraine-1.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w, https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Lorraine-1.jpg?resize=1536,1152 1536w, https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Lorraine-1.jpg?resize=2048,1536 2048w” sizes=”auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px” /><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Grand opening ribbon cutting for the Smoothie King store that Lorraine Pater (left) opened in April 2025. Credit: Lorraine Pater / Smoothie King </figcaption></figure>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-large”><img loading=”lazy” decoding=”async” height=”768″ width=”1024″ src=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Lorraine-2.jpg?w=1024″ alt=”Lorraine Pater (center) at the grand opening of a Smoothie King location. Credit: Lorraine Pater / Smoothie King ” class=”wp-image-416101″ srcset=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Lorraine-2.jpg 3000w, https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Lorraine-2.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Lorraine-2.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Lorraine-2.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w, https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Lorraine-2.jpg?resize=1536,1152 1536w, https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Lorraine-2.jpg?resize=2048,1536 2048w” sizes=”auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px” /><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Lorraine Pater (center) at the grand opening of a Smoothie King location. Credit: Lorraine Pater / Smoothie King </figcaption></figure>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-growing-pains”>Growing pains</h2>
<p>Growth has come with challenges. In the early days, the toughest problems were often <a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/5-common-personnel-problems-and-how-to-address-them/477253″>basic staffing and backup</a>. With only a small team and a few cross-trained employees, there wasn’t much margin when something went wrong. </p>
<p>Lorraine remembers one particularly grueling period just after opening the first store, which was about an hour’s drive away. “I would get phone calls at 4:30 in the morning from an opener basically saying, ‘I can’t go open the store today. I am not feeling good,’” she says. </p>
<p>With the manager unreachable at that hour, Lorraine became the safety net. </p>
<p>“I would get up, get ready, drive the hour away, be there by about 6:30, open the store and work <a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/starting-a-business/29-year-olds-hobby-turned-side-hustle-brings-in-8k-monthly/485681″>the 8-hour shift</a> for the whole day,” she says. “There were some long days in the very beginning.”<br>Those experiences shaped how she built the business. Today, with 10 stores and roughly 90 employees, Lorraine has structured the company so that no single point of failure can derail operations. Each store <a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/how-to-get-more-done-without-working-more-hours/498797″>has its own manager</a>, and a general manager sits above them to provide an extra layer of support if a manager leaves or needs help.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-large”><img loading=”lazy” decoding=”async” height=”1024″ width=”775″ src=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Smoothie-King-exterior.jpg?w=775″ alt=”One of Pater’s Smoothie King locations. Credit: Lorraine Pater / Smoothie King” class=”wp-image-416099″ srcset=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Smoothie-King-exterior.jpg 3000w, https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Smoothie-King-exterior.jpg?resize=227,300 227w, https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Smoothie-King-exterior.jpg?resize=768,1015 768w, https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Smoothie-King-exterior.jpg?resize=775,1024 775w, https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Smoothie-King-exterior.jpg?resize=1162,1536 1162w, https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Smoothie-King-exterior.jpg?resize=1549,2048 1549w, https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Smoothie-King-exterior.jpg?resize=170,225 170w” sizes=”auto, (max-width: 775px) 100vw, 775px” /><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>One of Lorraine Pater’s Smoothie King locations. Credit: Lorraine Pater / Smoothie King</figcaption></figure>
<p>Many managers started as team members and worked their way up, which has helped foster strong loyalty and culture. “Each store acts like a little family dynamic,” Lorraine says. “The manager loves to have their own little culture for their store, so we obviously encourage that.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading”>Her favorite part</h2>
<p>Her <a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/theres-an-accountant-shortage-its-becoming-a-big-problem/471999″>accounting</a> background has been a major asset as the operation has scaled. Lorraine still personally handles all of the bookkeeping, payroll and QuickBooks work for the business. Todd has suggested hiring a bookkeeper to lighten the load, but she has no interest in giving it up. </p>
<p>“This is my favorite part,” she says. “I like all the numbers and I like them all to be put together. Everything’s got to equal a certain number at the end of the month.” </p>
<p>She shares financial “scorecards” with store managers too, walking them through <a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/money-finance/expanding-your-small-business-you-need-to-prepare-for-this/495937″>key metrics</a> like cost of goods, payroll and rent as a percentage of sales. “The managers know where the numbers are that they need to be hitting,” she says. “We definitely keep them up to date on how they’re running their stores.”</p>
<p>That discipline has helped Lorraine build what appears to be a high-performing group of units. Although exact revenue numbers are confidential because the company is privately held, one location has surpassed <a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/she-bought-a-franchise-in-6-weeks-now-its-a-1m-business/494366″>$1 million in annual sales</a>. </p>
<p>Lorraine adds that the portfolio’s revenue this year is projected to be about 55% higher than last year’s. Two of her stores currently rank in the top 10% systemwide, she says.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading”>Why the franchise</h2>
<p>Even as the enterprise has grown more complex, the franchise model has given Lorraine what she wanted most back at that anniversary dinner: the ability to work ambitiously without sacrificing time with her family. She remains deeply involved in <a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/the-3-keys-to-a-perfect-franchise-fit/493787″>day-to-day operations</a>, visiting each store at least once a week, but she’s also able to travel for her younger daughter’s beach volleyball season at USC, which recently included a tournament in Hawaii. </p>
<p>“I still can do all of this because I have a good team behind me,” Lorraine says. “I can still travel. I don’t miss a game.”</p>
<p>For Lorraine, that balance — meaningful work, a strong team and the flexibility to show up for family milestones — has made the trade from <a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/nick-raquet-from-big-four-firm-to-mlbs-big-league/496959″>Big Four partner track</a> to <a href=”https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/here-are-the-best-strategies-for-owning-multiple-franchises/494374″>multi-unit franchisee</a> feel like the right move. “I wanted to have something to do to keep busy because I couldn’t imagine just sitting at home and doing nothing all day,” she says. “I love what I do.”</p>
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