David's Photo David Rutkauskas

Life is Beautiful when you are your own boss. There's nothing quite like it. Hello, I’m David Rutkauskas, Founder, President and CEO of Beautiful Brands International. Everyday my company helps people with an entrepreneurial spirit like yours live a beautiful life by creating wealth and sustainability through franchising. Through this blog, I want to show you how I do it...with my personal experience and advice for success. You are welcome to email me your questions to: askdavid@davidrutkauskas.com and I will answer some of them in my future posts.

  • In the beginning...

    May 10, 2010

    I’m often asked how I was able to turn a 250 square foot, mall cafe into an international restaurant franchise company. But, to tell you the truth...I don’t believe I can narrow it down to one thing.

    Let’s just say it was a combination of factors... namely a willingness to take a risk, a good, smart woman by my side, and a strong will to succeed.

    Quite honestly, it was a pretty simple idea at first. We knew we could fill a niche for the typical mall customer who wanted something fresher and tastier than the fried, greasy food of malls back then.

    That gave us the idea of a fresh food café right in the mall that was all about quality food in a fast casual atmosphere. We took our plans to the mall manager and within weeks started up our new concept. 

    The rest is history. I started franchising the business in 1998. We signed our first franchisee in 1999, and got the first franchised location open in Oklahoma City that same year.  That franchisee is still operating her Camille’s Sidewalk Café to this day.

    I created Beautiful Brands in 2007 as a way to help others succeed and that’s where I am today. My company, Beautiful Brands, now consults with other retail and restaurant concepts that have successful business models that could benefit from franchising. 

    We help great concepts that have superior menus and unique qualities, and build a brand around them.  We help turn them into replicable models that are efficient, streamlined, and beautifully branded. 

    Create your own destiny.  Innovate.  Take the initiative.  Form your future.   These have been my mantras over the years...and what has taken us from a single store concept to one of the fastest growing franchise companies in the world.

    Remember...success is only an idea away. Never let go of your dreams.

    David