At age 15, Ashley Lamothe began working at Chick-Fil-A, not knowing the job would lead to her owning a franchise in the future and doing so by age 26. Lamothe made history becoming the youngest franchise owner in the corporation’s history.

Lamothe worked through high school and enjoyed her time with the company so much that when she left to attend college at Spelman in Atlanta, she asked for a transfer to a nearby location, working as a director on the leadership team.

Ashley told Black Business, “At the time, I thought it was just a great job to have while pursuing my degree in theatre.”

It wasn’t until her restaurant Operator asked about whether she considered leadership in the organization as part of her long-term goals.

“I’d never considered,” Lamothe said, “Sometimes you just need someone to help you see your potential.”

After some thought, Lamothe switched her major to economics and began pursuing her dream of ownership of a Chick-Fil-A franchise.

That dream came true just five years after she graduated college in 2011, when Lamothe was just 26-years-old.

Her first restaurant was located right across the street from University of California and her second was opened up right down the street in downtown Los Angeles.

She says her focus is about putting faith and mentoring her team and their goals the way she was mentored.

“I want to help them get to where they want to go, whether it’s a career with Chick-Fil-A, or studying law or medicine, or anything,” says Lamothe. “I want to help them make that next step, just like so many have done for me.