Thirty-seven years ago, Tamra took a job as a secretary — making $4.05 an hour — working for a franchisee of Burger King and Taco John’s.

After 17 years as an employee, Tamra was offered the opportunity to buy the restaurants from the owner.

She currently owns and operates nine Taco John’s locations, primarily in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in Minnesota, with one restaurant in central Iowa. Her personal mission is to provide a family environment for young people to experience their beginnings in the workforce so that they can continue their career path with fundamental lessons that will serve them in the future.

Tamra has become an outspoken proponent of franchising. She currently serves as a Board Member of the International Franchise Association (IFA) and the 2019 Co-Chair of the Board Franchisee Engagement Task Force. Tamra is also the 2020 Chair of the Franchisee Forum and a member of the Franchise Relations Committee at IFA.

In 2019, Tamra partnered with two fellow franchisees, Tom Baber and Mitch Cohen, and formed Performax Franchisee Advisors. Their goal? To work in partnership with franchisors to support their franchisees with growth goals, bring franchisee perspective to franchisor and supplier planning initiatives, and to speak about the lessons learned in their combined 97 years as franchisees.