Dor Li is a multi-site, multi-state Sushi Sushi franchise owner who has spent years building his career inside the brand starting as a team member, rising through management, and eventually becoming a franchise owner across multiple states.
Episode Timeline
- 0:00 – Introduction
- 0:41 – Moving from China to Australia as a student
- 2:20 – Learning to cook out of necessity and living independently
- 3:47 – First job at Sushi Sushi and early impressions
- 5:54 – Becoming a store manager in a company-owned store
- 7:04 – Moving to Western Australia as Area Manager
- 8:25 – Rapid expansion and opening multiple stores per month
- 10:18 – Overseeing WA and Queensland operations
- 11:51 – Moving back to Melbourne to lead training and projects
- 12:44 – The decision to become a franchise owner
- 15:06 – COVID, leaving head office, and buying regional stores
- 16:58 – How Dor adds new stores and builds management teams
- 18:39 – What Dor looks for in future store opportunities
- 19:35 – Wrap up
In this episode of the Franchise Everything Podcast, Dor shares his full journey from arriving in Australia as an international student, studying commercial cookery, managing company-owned stores, becoming an area manager across WA and Queensland, and finally stepping into franchise ownership in regional Victoria and Western Australia.
We talk about how he transitioned from head office to owning stores, how he builds strong store teams, why staff training is the real key to scaling multiple locations, and what it takes to grow from one store to six — with a seventh on the way.
