Source: Entrepreneur

After her husband’s sudden heart attack, she inherited a struggling business and $700,000 in debt. Instead of listening to many people and giving up, she rebuilt — and today the business is worth $10 million.

Lisa Starnes never imagined she’d one day run a $10 million business. In the 1980s, she was 22 and working as a secretary at the then-parent company of Captain D’s, a quick-service seafood restaurant (ranked #272 on the 2025 Franchise 500). In fact, back then, she knew more about what she didn’t want to do than anything. “I had two things I wasn’t going to do,” she tells Entrepreneur with a laugh. “I wasn’t going to be a teacher, and I wasn’t going to be a secretary. And, of course, I went to work as a secretary.”

In 1994, her husband purchased 10 Captain D’s restaurants in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. The decision wasn’t hers, she said, but she supported it while raising two young boys, one of whom was on the autism spectrum. “I was focused on my kids,” Starnes says. “I didn’t really think of it as my thing.”

“I’ve got this opportunity, and I need to make it work.”

That changed the following year, when her husband suffered a heart attack and could no longer be involved in the business. Suddenly, Starnes was in charge of a struggling portfolio of 10 restaurants that had already lost money in their first year. “He had a dream, and I got a job,” she says.

Starnes admits she was shy and inexperienced. But she quickly began hosting weekly manager meetings, trying to learn as much as possible from her more seasoned team. She spent nights at her kitchen table calculating food costs, down to the number of servings in a batch of coleslaw. “It wasn’t pretty,” she says. “As a matter of fact, some of it was kind of ugly. But I thought, I’ve got this opportunity, and I need to make it work.”

The early days tested her resolve. Within two years, the business had lost $700,000, forcing Starnes to make painful decisions, including closing four underperforming stores. Advisors told her to file for bankruptcy or sell what she could. One outside consultant even suggested she sell her car and hitchhike back to Texas. Instead, she pushed forward. “The joke answer I give is that I wasn’t smart enough to quit,” she says. “The real answer is that I knew how rare this opportunity was, and I had to give it everything I had.”

“I had to give it everything I had.”

By 1998, Starnes had paid off the $700,000 debt. From there, her restaurants stabilized and began to grow. She expanded carefully, opening a new store in 2008, in the middle of the Great Recession. She survived the pandemic as well, relying on her long-tenured employees. Many of her managers have been with her for more than 20 years, and some for more than 30. “When times are great, we’re all doing great and making money. When we’re struggling, we’re all struggling together,” Starnes says.

Her restaurants have consistently outperformed Captain D’s corporate averages, including hitting $10 million total revenue — thanks to what she calls “unreasonable hospitality.” Employees regularly go beyond expectations, such as helping elderly guests into the restaurant. Starnes says one couple even gave a store manager tickets to a Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game in appreciation.

“I’m so glad I didn’t listen.”

Today, Starnes operates seven Captain D’s locations across Dallas-Fort Worth and is preparing to open her first new store in 15 years — a modern endcap in Arlington, Texas, with a walk-out drive-thru door scheduled to open in October 2025. “Captain D’s keeps finding new ways to make a concept that started in 1969 still be relevant in 2025,” she said. “The past is terrific because it brings you here, but I want to be part of the future too.”

Looking back, Starnes is grateful she ignored the advice to walk away. “I’m so glad I didn’t listen; if I had, I never would have had this opportunity.” She has straightforward advice for anyone who is dealing with professional and personal turmoil: “You’re capable of more than you realize. If you put your head down, work hard and keep your focus, you can make it. If I can do it, anybody can do it.”