Toowoomba couple finds love serving up a big pizza pie

MARRIED couple Darren and Deb Ramm now own and operate the same Domino's store in Toowoomba in which they met 16 years ago.

WHO says you can't have your pizza and eat it too?

Married couple Darren and Deb Ramm are proving wrong all those who say you can't be married and work together successfully.

The powerhouse business team has found success as franchisees of the same Domino's store where they met in 1998.

The Ramms married six years after meeting at the pizza shop in Wyalla and, with a shared love for the food industry, went on to own and operate the store.

Mrs Ramm said working together offered them the best of both worlds.

"We can spend more time with each other while pursuing our dream and seeing our business that we have together grow," she said.

"We believe that the success to working together as a married couple is to let each other excel in our own area of expertise and not step on each other's toes - it's easy to spend so much time together when you are best friends."

Her husband agreed and said a separation of tasks helped the couple to run their business smoothly.

"We also have a similar sense of humour - that always helps," he said.

"The biggest challenge can be finding spare time."

Mr Ramm said the workload of running a franchise could be intense and it was good to have each other's constant back-up.

The Ramms are also passionate about supporting their local community and found a unique way to help Toowoomba battle through the 2011 floods.

They kept their store's doors open day and night and provided free pizza to families in need and to emergency service volunteers.

The couple has won several Domino's awards together including franchisee of the year, the Leadership Eagle Award and Australia and New Zealand Pizza Making Champions of the year in 2012.

Mrs Ramm said the rewards of franchise ownership were never-ending.

Her advice for success in any business was to build an amazing team around you.

"Your whole success depends on your core team around you and the people who help you achieve your goals on a day-to-day basis."

Head of franchising and development at Domino's Pat McMichael said now was the perfect time for people to consider a career in franchising with Domino's.

"Throughout the year, we know Australians will periodically assess their satisfaction levels in jobs and nothing screams satisfaction more than taking charge of your situation and becoming your own boss," he said.

"The up and coming holiday season will bring people together, which sees a huge peak in sales, so it is a great time to get in to the business for yourself and kick start the franchise right away.

"Coming up to holiday season we see a huge peak in sales so it's a great time to get in to business for yourself and kick start the franchise right away."

According to Mr McMichael, Domino's plans to open 75 new stores across Australia and New Zealand in the new financial year.

Originally published as Toowoomba couple finds love serving up a big pizza pie