Buy-In: Garage Product Franchisee Does It All, Even Cleaning

Kansas City Star:

Business: The Complete Garage, 8334 Richards Road, Lenexa; 913-322-9175.

About the business: The 1,875-square-foot store sells organization systems and professional installation services aimed at enhancing the utility and style of garages.

Owner: Wayne Zetzman

Owner’s role: “Everything from sales to installation of products. In the store I do all the administrative/accounting to cleaning the rest room.”

How long did it take you to start your business?
“On a visit to Minneapolis, I discovered one of the stores. I liked the concept and started the inquiry process. I located an available location that I felt was the right mix in demographics. Remodeling and start-up took two months, and we opened for business on September 7, 2005.”

How did you find and select your location?
“Given I would be spending a lot of time there, I set as a criteria that the location would be within eight miles of my home. I also knew that the demographics of Lenexa were consistent with the demographics necessary for a successful garage store. The store square footage also had to be 1,800 to 2,500. I drove the area looking for locations that were open within shopping areas that met the criteria. It was also important to have other retail businesses that were drawing people..”

Read full interview…

Photo: Peter Franklin.