Natives of the Calgary area, Wayne and Ellen Brown are in many ways typical of our franchisees. Ellen grew up on a farm and has a variety of small business experience; Wayne has been in sales for most of his career. After successfully raising their children, they began to look around at “what’s next” for their professional lives.
Wayne and Ellen found Gotcha Covered through contact with another successful Gotcha Covered franchise in the Calgary area, and quickly understood the income and lifestyle potential. Although they had no previous interest, knowledge, or experience with window treatments, the low cost of entry, the financial dynamics of our industry, the flexibility and the incredible demand for our products compelled them to join the Gotcha Covered team.
BeTheBoss: What goals did you have when you joined Gotcha Covered?
Ellen Brown:
“We joined Gotcha Covered with high hopes because of the success of another more-established Gotcha Covered franchisee in Calgary. They spoke very highly of the opportunity and the training and support that Gotcha Covered provides. We have not been disappointed, and we love being in this business! It’s really true that you don’t need any experience to be successful at Gotcha Covered.”Wayne Brown: “When we joined Gotcha Covered, I was planning to help build the business over the course of 5 years and eventually leave my current company to join Ellen full-time. I’m now half way through those five years and we’re already way ahead of schedule. I am really looking forward to the day that I can turn my full attention to building my own business instead of someone else’s.”
BTB:What are the biggest advantages that Gotcha Covered gives you in your business?
EB: “I appreciate all of the training and support. Working the business full-time with Wayne only able to help part-time, I have a ton of stuff to do just to manage my day-to-day schedule. If I had to worry about negotiating with vendors, coming up with marketing ideas, and trying to stay up to date with new products, I would be overwhelmed. Thankfully, Gotcha Covered does that for me so that I can focus on the most important thing I can be doing- working with customers.”
Mb>WB:“As a part of an international buying group, we have pricing and other benefits that most of our competition can’t touch.”
BTB: How does Gotcha Covered help you differentiate yourself from your competition?
EB: “Overall, I would say that Gotcha Covered has taught us to sell to a more upscale market. We don’t just ‘sell blinds’; we offer custom solutions based on the needs of our customers, and we offer virtually everything for the interior of a window. All of the Gotcha Covered messaging and resources help us reinforce this approach, and therefore we appeal to a more sophisticated buyer with who is willing to pay for a high level of service and has a much higher average sale than the rest of industry.”
WB: “The first thing that comes to mind is the name; Gotcha Covered is a great and memorable name in our industry. The corporate office does a great job in creating powerful marketing tools and negotiating programs with marketing/advertising companies so that we can build our brand in a way that our small, independent competitors just can’t match. We all have a clear goal of building a truly international brand that will eventually be a household name.”
Although only a franchise since early 2012, the Browns have already achieved status as one of the Top Ten performers for 2013.
