Matt Caemmerer recently spent $400,000 banking on Long Islanders' need to get organized.
Caemmerer and his team have scored some incredible deals recently, redoing four walk-in closets - for most people they would be live-in closets, he said - for $30,000. But an average transaction for his team runs about $3,500 he said.Manna is one of Oklahoma's few certified members of the National Association of Professional Organizers. The association was formed in response to the steady growth of clutter and chaos in homes and business and the job opportunities that disorganization has created.The same can be said of junk mail. Sometimes a successful reorganization can hinge on something as simple as a trash can to throw away trash before it ever enters the home or office, she said.To do her job effectively, Manna has to insert herself into a client's life and pay close attention to the system already in place. That intimacy can create a few problems.Manna doesn't define herself as either logically left-brained or creatively right-brained. She finds creativity in logical structure: "The two have to mesh," she said.Buying a Closets By Design franchise from the corporate franchisor - there are 33 across the country - will cost about $40,000 for the licensing fee. But then costs skyrocket up to $300,000 or more for materials and build-out of a location.Manna struck out on her own in 2003 after a few years of operating a closet-organizing franchise. The profession had just found its feet on the West Coast, she said, so it was a largely unexplored niche in Oklahoma. But Manna wanted to organize more than just closets.Manna has started branching out into more corporate projects, helping with calendar planning, supply cabinet structure, office moves and even computer program mastery - e-mail can be particularly time-consuming for people, she said.Caemmerer, with two kids in college and three others in private schools, said with a laugh that tuition is a motivating factor to make his franchise work.Scarda thinks Caemmerer can make buying a turn-key operation in this market, in these times, a success, because he has already ridden out a storm of no growth.If you need extra shoe racks, shelves, or drawers you will have to buy them separately to customize the system for your specific needs. For instance, the shoe aficionado with many pairs of shoes will need extra shoe racks. Someone with a lot of clothes may need more clothes hanging rods. However, if you desire more than a few basic modifications, you may need to go beyond a pre-built kit and have a completely custom system designed and installed for by a local cabinet shop or contractor.Besides encouraging predictions, why did Caemmerer think he could turn a failing franchise around?Paying for a failing business might seem like lunacy to some, but Caemmerer saw it as a sane way to success.Are there pitfalls in buying a franchise that's already in business?"I respect their privacy, so I don't feel like I'm intruding," she said. "I always ask if I can open a drawer before I open it and ask, 'If there's anything you don't want me to see, you need to remove it first.' You sometimes find something embarrassing. But you just kind of ignore that, hand it off to the person and say, 'You might want to deal with that yourself.' And then you move on. It happens."An organizer's services can range from designing an efficient closet to organizing a cross-country move, the association's promotional material says. That includes room-by-room space planning, estate organization, electronic gadget management, work- flow systems and time-management tips.Demand for home organization in the United States will grow 4.3 percent over the next three years, according to The Freedonia Group, an international industrial research firm. One of the factors prompting people to pay to get their stuff together is that in these uncertain times, home organizing is "a means of bringing some order to their homes as a counterbalance to the chaos they perceive in the larger world around them."An ad campaign is in the process of rolling out with half-page buys in Long Island and New York City papers. Google search engine optimization will also catch eyes, Caemmerer said."Only if you don't have the money to float it," said Tom Scarda, a Wantagh-based consultant with FranChoice, which counsels prospective franchisees.
Caemmerer, with two kids in college and three others in private schools, said with a laugh that tuition is a motivating factor to make his franchise work.
Author: Ambrose Clancy
No comments:
Post a Comment