Carla & Chuck Karpinske
Chuck spent years working as an executive for fast-paced, start-up companies. After helping orchestrate the sale of Recovery Engineering to Proctor & Gamble, he went on to help raise tens of millions of dollars of venture capital as the CFO for SimonDelivers. Meanwhile, Carla developed amazing customer service acumen after spending twenty-five years working as a nurse and running the front-office for an oral surgeon.
They enjoyed their lifestyle in the Twin Cities but wanted to be near their son and his family who live in Des Moines. Their decision to move prompted them to pursue a new adventure – business ownership.
Carla and Chuck had been working with several business brokers for the best business or franchise opportunity when they contacted us about our services.
“After only a few meetings, we felt like you knew who we were, felt comfortable with the process you described and trusted that you were sincerely interested in our future versus your own self-interest.”
On a personal level, it was important for the Karpinskes to maintain their lifestyle and enjoy a certain degree of flexibility.
On a business level, they wanted to network and assimilate themselves into their new community, develop employees, have the opportunity to grow and expand their business as well as create a recurring revenue stream that would provide an annuity in 10-15 years when they’re ready to slow down.
“After investigating only the few franchises that you recommended, we were able to select a business that matched our skills perfectly. On our own we would have never even looked at the type of business we selected.”
In January 2004, Chuck and Carla purchased an exclusive right to a Martinizing Dry Cleaning territory – allowing them to develop multiple stores in and around Des Moines, Iowa.
They knocked the cover off the ball when they opened their first store in June 2004. When they found “the perfect site” for a second location, they dove in head first and built their second, full plant store less than five months later.
“Although there have been a few rough moments, overall, it has been a challenging and very, very exhilarating experience.”
According to Frank Knowles, Director of Franchise Development, "Chuck and Carla have such enthusiasm for the business and with their phenomenal first year sales they have become the poster children for our franchise system."
Chuck is such a humble guy that he might not readily admit it, but he and Carla are on pace to exceed any prior first-year sales records in Martinizing’s 50+ year history.
What he will acknowledge is that he should have followed Carla's lead and bought more comfortable shoes a lot sooner!
They enjoyed their lifestyle in the Twin Cities but wanted to be near their son and his family who live in Des Moines. Their decision to move prompted them to pursue a new adventure – business ownership.
Carla and Chuck had been working with several business brokers for the best business or franchise opportunity when they contacted us about our services.
“After only a few meetings, we felt like you knew who we were, felt comfortable with the process you described and trusted that you were sincerely interested in our future versus your own self-interest.”
On a personal level, it was important for the Karpinskes to maintain their lifestyle and enjoy a certain degree of flexibility.
On a business level, they wanted to network and assimilate themselves into their new community, develop employees, have the opportunity to grow and expand their business as well as create a recurring revenue stream that would provide an annuity in 10-15 years when they’re ready to slow down.
“After investigating only the few franchises that you recommended, we were able to select a business that matched our skills perfectly. On our own we would have never even looked at the type of business we selected.”
In January 2004, Chuck and Carla purchased an exclusive right to a Martinizing Dry Cleaning territory – allowing them to develop multiple stores in and around Des Moines, Iowa.
They knocked the cover off the ball when they opened their first store in June 2004. When they found “the perfect site” for a second location, they dove in head first and built their second, full plant store less than five months later.
“Although there have been a few rough moments, overall, it has been a challenging and very, very exhilarating experience.”
According to Frank Knowles, Director of Franchise Development, "Chuck and Carla have such enthusiasm for the business and with their phenomenal first year sales they have become the poster children for our franchise system."
Chuck is such a humble guy that he might not readily admit it, but he and Carla are on pace to exceed any prior first-year sales records in Martinizing’s 50+ year history.
What he will acknowledge is that he should have followed Carla's lead and bought more comfortable shoes a lot sooner!
posted by Carolyn Herfurth, The Entrepreneur's Source at Monday, June 13, 2005
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