Rick Toboz
Much of Rick’s career was spent with the likes of mammoth corporations including The Pillsbury Company, Heinz USA and Cargill Inc. The bulk of his responsibilities were strategic initiatives that ranged from evaluating new business units to selecting and implementing new HR, trade marketing and supply chain management systems. He was even recognized, not just once but twice, for his outstanding achievement in support of the Pillsbury Bake-Off contest. Not many folks can claim that sort of recognition!
When we met, Rick was in a career transition. He was burned out on global travel and was truly interested in making a difference. He wanted more control, a feeling of accomplishment, a new challenge and the financial rewards that come with business ownership. His two sons were both college-bound and he knew he had a big nut to crack with funding their education.
As the son of an entrepreneur, he admitted that the ongoing question in his mind was, “Why haven’t I considered this path a long time ago?” His answer was that sometimes you just need to be at a career crossroads to allow yourself to look in other directions. And in other directions he looked.
"Once I committed to exploring my options in the franchise world, it was nice to have a few targeted businesses to investigate - rather than trying to figure out the best starting point on my own."
We quickly identified a business model that came very close to meeting Rick's goals and expectations but the first year projections fell a bit short of his aggressive income goal.
Knowing that he had a viable contingency plan with that franchise model – but hoping to get closer to his first-year income criteria – we turned to a well-known name in the automotive business, Maaco. Rick really liked the business model. And as crazy as it sounds, he thought the oven technology that “bakes” the cars was pretty cool too.
During the course of his validation with existing franchisees, Rick spoke with a local Maaco franchise owner who wanted to scale down from two stores to one and was just waiting for the right, trustworthy individual to buy one of his locations. Bingo!
The remaining challenge was negotiating a fair price and terms for purchasing the business. Rick is the sort of guy who can do anything he sets his mind to. His ability to communicate, look at all of the angles and think strategically allowed him to complete his intensive franchise training as class valedictorian in February and close on his business in March.
Rick has flown out of the gates. He had positive cashflow after his second week in business, is meeting his forecast and is already concocting new ways to expand the capacity of his store.
Who would have guessed that a fella who went from earning recognition from Pillsbury for Bake-Offs will soon be earning recognition from Maaco for the volume of cars his shop “bakes”?
The next time your car body needs some attention, stop by and visit Rick at his store near the corner of Wentworth & Robert Street in West St. Paul. You'll meet a guy who is having more fun than he ever imagined and facing his challenges like a true entrepreneur!
When we met, Rick was in a career transition. He was burned out on global travel and was truly interested in making a difference. He wanted more control, a feeling of accomplishment, a new challenge and the financial rewards that come with business ownership. His two sons were both college-bound and he knew he had a big nut to crack with funding their education.
As the son of an entrepreneur, he admitted that the ongoing question in his mind was, “Why haven’t I considered this path a long time ago?” His answer was that sometimes you just need to be at a career crossroads to allow yourself to look in other directions. And in other directions he looked.
"Once I committed to exploring my options in the franchise world, it was nice to have a few targeted businesses to investigate - rather than trying to figure out the best starting point on my own."
We quickly identified a business model that came very close to meeting Rick's goals and expectations but the first year projections fell a bit short of his aggressive income goal.
Knowing that he had a viable contingency plan with that franchise model – but hoping to get closer to his first-year income criteria – we turned to a well-known name in the automotive business, Maaco. Rick really liked the business model. And as crazy as it sounds, he thought the oven technology that “bakes” the cars was pretty cool too.
During the course of his validation with existing franchisees, Rick spoke with a local Maaco franchise owner who wanted to scale down from two stores to one and was just waiting for the right, trustworthy individual to buy one of his locations. Bingo!
The remaining challenge was negotiating a fair price and terms for purchasing the business. Rick is the sort of guy who can do anything he sets his mind to. His ability to communicate, look at all of the angles and think strategically allowed him to complete his intensive franchise training as class valedictorian in February and close on his business in March.
Rick has flown out of the gates. He had positive cashflow after his second week in business, is meeting his forecast and is already concocting new ways to expand the capacity of his store.
Who would have guessed that a fella who went from earning recognition from Pillsbury for Bake-Offs will soon be earning recognition from Maaco for the volume of cars his shop “bakes”?
The next time your car body needs some attention, stop by and visit Rick at his store near the corner of Wentworth & Robert Street in West St. Paul. You'll meet a guy who is having more fun than he ever imagined and facing his challenges like a true entrepreneur!
posted by Carolyn Herfurth, The Entrepreneur's Source at Tuesday, July 12, 2005
