TOP-SHELF OPPORTUNITY

Humble garage startup sets the
stage for custom shelving empire.

Franchise Fiscal Facts

The estimated initial investment for a ShelfGenie business ranges from $80,100 to $128,000, including a $40,000 franchise fee. ShelfGenie offers special incentives for multi-unit developers along with savings of 15 percent off the franchise fee through the International Franchise Association’s VetFran program and a 25 percent franchise fee discount for disabled veterans. A territory typically consists of at least 250,000 households.

For more information, contact:
ShelfGenie Franchise Systems,
1642 Powers Ferry Rd. SE,
Suite 200,
Marietta, GA 30067
877/434-3643
www.shelfgenie.com

Allan Young’s successful, but short-lived, career as a small-business consultant in Richmond, Va., was sidetracked in 2005 when he was deployed to the Middle East as an operations officer with the U.S. Army Reserve.

Young handed off some of his accounts to other consultants and returned six months later “thinking I wouldn’t have any clients and would have to completely restart my business.”

One company waited. Launched out of a garage in 2000, the company designed, built and manufactured high-quality, custom Glide-Out shelving that fit existing cabinetry in kitchens, bathrooms and elsewhere throughout the home, gliding in and out with the touch of a finger and saving homeowners thousands on expensive remodeling while making their shelving more functional and easy to use.

The mother-son ownership team - Joyce Burgess and Andrew Kerwin - wanted Young to develop a growth plan and he implemented a dealership model for the business that Kerwin had launched after moving to Richmond from California, where he had worked in the shelf conversion industry and realized its potential. Within a year the company had 30 dealers throughout the country, all recruited by Young. What he saw in the industry was something he had witnessed before.

“I always viewed the closet industry as a very close cousin to ours. Looking at their history has enabled to make smarter, more strategic decisions,” Young said. “Ten to 15 years ago, the closet industry was where we were a couple of years ago. It was very fragmented and people never thought it would make it. Now you can find over 10 large, successful closet organization companies in every major market in the country.”

In what can only be described as a whirlwind, the 37-year-old Young, along with business partner and franchising veteran Barry Falcon, 56, has taken the foundation that Burgess and Kerwin established with their original concept and founded ShelfGenie Franchise Systems, the nation’s only franchised provider of custom-built shelving solutions that glide in and out.

Franchising efforts were launched in May 2008. The company expects to have 125 to 150 franchise owners by the end of 2010. ShelfGenie can be operated as a home-based business and the company is targeting major markets throughout the Northeast, Florida, Texas and California for initial growth.

“ShelfGenie is a natural as a franchise concept,” said Falcon, a self-described entrepreneur with considerable experience in manufacturing, operations and business consulting, who has also been involved in franchising from the franchisee and franchisor perspective. “We’re looking for people with strong sales and marketing skills, not handymen. If you’re skilled in those areas you will do well because we offer a high level of support and systems for everything else. There is a low cost of entry and people love our products.”

As co-founders of ShelfGenie, Young and Falcon serve as CEO and president, respectively. As Young’s hands-on involvement with ShelfGenie’s predecessor increased, he brought in Falcon to help launch a franchising program. Along with Kerwin and another associate, Doug Jensen, they had formed their own successful dealership umbrella - Cabinet Essentials Group - under the original concept with dealerships in Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis and Birmingham, Ala. Chicago, for example, quickly grew to having 15 design consultants.

On April 2, 2007, Cabinet Essentials Group purchased the manufacturing facility in Virginia that was the exclusive provider of Glide-Out Shelving from Kerwin, his mother and stepfather.

“We controlled our destiny on the retail side and now we owned the manufacturing facility,” Young said. “We owned the entire process and that’s when we were able to turn our focus to franchising. A franchise owner wakes up every day and says, ‘I’m in charge of this business. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure it succeeds.’ That’s the type of person we wanted to grow our company.”

ShelfGenie holds appeal for many individuals with business management experience and strong sales and marketing skills looking for an affordable, home-based franchise opportunity that is easily scalable. Husband-wife teams are ideal and as professional organizers, landscapers, home remodelers and pool contractors.

“Because of all the business tools we offer, ShelfGenie is going to be very attractive to someone looking to buy and operate a franchise of their own,” Young said. “Both new and existing business owners will see the tremendous value in our Business Support Center. We see both groups as very viable partnerships.”