1474 Route 23, Suite No. 7

Wayne, NJ

Contact:        Bob & Susan Palmarozza

Phone:          973-696-9393

For Immediate Release                                      

May 7, 2002

Media Contact:  Sanderson & Associates, Ltd.

Courtney or Kelly

Phone:     773-252-3676

E-mail:     scoop@sandersonpr.com

 

CORPORATE EXEC STARTS

 OWN BUSINESS WITH WIFE

Tired of the ‘VIEW FROM THE TOP’, COUPLE LONGS TO BRING PERSONAL TOUCH BACK TO BUSINESS

 (WAYNE, NJ) -- Bob Palmarozza worked his way up to vice president of a Fortune 500 company, Venator Corp. (now known as Footlocker), helping entrepreneurs build several restaurants along the way. But the 41-year-old said he was not happy.

“The view at the top ... I didn’t like it,” he said. “You lost the personal touch, and you couldn’t get intimately involved with employees.”

So Bob and his wife, Susan, a stay-at-home mom since their daughter was born, went looking for their own business.

“I believe in franchising,” said Bob, referring to his time with Footlocker.

“It’s a very creative way to start a business.”

Their search led them to FranNet representative Jack Armstrong, who interviewed them and suggested several options, including a light maintenance and repair business called Mr. Handyman. What Armstrong did not know was that the Palmarozzas had developed a business plan for a similar small business, but there were a few details they just could not figure out.

“Mr. Handyman kept sticking with us,” said Bob Palmarozza. “I saw the way Mr. Handyman solved the problems and it was a home run for me.”

The new location of the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company the Palmarozzas decided to open is trying to fill the gap between a homeowner’s skills and a general contractor’s time. Bob and Susan’s new business targets odd jobs and small repairs around the house or even other businesses, like yanking out old water heaters, hanging ceiling fans or building utility shelves.

Trying to break down the stereotype of a guy in blue jeans with a pickup full of tools, Mr. Handyman technicians wear uniforms, drive logo-emblazoned vans and are trained in customer service.

The Palmarozzas are both native to the New Jersey area and Bob’s father, a builder, constructed some 500 homes in the state.

“I have no doubt we’ll end up servicing some of the homes my father built 30 years ago,” he said. “I’m eager to get out there.”

Considering his background, Bob is impressed by Service Brands International, which owns Mr. Handyman.

“I continue to be surprised and amazed with the thoroughness of the company,” he said. “They do a first-class job.”

Preliminary marketing already has the company booked for two weeks past its start-up date, May 28. Calls started coming in while the Palmarozzas were in training at Mr. Handyman seminars.

“We had 10 calls waiting for us when we got back,” said Bob. “It kind of hit us sooner than we were ready.”

The business is located on the second floor of a retail center and the Palmarozzas have gotten a few phone calls from the 5,000 to 10,000 motorists who drive by the company vans parked in the lot.

“It’s the greatest billboard in the world,” said Bob.

One of the Palmarozza’s first few calls included a daughter of an 87-year-old woman who asked for a technician to spend a day just doing a bevy of little jobs, from weather-stripping around the front door to hanging a new clothesline.

“I get the impression the daughter just doesn’t have the time,” he said.  “She didn’t even ask how much it would cost, she was just thrilled that somebody could do it.”

The Palmarozza’s most unusual call so far was from a man with a small light inside his home that tells him when the garage door is open. The light burned out some time ago, Bob surmised, and the man has not been able to find anyone to fix it.

“I thought he was going to cry,” said Bob. “He was so grateful.”

Bob said he is happy to replace a 1 1/2-hour one-way commute into New York City with a 1 1/2-mile trip to downtown Wayne. He said his New York office was only three blocks from the World Trade Center the day of the terrorists’ strikes. Fortunately, he was with his wife at the hospital where she was scheduled to have surgery.

“Somebody was watching over me that day,” he said. “Our building was covered in about three inches of dust. It was terrifying ... I feel sorry for the employees that were there.”

Palmarozza said he almost got into the fast-food restaurant business. He and some co-workers pulled together about $5 million to purchase a chain of restaurants owned by Footlocker.

“It fell apart at the last minute,” he said, somewhat thankfully. “That would have involved a lot of debt.”

Susan and Bob have a daughter, Nicole, 11, and a son, Robert, 8, who help out around the business after school and on weekends.

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About Mr. Handyman

Mr. Handyman is one of several new companies launched recently by Service Brands International (SBI), the parent company of Molly Maid Inc., the Ann Arbor, MI-based residential cleaning service that has been ranked Number One in major business publications for the past several years. John Eggenberger, a key executive at SBI believed that home-handyman services represented a sensible extension in the home service industry.  Mr. Handyman arose in part from the founding business model and investment by Massachusetts businessman David Lavalle, who established the original company in 1996. Service Brands International acquired the rights and trademark to the company in March of 2000. The company currently has 70 locations.

 

Sidebar:

 

How FranNet Helps People Follow Their Dreams

 

Franchise Network Group, or FranNet for short, was founded in 1987 to facilitate successful matches between aspiring entrepreneurs and franchises.  Now president and chairman of the board, FranNet has 60 offices in North America and has helped thousands of people find a franchise that is right for them.

“We help people to understand what they are looking for and help them do the research to get the answers they need,” says Linden FranNet representative Jack Armstrong.  “We help them find out who they are, what they are interested in and their dreams and hopes.”

To help find the best fit, FranNet consultants give clients an in-depth, comprehensive questionnaire about individual’s aspirations, personality, risk tolerance, financial goals and personal dreams.  These questions help determine, for example, whether a new franchise just getting started or a more established franchise would best fit their needs.  Or whether a business with high public interaction is better for someone than a work-on-your-own scenario.

Armed with this analysis, a FranNet consultant initially suggests between two and four franchises that the prospect might want to be referred to.  From there, the would-be franchisees do the legwork, as FranNet helps them counter fear and uncertainty with information, information and more information.  FranNet consultants guide the client with research tips and plans, and the consultant tries to make sure they contact, interview and visit other franchisees as well as the franchisors.

FranNet works with between 50-100 franchises, each of which is thoroughly vetted and researched by FranNet before being included on their list.  These companies pay FranNet a fee for inclusion.  Franchisees make an educated choice and franchisors have a solid recruit who is aware of all aspects of the business and capable of succeeding.

While FranNet works with people in their 20s or 30s, a typical client is a successful businessperson in the 40-55 age range—precisely the experienced but expensive employee companies often eliminate.  Some high-level employees realize this and leave on their own terms; others find out only after the ax falls.  People in mid-career also check out franchises because they are looking to create a more lucrative retirement or, with children grown, they have more financial freedom to follow a dream.