Stuart Seller Story
http://www.camptrucking.com/
This week, thousands of kids will be returning home from summer camp -- without suitcases, duffel bags, tennis rackets, or even their dirty clothes.
Much of the baggage will be delivered back to their homes by small firms that have made a business of transporting campers' bags to and from the camps.
Typical is Camp Trucking, based in Denver. Employing an army of college students on summer break, the firm picks up baggage at the homes of campers and delivers it to camp just before a session begins. It charges a flat rate, with no restrictions on size or for bulky athletic equipment and duffel bags that sometimes weigh more than 100 pounds. At the end of the session, bags are returned -- with some parents even arranging drop-offs at laundries and dry cleaners along the way.
"We really are service companies that happen to be trucking companies," says Camp Trucking's 39-year-old owner, Stuart Seller.
The service is useful to the camps, too. They receive bags for a session all at once, a few days before the kids arrive, allowing the camp staff to focus on getting kids settled in, rather then keeping track of arriving luggage. The services often deliver the bags directly to a bunkhouse and the bunk assigned each camper.
For younger children, the camps have a chance to unpack the bags, and make "them feel like they're coming home," says Cole Kelly, director of Camp Wicosuta, a girls' camp in Bristol, N.H., which uses R&B Camp Baggage, of Plymouth.
There are 10 million children attending about 12,000 resident summer camps around the U.S., according to the American Camp Association, a nonprofit industry group, but Camp Trucking, and firms such as R&B, and Camp Baggage, of Tequesta, Fla., concentrate on serving higher-end camps where parents can spend thousands of dollars for a full summer session.
The camps are concentrated in the Northeast where the population is denser, making it more economic for the firms to serve, especially with the high price of gasoline. Campers from outside the region usually have their bags shipped by other delivery services, but the companies do pick up baggage for a growing number of kids in Florida who attend summer camps in New England.
Although based in Denver, Camp Trucking is the largest camp-delivery operator in the Northeast, and Mr. Seller expects that by the end of summer his company will have transported 30,000 to 35,000 bags for 12,000 to 15,000 kids attending several dozen camps.
With the average delivery price ranging from $120 to $150 a child, Camp Trucking's revenue will be $1.4 million to $2.3 million.
Mr. Seller has seen steady growth since he took over the business in 1998. "It used to be you didn't need to turn on your phones till April and then turn them off in September," he says. "Now it's almost a year-round business," talking to camps and sending out mailers in late November, and starting hiring in January and mapping routes in May.
At R&B, Rick Bogin, 52, started his business 37 years ago with his brother Robert, using the family station wagon and a U-Haul trailer to tote 60 bags. This year, R&B will transport 7,500 bags for 3,200 kids at 14 camps, at a cost ranging from $145 for New England residents to $175 for Florida families. A smaller operator, Camp Baggage, founded by former camp counselor Hal Sheppard, 45, in 1993, will transport more than 2,000 bags for 1,000 kids across eight camps, for an average cost of $150 a camper.
The firms usually have agreements with the camps, and, although campers aren't required to use the services, the camps either recommend them exclusively or include information to the campers in their packets. The firms don't charge camps anything; in fact, says Camp Baggage's Mr. Sheppard, shippers give the camp owners a commission in exchange for exclusive access to camp rosters. The other companies didn't disclose contractual arrangements.
With nearly all of the delivery work in the summer, the companies mainly use temporary employees. At Camp Trucking, much of the work is done by college students. Camp Trucking starts first-year drivers at $115 a day. Mr. Seller has a summer crew of 120 to 150, of which a quarter are women. Camp Baggage pays college students $115 to $200 per day depending on experience.
R&B's main staff of 35 is made up of educators, former executives and other professionals who have been with the company for a decade or more.
All three companies place a driver and navigator in trucks rented from companies such as Ryder System, Penske Truck Rental and Budget Truck Rental.
For camp haulers, one hurdle for the businesses has been streamlining the baggage-tracking process with its mounds of paperwork trailing from doorstep to bunk and back again.
Technology has made the process easier over the years, with computers, walkie-talkies and cellphones, to software and GPS systems to map out the runs.
It used to take R&B workers four days to pick up bags for 40 campers, but now they can pick up 80 to 90 campers' baggage per truck each day.
As the season nears an end, the work at R&B provides a separate benefit. Yesterday, Chuck Lenahan, head football coach at New Hampshire's Plymouth Regional High School, and his assistant coaches, put aside their game plans to direct nearly 100 football and baseball players on loading camp-baggage trucks. They'll receive a $4,000 check for their only fund-raiser, and, Mr. Lenahan says, they know that today he'll give them an easier practice.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
How A Starving Musician With 78 Cents Started A Million Dollar Business
Billy Cuthrell Story
http://www.progressivepercussion.com/
In 1992, Billy Cuthrell says, he was starving and had 78 cents to his name. He knew he needed to find a steady income since he wasn't making any money being in a band. Teach-ing drum lessons seemed like a smart way to capitalize on his talents.
After a breakfast of pork and beans one morning, Cuthrell walked to Kinko's, where a friend printed copies of his hand-drawn fliers decorated with magazine clippings. "This thing was ragtag," says Cuthrell, 32, of his business's first ad.
Despite its looks, the ad drew several responses. At first, Cuthrell drove to students' homes, loading his run-down Isuzu Trooper with drum equipment. "I was like the musical ice cream man," Cuthrell says. "The only thing I didn't have was the music playing outside the truck."
Eventually, Cuthrell rented space from a local music store and found he could teach more students at a physical location, so he opened his own. As business grew, Cuthrell hired instructors. He now has two locations offering lessons in guitar, bass, piano, drums and percussion, with 2006 sales projections of $1 million.
Despite Progressive's growth, Cuthrell still relies on word-of-mouth marketing, though he's branching out with a commercial that will run like a preview in local movie theaters. And his marketing materials have come a long way: The hand-sketched fliers have evolved into brochures-which Cuthrell hires someone else to design.
http://www.progressivepercussion.com/
In 1992, Billy Cuthrell says, he was starving and had 78 cents to his name. He knew he needed to find a steady income since he wasn't making any money being in a band. Teach-ing drum lessons seemed like a smart way to capitalize on his talents.
After a breakfast of pork and beans one morning, Cuthrell walked to Kinko's, where a friend printed copies of his hand-drawn fliers decorated with magazine clippings. "This thing was ragtag," says Cuthrell, 32, of his business's first ad.
Despite its looks, the ad drew several responses. At first, Cuthrell drove to students' homes, loading his run-down Isuzu Trooper with drum equipment. "I was like the musical ice cream man," Cuthrell says. "The only thing I didn't have was the music playing outside the truck."
Eventually, Cuthrell rented space from a local music store and found he could teach more students at a physical location, so he opened his own. As business grew, Cuthrell hired instructors. He now has two locations offering lessons in guitar, bass, piano, drums and percussion, with 2006 sales projections of $1 million.
Despite Progressive's growth, Cuthrell still relies on word-of-mouth marketing, though he's branching out with a commercial that will run like a preview in local movie theaters. And his marketing materials have come a long way: The hand-sketched fliers have evolved into brochures-which Cuthrell hires someone else to design.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
From Zero To Twenty Millions In Four Years
Founder Mike Fitzsimmons Story
http://www.deliveryagent.com/
Those coveting the latest fashions worn by the casts of Desperate Housewives or General Hospital need look no further than Delivery Agent Inc. Founder Mike Fitzsimmons saw a need for an easy way to sell products seen on TV, sports shows and films, so he built a business to do just that. Now, four years after its 2002 inception, sales are projected to reach $19.3 million for 2006.
Essentially, Delivery Agent enables TV show production crews like wardrobe and set designers to catalog the products used in shows. Delivery Agent then makes contact with the vendors of said products and provides the e-commerce platform to sell them through each show's official website. When viewers desire Martha Stewart's crocheted poncho or a particular Swarovski crystal ring worn by Teri Hatcher's Desperate Housewives character, the show, the vendor and Delivery Agent all profit. The company hopes to make it even easier for viewers to find on-screen fashions with the recent launch of its consumer brand, SeenOn.
Getting his foot into the entertainment universe, says Fitzsimmons, 32, was possible largely because he brought on team member Kim Marder, now chief marketing officer, who had an entertainment industry background and serious connections. Creating an advisory board full of entertainment industry veterans helped open even more doors. "We're sort of a slow-growth, high-growth story," says Fitzsimmons. "For the first three years, we got to $1 million in revenue on three full-time employees and six [contract workers]. The challenge in that phase was sticking with it--there were so many temptations to quit." The company secured a round of financing last year and has since grown the business to 44 employees.
Continuously adding to its already high-profile roster of 70 properties such as Will & Grace, The View and even Monday Night Football, Delivery Agent's big challenge now is training employees quickly enough to handle the growth. Says Fitzsimmons, "You need to find people who are self-sufficient and can hit the ground running."
Ever up for a challenge, Fitzsimmons and his crew are looking for even more growth and revenue opportunities. "We take a balanced, score card approach to how we set strategy and measure ourselves," he says. With plans to increase awareness of SeenOn shopping and roll out applications for the mobile market to allow consumers to purchase from their cell phones, Fitzsimmons sees a stellar future for Delivery Agent. Good thing--he's used to life among the stars.
http://www.deliveryagent.com/
Those coveting the latest fashions worn by the casts of Desperate Housewives or General Hospital need look no further than Delivery Agent Inc. Founder Mike Fitzsimmons saw a need for an easy way to sell products seen on TV, sports shows and films, so he built a business to do just that. Now, four years after its 2002 inception, sales are projected to reach $19.3 million for 2006.
Essentially, Delivery Agent enables TV show production crews like wardrobe and set designers to catalog the products used in shows. Delivery Agent then makes contact with the vendors of said products and provides the e-commerce platform to sell them through each show's official website. When viewers desire Martha Stewart's crocheted poncho or a particular Swarovski crystal ring worn by Teri Hatcher's Desperate Housewives character, the show, the vendor and Delivery Agent all profit. The company hopes to make it even easier for viewers to find on-screen fashions with the recent launch of its consumer brand, SeenOn.
Getting his foot into the entertainment universe, says Fitzsimmons, 32, was possible largely because he brought on team member Kim Marder, now chief marketing officer, who had an entertainment industry background and serious connections. Creating an advisory board full of entertainment industry veterans helped open even more doors. "We're sort of a slow-growth, high-growth story," says Fitzsimmons. "For the first three years, we got to $1 million in revenue on three full-time employees and six [contract workers]. The challenge in that phase was sticking with it--there were so many temptations to quit." The company secured a round of financing last year and has since grown the business to 44 employees.
Continuously adding to its already high-profile roster of 70 properties such as Will & Grace, The View and even Monday Night Football, Delivery Agent's big challenge now is training employees quickly enough to handle the growth. Says Fitzsimmons, "You need to find people who are self-sufficient and can hit the ground running."
Ever up for a challenge, Fitzsimmons and his crew are looking for even more growth and revenue opportunities. "We take a balanced, score card approach to how we set strategy and measure ourselves," he says. With plans to increase awareness of SeenOn shopping and roll out applications for the mobile market to allow consumers to purchase from their cell phones, Fitzsimmons sees a stellar future for Delivery Agent. Good thing--he's used to life among the stars.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
How To Make $100 Million Selling Other Peoples Stuff On eBay
Rick And Elise Wetzel Story
http://www.i-soldit.com
It's no secret--eBay has become tremendously popular, and strategically positioned right alongside the world-famous online auction site is eBay drop-off store iSold It LLC. Elise Wetzel and her husband, Rick, founded the Pasadena, California, business in December 2003 and started offering franchises just a few months later. They have already sold more than 800 units and expect 2006 gross sales to exceed $100 million. The numbers speak volumes; their story explains how they did it.
Elise was trying to raise money for her children's school by selling items on eBay when she was struck by what she calls "the big aha!" She had been buying on eBay for years, but soon realized that the process of selling an item was much more complex than buying. So she went in search of a business that would sell merchandise for her. When she came to a dead end, she knew she had stumbled on something big.
Selling other people's secondhand items for a fee is a golden idea with endless potential, but how this husband-and-wife team is managing the company's growth is what landed them on this year's Hot 100 list. Aware that the business could take off if given the chance, they knew when to step aside and pull in outside resources.
"We needed somebody who knew how to run this business at the speed it could run at," explains Rick, 47, who already had extensive franchising experience as the founder of fast-growing pretzel franchise Wetzel's Pretzels. "You have to set your ego aside. It was challenging to sit there and say, 'This is too big for me; we need a stronger team.'"
Rick singled out Ken Sully, former executive vice president of Mail Boxes Etc., for his impressive track record of building solid company infrastructures. Rick brought Sully onboard as iSold It's CEO in 2004. Thanks to this decision, the operation is running at top speed. A complex coding system for the stores is in place, and the build-out of each location is impressively standardized, enabling a store to be installed and set up in a mere 48 hours.
The company continues to grow strong with 3,000 franchise applications flooding in every month and recent international expansion to Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The future promises limitless opportunities, and the Wetzels are ready for it. "We've created this brick-and-mortar interface to the internet," says Elise, 40. "E-commerce will continue to evolve, and I think our stores are in an excellent position to capitalize on that."
http://www.i-soldit.com
It's no secret--eBay has become tremendously popular, and strategically positioned right alongside the world-famous online auction site is eBay drop-off store iSold It LLC. Elise Wetzel and her husband, Rick, founded the Pasadena, California, business in December 2003 and started offering franchises just a few months later. They have already sold more than 800 units and expect 2006 gross sales to exceed $100 million. The numbers speak volumes; their story explains how they did it.
Elise was trying to raise money for her children's school by selling items on eBay when she was struck by what she calls "the big aha!" She had been buying on eBay for years, but soon realized that the process of selling an item was much more complex than buying. So she went in search of a business that would sell merchandise for her. When she came to a dead end, she knew she had stumbled on something big.
Selling other people's secondhand items for a fee is a golden idea with endless potential, but how this husband-and-wife team is managing the company's growth is what landed them on this year's Hot 100 list. Aware that the business could take off if given the chance, they knew when to step aside and pull in outside resources.
"We needed somebody who knew how to run this business at the speed it could run at," explains Rick, 47, who already had extensive franchising experience as the founder of fast-growing pretzel franchise Wetzel's Pretzels. "You have to set your ego aside. It was challenging to sit there and say, 'This is too big for me; we need a stronger team.'"
Rick singled out Ken Sully, former executive vice president of Mail Boxes Etc., for his impressive track record of building solid company infrastructures. Rick brought Sully onboard as iSold It's CEO in 2004. Thanks to this decision, the operation is running at top speed. A complex coding system for the stores is in place, and the build-out of each location is impressively standardized, enabling a store to be installed and set up in a mere 48 hours.
The company continues to grow strong with 3,000 franchise applications flooding in every month and recent international expansion to Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The future promises limitless opportunities, and the Wetzels are ready for it. "We've created this brick-and-mortar interface to the internet," says Elise, 40. "E-commerce will continue to evolve, and I think our stores are in an excellent position to capitalize on that."
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
How To Makes $2 Million From College Interns
Jason Engen Story
http://www.corporateinterns.com/
When Jason Engen was an undergraduate student at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, he and his friends knew the challenges students faced in finding worthwhile internships. So for one of his business classes, Engen wrote a business plan detailing a concept for an internship placement service--one that would interview and screen students and match them with local companies that needed interns. "We hit a nerve in terms of the marketplace and focused 100 percent of our efforts on students," says Engen. "We started a week after we graduated, and it took off."
Still, it wasn't easy to peddle the service to local firms in the beginning. For one thing, it was a challenge to uncover how different companies structured their internship programs and how Engen and his partners could sell their service to these firms. "I don't think we were approaching companies the right way," says Engen. But as he began to spend more time learning about the companies' needs, he felt more confident in selling his service. "It's win-win," he explains. "The student gets the experience, and the company gets eager talent."
The real success came in carving out a niche--Corporate Interns Inc. specializes in placing interns only--so the company doesn't compete directly with large staffing firms. "Specialization is important," says Engen. "You have to stay focused on that niche." Especially when that specialization propels you to $2 million in yearly sales.
http://www.corporateinterns.com/
When Jason Engen was an undergraduate student at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, he and his friends knew the challenges students faced in finding worthwhile internships. So for one of his business classes, Engen wrote a business plan detailing a concept for an internship placement service--one that would interview and screen students and match them with local companies that needed interns. "We hit a nerve in terms of the marketplace and focused 100 percent of our efforts on students," says Engen. "We started a week after we graduated, and it took off."
Still, it wasn't easy to peddle the service to local firms in the beginning. For one thing, it was a challenge to uncover how different companies structured their internship programs and how Engen and his partners could sell their service to these firms. "I don't think we were approaching companies the right way," says Engen. But as he began to spend more time learning about the companies' needs, he felt more confident in selling his service. "It's win-win," he explains. "The student gets the experience, and the company gets eager talent."
The real success came in carving out a niche--Corporate Interns Inc. specializes in placing interns only--so the company doesn't compete directly with large staffing firms. "Specialization is important," says Engen. "You have to stay focused on that niche." Especially when that specialization propels you to $2 million in yearly sales.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Making $700,000 A Year By Letting Customers Design Their Own Jewelry
Lindsay Cain Story
http://www.femmegems.com
Nothing can take away the glow a woman gets when she sees that perfect piece of jewelry-nothing except for an exorbitant price tag, that is. But when customers come to Lindsay Cain's Femmegems store, they're able to bring in pictures of exquisite designer pieces and replicate them at a fraction of the original cost.
Initially, Cain designed and sold jewelry herself, but this 29-year-old found her niche when she realized that other women not only liked to design their own jewelry, but also enjoyed emulating the jeweled adornments they'd see in fancy, high-end department stores. "They'll come from [the department store] across the street and design a piece like the one they just saw," explains Cain, who offers her patrons a wide selection of semiprecious gems. "People feel the value they're getting."
With her Femmegems idea in mind, Cain went hunting for retail space in New York City's NoLIta neighborhood. After finding the perfect location, Cain opened her store's doors in November 2002, and just six weeks later, the store was featured in an article in the "Style" section of The New York Times.
The resulting business kept Cain and her staff busy for weeks-and even garnered attention from buyers at upscale department store Henri Bendel who asked Cain to open a similar setup in one of their boutiques. Now with two locations, Cain expects about $700,000 in sales this year.
http://www.femmegems.com
Nothing can take away the glow a woman gets when she sees that perfect piece of jewelry-nothing except for an exorbitant price tag, that is. But when customers come to Lindsay Cain's Femmegems store, they're able to bring in pictures of exquisite designer pieces and replicate them at a fraction of the original cost.
Initially, Cain designed and sold jewelry herself, but this 29-year-old found her niche when she realized that other women not only liked to design their own jewelry, but also enjoyed emulating the jeweled adornments they'd see in fancy, high-end department stores. "They'll come from [the department store] across the street and design a piece like the one they just saw," explains Cain, who offers her patrons a wide selection of semiprecious gems. "People feel the value they're getting."
With her Femmegems idea in mind, Cain went hunting for retail space in New York City's NoLIta neighborhood. After finding the perfect location, Cain opened her store's doors in November 2002, and just six weeks later, the store was featured in an article in the "Style" section of The New York Times.
The resulting business kept Cain and her staff busy for weeks-and even garnered attention from buyers at upscale department store Henri Bendel who asked Cain to open a similar setup in one of their boutiques. Now with two locations, Cain expects about $700,000 in sales this year.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
How A Business Started With A Credit Card Got To $25 Million In Annual Sales
Elizabeth Elting And Phil Shawe Story
http://www.transperfect.com/
Right after receiving her MBA, Elizabeth Elting was ready to put it to use. With experience at a translation company, Elting saw a need for a one-stop translation service in the fragmented industry. After teaming up with fellow MBA student Phil Shawe, Elting started TransPerfect Translations with a $5,000 advance on her credit card. Shawe's college dorm room became TransPerfect Translations' office, and they bought a phone line, a fax machine and office supplies, and they rented a computer. Though the partners focused on marketing in the beginning, their material was minimal and inexpensive.
With no full-time employees for the first 18 months of business, Elting and Shawe handled all aspects of the company except for linguistics, for which they hired freelancers. Taking no real salary in the first year, the founders took only what was necessary to cover their rent, reaching sales of $250,000.
Now as one of the top five translation companies worldwide, TransPerfect Translations has evolved from Shawe's dorm room to 19 offices on three continents and now includes a network of 4,000 freelancers. The firm specializes in the finance, pharmaceutical and legal industries and is also the world's largest legal translation company.
With projected sales of $25 million a year, Elting, 37, and Shawe, 34, now have a small staff to help out with TransPerfect Translations' daily operations, but they continue to run lean in order to ensure profitability and reinvestment. "That's the culture of our company," explains Elting. "We're very much focused on making sure we have money before we spend it, so we never have to lay off people." In any language, that translates to success.
http://www.transperfect.com/
Right after receiving her MBA, Elizabeth Elting was ready to put it to use. With experience at a translation company, Elting saw a need for a one-stop translation service in the fragmented industry. After teaming up with fellow MBA student Phil Shawe, Elting started TransPerfect Translations with a $5,000 advance on her credit card. Shawe's college dorm room became TransPerfect Translations' office, and they bought a phone line, a fax machine and office supplies, and they rented a computer. Though the partners focused on marketing in the beginning, their material was minimal and inexpensive.
With no full-time employees for the first 18 months of business, Elting and Shawe handled all aspects of the company except for linguistics, for which they hired freelancers. Taking no real salary in the first year, the founders took only what was necessary to cover their rent, reaching sales of $250,000.
Now as one of the top five translation companies worldwide, TransPerfect Translations has evolved from Shawe's dorm room to 19 offices on three continents and now includes a network of 4,000 freelancers. The firm specializes in the finance, pharmaceutical and legal industries and is also the world's largest legal translation company.
With projected sales of $25 million a year, Elting, 37, and Shawe, 34, now have a small staff to help out with TransPerfect Translations' daily operations, but they continue to run lean in order to ensure profitability and reinvestment. "That's the culture of our company," explains Elting. "We're very much focused on making sure we have money before we spend it, so we never have to lay off people." In any language, that translates to success.
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