Jay Goltz
August 9th, 2001, 07:26 PM
I’ve noticed the comments on FramerSelect and would like to share some insight. The idea of framers advertising together and trading referrals dates back to an article in which I was interviewed for Art Business News, October 1984. I only know this because I recently came across the article. It wasn’t until about three years ago that I finally figured out a way of making this work through the use of a new business tool called the Internet. It took me two more years to decide whether I was up to the challenge of putting this together, signing people up, and running it. All the while, I was fine-tuning my own advertising for not only Artists’ Frame Service, but also my other ventures—a garden store and a home store, using magazine advertising. It wasn’t until last year that I felt I had all of the pieces to the puzzle. Here are the pieces:
1. Branding. I CUSTOM frame about 1,000 pictures a week. Not hotels, not wholesale, not low-end. Custom Picture Framing. Just like you do. If any of you doubt that, come to my showroom on a Saturday afternoon and talk to one of my 10 Sales Consultants. Or any of my suppliers. Or anyone who has come to my business. Part of the reason I have grown to this size is because I understand and use branding. Just like Coca Cola, BMW, Disney, Nike… Branding is shaping the way people think about your business. That is what FramerSelect helps the independent framer do. Differentiation. Professionalism. Stability. We do that through the advertising, brochure, window sticker, and everything else people see with the FramerSelect logo on it.
2. Targeted marketing. Only 5-10% of the population custom frame pictures. I learned a long time ago that if you try to advertise to everybody, you are going to be ineffective. While I am happy to frame anything for anybody, I have found to make advertising cost effective you have to attract better customers. Customers that come to you because they want better quality framing. Not a bargain. Not the cheapest thing you’ve got. These better customers are reading upscale, home-related magazines. That’s why all of the home related product companies advertise in them. FramerSelect has a beautiful ad going into the better home magazines that your potential customers are reading.
3. The Internet. This is not e-commerce business. We are not trying to sell product over the Internet. We are giving away information, which the Internet has proven tremendous success at. We are teaching people about framing and sending customers to their local FramerSelect member. Studies show that the Internet influences 12% of purchases. That’s a lot of people.
4. Business expertise. I’ve given a lot of business classes over the years to people in the industry. I have also given numerous classes and speeches to all sorts of industries about many aspects of growing your business. As many of you know, I wrote, “The Street-Smart Entrepreneur” and have sold over 20,000 copies of it. I have seen first hand that most small business owners could use assistance and education on how to grow their business. I have grown my business from just myself to over 100 employees. I am by no means the smartest business guy on earth, but I do know how to make a small business less small. Numerous people have told me that their incomes have gone up dramatically since implementing enlightened business strategies I laid out in my seminars. FramerSelect harnesses advice from myself as well as other leaders in the industry.
I debuted the FramerSelect concept in Atlanta last year and got a very favorable response. I hired Jeff Grabowski, who formerly ran over 100 Warner Bros. Galleries, to run FramerSelect in January. For all practical purposes, FramerSelect is only four months old. I officially launched the advertising and website on April 1st. We are about to announce a strategic alliance with some major art providers which will give consumers more reasons to visit the web site and many reasons which require a framer. Today, we have over 100 members and are signing on new frame shops weekly. I am proud to say that I have the most successful framers in America signed up on the program. I can only tell you, the more successful, the quicker they signed up. Why? Because this makes sense. Good business sense. The power of advertising, branding, business information, referrals and the use of the Internet - all for $120 a month. People pay 10 times that price to be part of franchise. The benefits of joining FramerSelect begin the day you open your start-up kit, put the FramerSelect sticker on your window and place the brochures out on your counter.
You also have no idea how stubborn I am.
I have launched five successful businesses in my time and have had to “weather the storm” before. I have gotten used to the fact that between starting and turning the corner can take 1-3 years. At the rate I’m going, we’ll have critical mass by the end of the year – less than one year from launch date and faster than any other business I’ve started.
I never had the intention of signing up all of the framers in America. I’m only looking for 4% to 5%. From my experience, 65% of framers have no intention of growing their business, have no idea of how to grow their business, or think they can grow their business without spending any money. The other 30% will think about joining FramerSelect—for the rest of their lives. That’s o.k. I’m counting on the 5% of framers that are not content with “standing on the side lines.” People like Bob Carter, John Raines, Marc Bluestone, Marc Lizer, Rob Markoff, Lyn Holt, Sandy Mizerak, Derek & Christine Vandeberg, Rick Bergeron, Nina Bataller, David Conner, Tom McKeon…you probably recognize some of these names.
To those who have already signed up: I thank you for your foresight and am humbled by your support. I dig in every day to improve and evolve FramerSelect. I am very excited about its progress. To those of you who are waiting to see what happens, it already is—everyday. Some people sit on the sidelines because it’s a safe place to be. I didn’t grow my business by playing it safe. I’m always looking for news ways to stay ahead of the curve. FramerSelect is the culmination of everything I’ve done right for the last 23 years.
If you have any questions, I invite you to post them here on The Grumble so I can reply to all. For details on the program, visit our website and call Jeff Grabowski or myself.
- Jay Goltz
www.framerselect.com (http://www.framerselect.com)
800-444-8387
1. Branding. I CUSTOM frame about 1,000 pictures a week. Not hotels, not wholesale, not low-end. Custom Picture Framing. Just like you do. If any of you doubt that, come to my showroom on a Saturday afternoon and talk to one of my 10 Sales Consultants. Or any of my suppliers. Or anyone who has come to my business. Part of the reason I have grown to this size is because I understand and use branding. Just like Coca Cola, BMW, Disney, Nike… Branding is shaping the way people think about your business. That is what FramerSelect helps the independent framer do. Differentiation. Professionalism. Stability. We do that through the advertising, brochure, window sticker, and everything else people see with the FramerSelect logo on it.
2. Targeted marketing. Only 5-10% of the population custom frame pictures. I learned a long time ago that if you try to advertise to everybody, you are going to be ineffective. While I am happy to frame anything for anybody, I have found to make advertising cost effective you have to attract better customers. Customers that come to you because they want better quality framing. Not a bargain. Not the cheapest thing you’ve got. These better customers are reading upscale, home-related magazines. That’s why all of the home related product companies advertise in them. FramerSelect has a beautiful ad going into the better home magazines that your potential customers are reading.
3. The Internet. This is not e-commerce business. We are not trying to sell product over the Internet. We are giving away information, which the Internet has proven tremendous success at. We are teaching people about framing and sending customers to their local FramerSelect member. Studies show that the Internet influences 12% of purchases. That’s a lot of people.
4. Business expertise. I’ve given a lot of business classes over the years to people in the industry. I have also given numerous classes and speeches to all sorts of industries about many aspects of growing your business. As many of you know, I wrote, “The Street-Smart Entrepreneur” and have sold over 20,000 copies of it. I have seen first hand that most small business owners could use assistance and education on how to grow their business. I have grown my business from just myself to over 100 employees. I am by no means the smartest business guy on earth, but I do know how to make a small business less small. Numerous people have told me that their incomes have gone up dramatically since implementing enlightened business strategies I laid out in my seminars. FramerSelect harnesses advice from myself as well as other leaders in the industry.
I debuted the FramerSelect concept in Atlanta last year and got a very favorable response. I hired Jeff Grabowski, who formerly ran over 100 Warner Bros. Galleries, to run FramerSelect in January. For all practical purposes, FramerSelect is only four months old. I officially launched the advertising and website on April 1st. We are about to announce a strategic alliance with some major art providers which will give consumers more reasons to visit the web site and many reasons which require a framer. Today, we have over 100 members and are signing on new frame shops weekly. I am proud to say that I have the most successful framers in America signed up on the program. I can only tell you, the more successful, the quicker they signed up. Why? Because this makes sense. Good business sense. The power of advertising, branding, business information, referrals and the use of the Internet - all for $120 a month. People pay 10 times that price to be part of franchise. The benefits of joining FramerSelect begin the day you open your start-up kit, put the FramerSelect sticker on your window and place the brochures out on your counter.
You also have no idea how stubborn I am.
I have launched five successful businesses in my time and have had to “weather the storm” before. I have gotten used to the fact that between starting and turning the corner can take 1-3 years. At the rate I’m going, we’ll have critical mass by the end of the year – less than one year from launch date and faster than any other business I’ve started.
I never had the intention of signing up all of the framers in America. I’m only looking for 4% to 5%. From my experience, 65% of framers have no intention of growing their business, have no idea of how to grow their business, or think they can grow their business without spending any money. The other 30% will think about joining FramerSelect—for the rest of their lives. That’s o.k. I’m counting on the 5% of framers that are not content with “standing on the side lines.” People like Bob Carter, John Raines, Marc Bluestone, Marc Lizer, Rob Markoff, Lyn Holt, Sandy Mizerak, Derek & Christine Vandeberg, Rick Bergeron, Nina Bataller, David Conner, Tom McKeon…you probably recognize some of these names.
To those who have already signed up: I thank you for your foresight and am humbled by your support. I dig in every day to improve and evolve FramerSelect. I am very excited about its progress. To those of you who are waiting to see what happens, it already is—everyday. Some people sit on the sidelines because it’s a safe place to be. I didn’t grow my business by playing it safe. I’m always looking for news ways to stay ahead of the curve. FramerSelect is the culmination of everything I’ve done right for the last 23 years.
If you have any questions, I invite you to post them here on The Grumble so I can reply to all. For details on the program, visit our website and call Jeff Grabowski or myself.
- Jay Goltz
www.framerselect.com (http://www.framerselect.com)
800-444-8387