Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue II, 2015

MULTI-BRAND 50 assist with franchisee training and bringing new prospects to the brand. With business brisk at his Liberty Tax stores, Comer has turned his attention to hiring 50 technicians and call center employees for Mosquito Joe and expanding the brand’s presence over the next three years with at least six new territories in Michigan. Still, Comer isn’t taking his business success for granted, due in part to a hard lesson learned at age 12 when his father advised him, “Always fear the underdog.” A passionate fan of baseball and all things sport, Comer watched his beloved Detroit Tigers—a “sure thing” in 1987—lose the division playoffs to the Minnesota Twins. Today, Comer happily believes he is on the winning side of those words, which still stick with him. “‘Always fear the underdog.’ That is how I feel as a small-business owner with Liberty Tax going up against H&R Block, and Mosquito Joe going up against the big guy,” says Comer. “We are the underdog—but we are hungrier.” BOTTOM LINE Annual revenue: $1.9 million between Mosquito Joe and Liberty Tax. 2015 goals: $1.2 million in revenue for Mosquito Joe. Growth meter: How do you measure your growth? For Liberty Tax, it’s the number of returns in revenue. For Mosquito Joe it’s the revenue and number of clients we retain. Vision meter: Where do you want to be in 5 years? Grow my total revenue to $4 million to $5 million for both companies. 10 years? Total revenue of $8 million to $9 million. How is the economy in your regions affecting you, your employees, your customers? More disposable income and more home ownership have driven the demand for mosquito and tax services. As the economy gets stronger, employment has been higher, and there has been more of a demand for tax services. Also, our client base has increased with Obamacare, because fewer people are ﬁling their own returns. Are you experiencing economic growth in your market? Yes. line at my bank that I appl ied for a long time ago—before I needed it. Getting money when you need it is harder than being prepared. I also have my parents and the franchisor itself. Experience with private equity, local banks, national banks, other institutions? The only experience I have is with my local bank, where I have developed a long-term relationship with the manager. Based on that relationship, I can walk into the bank and ask for something and it happens. My business partner is close to 80 years old, so he has a retirement fund, which is a form of private equity. What are you doing to take care of your employees? We go on monthly outings, and I have season tickets to the Tigers and take my staff to the games. How are you handling rising employee costs (payroll, minimum wage, healthcare, etc.)? It is adjusted into the pricing of our services. How do changes in the economy affect the way you do business? They have affected how we do our marketing. We rely less on old-fashioned marketing such as radio and TV. We rely on referrals, reviews, partnerships with nonproﬁts, and fundraising events. We have dozens of ways to get a client without spending a dime. How do you reward/recognize top-performing employees? I like to celebrate employees in front of other staff members to create a positive atmosphere and recognize them for a job well done. We give small rewards, such as grocery cards, dinners, and movies. We also give bigger rewards, such as sending them on trips. How do you forecast for your business? With my ﬁnance background, I like to budget a few months before business begins. I have been able to forecast pretty accurately with Liberty Tax based on my experience. What kind of exit strategy do you have in place? Given my age and where I’m at, I don’t have an exit strategy, except that I want to retire by 50. One of the beneﬁts of being a franchise means that the business is more marketable and there’s an existing system I can sell to. What are the best sources for capital expansion? I have a credit 32 MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE IS S UE II, 2015 muf2_c_comer(26,28,30,32).indd 32 3/16/15 12:45 PM

Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue II, 2015 | Page 34