I have the most fun when I’m opening up a store
Ted Krygoske

Left to right - Ted Krygoske, Claudia Bottomley, Paul Bottomley. Ted and Paul both were regional managers for the same company in Indiana and realized they had similar goals. They had talked for years about one day opening their own business.

“I’ve been in the business for 12 years,” says Ted Krygoske. “And one thing I’ve found is that I have the most fun when I’m opening up a store.” He describes that experience as an exciting part of what he did for a major RTO company until recently. “Everything is fresh - yours. If you put a nick on the wall, it’s your nick. I like the ownership piece of it.”

But after all those years the feeling of being an entrepreneur began to get squelched for Ted, and that is how his partner Paul Bottomley describes what happened in his RTO world too, after 17 years. “I felt I was going down the road of micromanagement,” says Paul. I felt that corporate America was taking away the entrepreneurial spirit and that’s not what either of us is about.”

Ted and Paul both were regional managers for the same company in Indiana and realized they had similar goals. They had talked for years about one day opening their own business. According to Paul, “one thing led to another and we ended up partners in owning a Premier store in Knox, Indiana.” It’s a start for them, one they hope will lead to multiple stores owned individually. That IS what they are about.

“We feel that by starting out together we will get the first one off the ground and make it a cash cow to help finance future stores,” said Ted. “We compliment each other with similar goals and work ethics. And we’ll keep things fresh by continuing to open new stores.”

Ted and Paul started in the industry working from the ground up, learning all aspects of the RTO business. Ted’s foray into RTO was with Rent-A-Center and before leaving that company had doubled the volume of a store from 80,000 to 150,000 within a year. He moved to Rentway to open up a brand new store and grew that from zero to 600 agreements in six months.

Meanwhile Paul signed on with Coleman Rentals, which was bought by McKinsey/National Rental, which was later bought by Rentway. According to Paul he became a “real fix-it guy,” taking over numerous locations when they needed help. In one case he turned a failing store with 300 agreements into Rentway’s largest volume store with 1200 agreements.

With success under their belts as store managers, account reps and regional managers, they have proven experience in starting and running multiple operations well. Not only do they know the RTO business but how to treat people, a key element they both attribute to their success.
“Knowing the business and concentrating on our customers remains vital to us, and it will lead to success in our new venture,” says Paul.

They carefully charted their next steps after deciding to launch their business. Ted admits they looked into their options, including buying a franchise of one of the large RTO companies. They also knew about Premier through two other regional managers who had gone out on their own with them.

“We had looked into opening up a store two times,” says Ted. “Two times we tried, but both fell through because of different issues, such as non-competes in the area. One day we remembered what someone had told us about Premier. We found the website, called Trooper and compared Premier to joining with a larger firm or going solo. There was no comparison, though. We knew we should absolutely go with Premier instead of any other option. Fees were too high to make joining a large company appealing. And while some people out there may think about doing it by themselves, I think that’s a huge mistake. If we had tried to do it by ourselves, it would have taken us years to get done what we’ve been able to get done in months with Premier’s help. They have it all laid out, from the business plan to the new store opening guide. The support we got has been incredible.”

Paul adds, “The guidance they have provided has been tremendous. We looked at everything. We did a lot of research before deciding on Premier. Not only did we find it so expensive elsewhere, we wanted the ability to make our own decisions and not be driven by franchise agreements. We could have ended up in an extremely corporate environment had we gone a different route, but with Premier we’re working for ourselves. We have our own pricing program, select our own products. The financing is a lot better. Going through the SBA was better than going through the financing offered by other companies.”

Paul recalls one example of how well it worked. Trooper told him about a real estate broker to help with the lease. “He was an unbelievable guy. We got a great deal on our lease and were able to negotiate all the build-out of the store. We had to front very little for construction - just paint and carpet. No one could have gotten us a better deal.”

In their quest ultimately to open several stores they feel they’ll have the set-up and support now from Premier to do just that.

“Trooper has been amazing,” adds Ted. “Whenever we have a question or a problem, we get an answer right away. I usually expect the worst and hope for the best. Then I won’t be disappointed. But so far it’s gone without a hiccup. Not one of the Premier contacts has let us down. We did some shopping - like when it came time to buy our truck. But in the end the recommended vendors from Premier have proven to be the most economical and the most convenient.”

Paul and Ted have learned on the job since they began in the RTO industry. And now they’ll get to put their knowledge and experience into play for their own growth as owners. They are ready. While their personalities demand an environment in which they have fun, they’ve demonstrated the ability to balance that with the hard work it takes to keep their store up to their “superior” standards.

Ted makes a final point - that their store will be a family business, locally owned and operated. Paul’s wife, Claudia will be an important figure. “She has worked with Paul before,” says Ted. “Customers loved that she was there. She’ll help us stay organized!”

Ted and Paul’s new store is located at 809 South Heaton Street in Knox, Indiana.

The national office of Premier Rental-Purchase is located in Williamsburg, Virginia. All Premier stores are independently owned and operated. Visit Premier’s website at www.premierrents.net or call (800) 2-Premier and ask for Trooper Earle.