Rent to Own Renaissance Men; Podcast Interviews With Four "New Breed" ColorTyme Franchisees; Cort Hill, Mark Martin, Louis Garcia and Scott Brown

ColorTyme Franchisees were treated to a "Pre-show" Sunday, getting a glimpse of tomorrow's tradeshow specials at the company's Winter Operations Meeting in Dallas, Texas. 36 vendors are displaying their latest models at the tradeshow. The official ColorTyme Tradeshow opens Monday afternoon. See photo gallery of all events to date (152 pics).

Podcast Interviews: RTO Renaissance Men
The Cort Hill podcast should start automatically. to stop or pause, use the control. Click the word PLAY next to each name to listen to today's podcasts.

Cort Hill
This is ColorTyme Franchisee Cort Hill's first convention as an owner after successfully opening his first store in Elkton, Maryland just 8 weeks ago. Hill has invested 18 years in the Rent to Own industry gaining valuable experience from major players including Aaron Rents, Cort Furniture Rental, Rent-a-Center and ColorTyme. According to Hill, the ColorTyme system allows him the freedom to put his experience to work, blending the best tactics from each model and combining them to create his own personal style.

Finding the right location was Hill's first battle. Real estate is at a premium in Maryland. The second was building a staff. Cort said, "This is a marathon, not a sprint. I look for people with integrity that are truly passionate about taking care of customers."

Mark Martin - PLAY
Father and son team John and Mark Martin operate four ColorTyme locations in Southwest Florida. The Martins were named Franchisee of the year for 2005 (see story) and earned ColorTyme's award for Number One Store Growth in the entire system in 2004.

So how does Martin do it? He says one of the keys is to identify the things you want to measure, and then do it daily, weekly and monthly. Martin works with his managers to set up goals for cash, growth, deliveries and collections. He says among the specific items he watches are APU (Average Price per Unit), APA (Average Price per Agreement), ADP (Average Down Payment) and APC (Average Price per Customer). Martin sets collection goals at a 21% weekly open, with a 7% close by the week’s end. He’s quick to admit the results are not always in line with the goals, but stresses the fact that keeping them so closely monitored helps the numbers stay within reason.

Scott Brown and Louis Garcia - PLAY
Scott Brown and Louis Garcia opened their first ColorTyme franchise in November, 2004 in Landover Hills, Maryland. Within two years, Brown and Martin had acquired three more stores and were proving the value of their unique partnership.

Scott and Louis have a long history, working together for Rent-A-Center, Remco and Thorn International. They first discussed going into business together nearly 20 years ago. They got their chance when Scott called Louis and asked if he knew anyone willing to be partners and Louis said, "look no further."

Garcia and Brown carry higher-end merchandise than the typical rental-purchase store. They call it "You are what you eat." They say you can't make money chasing the bottom. Instead, carry premium product and get a premium rate.

Entrepreneurial spirits are naturally strong willed and partnerships can prove difficult. Brown and Garcia more closely resemble brothers than business partners. They divide the workload divided into what they describe as "lanes." Garcia handles all aspects of operations and Brown handles all aspects of marketing and advertising.

Although Scott is a confessed occasional "lane-jumper", the system works for them. The key partnerships, they say, is mutual respect.

Other exclusive RTO Online multimedia from the 2007 ColorTyme Winter Operations Meeting in Dallas, Texas.

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