Rolling Out Premier Wheel Rentals

When you start a new business, you want the best resources in place to give you the edge, make you successful. You want to be backed by experience, especially if your business revolves around a new concept that few others understand or do well. That sums up what RTO dealers are finding as they look to expand their operations to include wheel and tire rental. And at Premier Wheel Rentals, we offer that edge with a variety of resources and invaluable experience.

The wheel and tire rental industry is relatively new – developing within the past ten years. If we know anything about Americans, we know that they love their vehicles and love to customize them. People are willing to take out a loan to make their car or truck distinctive because it is a statement of who they are, and it’s important. Knowing this, we’ve gone to that market with a way to customize vehicles without debt, making it a rental market. And the concept has caught fire, gaining momentum in the industry.

This market matches up largely with that of RTO. Therefore it makes sense that wheel rentals be a compliment to a rental-purchase business. But as logical as it sounds, it’s impossible to make it happen successfully without both an in-depth understanding of the wheel and tire rental business and the franchising expertise to back it up. In today’s wheel rental industry it seems you get one without the other.

Expert RTO dealers are branching off into wheels without the required knowledge of the wheel rental industry. That industry is by nature highly customized. Dealers must be up for a steep learning curve to launch and run a wheel rental business. Being able to get up to speed with a knowledge of tire sizes, offset, vehicle makes and what fits and what doesn’t when going from stock to custom is incredibly difficult.

On the flip side, those with an astute understanding of the wheel and tire industry may not have the franchise savvy or an understanding of the rental business necessary to be successful from an operational standpoint in an RTO arena. All the experience in the world in one industry won’t automatically make you successful as an RTO dealer without the experience necessary to run that type of business, even get it off the ground.

Premier Wheel Rentals fills the gaps by combining the perfect blend of RTO franchising expertise and support with knowledge and experience in the wheel rentals industry to bring to two related customer bases a more complete offering and to an RTO entrepreneur a unique opportunity.

I’ve talked with numerous potential wheel rental franchisers about the possibilities out there. They value experience when they look at choices. And in their shopping for a franchise, they wind up at Premier because of the depth of experience it offers. The word is that others touting themselves as wheel rental professionals just don’t know the fine points of the industry, and when a prospective dealer is getting ready to make an investment as a business owner, he wants to be affiliated with someone who does.

I have been in the wheel and tire rental industry longer than anyone, other than my two former partners who started renting tires with me back in 1995 when the wheel rental industry was non-existent. I’ve seen and done it all, watched the opportunity open up in the market place, experimented with different demographics and regions and watched the demand for what we do make it worth the effort. I’ve made the mistakes and fine-tuned a model for success within this industry.

But my expertise in the industry is just half of the equation. Trooper Earle, president and CEO of Premier Rental-Purchase, is the other half. His knowledge of franchising goes unrivaled. He has a proven start-up and support system in place, successfully helping experienced RTO dealers get into business for themselves and thrive. With his talent in franchising and my experience in wheel rental, we offer unique access to an exciting business opportunity.

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 Scott Savell.

Persistence and a positive attitude are Jennifer Barron’s favorite tools in her business. She opened her Premier RTO store in north Myrtle Beach, SC more than two years ago expecting it to take off and grow. It did, and continues to be successful. Encouraged by that success, she became the first Premier dealer to offer wheels and tires and has capitalized on a very lucrative market.

Jennifer found that being part of the Premier family made for an easy transition into business ownership. “Premier had a lot to offer,” she said. “Being backed by their vast experience in RTO franchising helped me get through the SBA process. It was Trooper’s experience and knowledge of the industry that impressed my lender.”

With financing crossed off her list, Jennifer also found Premier helpful through its support in accounting, real estate and overall business structure guidelines, complete with documents to help her get underway with her new business. “The last thing I wanted to do was craft the necessary How-To guide for my business. Who has time to write the policy and procedures manual? Premier had all of that in place. The document we received from them made getting into business EASY!”

Her grit and determination has been complimented by an excellent store manager with an impressive RTO background and managerial skills. And the addition of wheels has let her broaden her market. “Wheels do very well down here. When I first opened, that part of my business plan was on the back burner, but everything was going smoothly and I just decided to do it after a couple of months. It’s been great!”

Eric Friedland was an independent dealer for five years before selling his store to a major chain and relocating his operation from upstate New York to Pompano Beach, Fla. Last year he hung out his shingle once more, but this time as a Premier RTO dealer. Being in a market densely populated with other RTO stores, he wanted the extra guidance and buying power that Premier offers. And he wanted to throw in an extra challenge and break into the wheel and tire market.

“I understood the whole industry all the way around except for wheels,” said Eric. “But Scott Savell knows wheels and tires inside and out. With his guidance I felt we could roll out a wheel division right in the same store. So we devoted 1,500 square feet to it. It looks like a totally separate store, but it’s all part of my business.”

In less than a year, Eric has found his business is exceeding expectations. “My business is growing nicely,” he said. “I am actually surprised at the growth of the wheel rental activity – that it took off as quickly as it did. I had looked at it as an extra, but it has become a full department. Scott Savell has been very helpful. I absolutely needed his knowledge and experience. And Trooper Earle has been accessible any time of day, seven days a week. He is extremely attentive to his business to help dealers in any way necessary.”

As Premier’s first superstore owner, Eric offers a full line of home furnishings, electronics, and computers in 10,000 square feet that includes his full wheel store set-up.

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