I never gave up. My wife and I wanted to own our own business. We kept plodding on despite the lack of institutions out there giving money.

Photo/RTO Online

Tom and Martie Opial.

Despite the fact that his building wasn't finished, he had no sign and getting a loan had been a long hard road, Tom Opial opened his first Premier Rental Purchase store in Murfreesboro, Tenn. last May. "We've had our soft opening, business is steady and we are set up to make this happen and be a success," Opial said.

Tom, a 25-year Rent to Own industry veteran, began working for Crown Leasing Corporation in Toledo, Ohio in 1984 as an account manager. Because of his excellent work ethic and desire to learn the business, he was promoted to store manager within his first year. Excellent customer service and leadership were his trademarks.

Moving On

When several top executives of Crown left to form Rainbow Rentals, Inc. in 1986, they recruited Tom as a store manager to open their first location in Dearborn, Michigan. Skilled in customer retention and employee training as well as inventory management and cost control, Tom consistently ranked as one of the top five managers within the fast growing corporation.

Tom also ran successful stores for Rainbow in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. He was promoted to senior manager - responsible for the mentoring and supervision of other store managers at a time when the company grew to more than 45 stores.

Tom was then promoted to internal auditor, a position he held for three years before becoming regional manager for Tennessee. He oversaw eight stores in Tennessee and opened additional stores in five states – a total of 29 locations.

In 2001, Tom added the Michigan Region to his territory. He also was called upon to teach classes and plan training for annual and semi-annual corporate level strategic planning sessions. When Rainbow was sold to Rent-A-Center (RAC) in 2004 (see story), Tom's new assignment was district manager for seven stores in Tennessee.

Time to Go Independent

Tom stayed with RAC for four years even though a number of his colleagues left to go into business for themselves – Chuck Botts, Dave Jones, Rich Bagoly, Mike Zagar, Scott Kinnear, Brian Ferrari and Sandi Fry - Each had become Premier Rental-Purchase franchisees. Tom decided he too wanted the challenge of being independent and controlling his own destiny.

It should have gone like clockwork as it had for his colleagues, but Tom launched right as the banking industry collapsed. It was April 2008. His plan was to be open by August of that year. The six banks he approached for a loan were impressed with the business plan, but none of them had money to loan.

"They all loved my plan and respected Premier's reputation," explained Opial, "but they said, 'We are not loaning any money. What would have been a 30 to 60 day turnaround just half a year earlier, turned into a long seven months of waiting and searching for the right lender. It was a unique period in financial history. In Nashville's SBA district alone, loans went from 53 million down to 11 million in one year. That is an 80% downsize. There was just no money. It wasn't fun."

The Reward for Persistence

Opial says persistence wins. "I never gave up. My wife Martie and I wanted to own our own business, and we kept plodding on despite the lack of institutions out there giving money. It's starting to open back up now and we are on our way."

Premier turned out to be the type of organization he needed as he worked through the process of establishing his business. "You are on your own with Premier. They let you do your thing. They have their system in place and give you the support you need. Some dealers need a lot. But if you don't, they don't bother you. I came into this with lots of experience; I had a foundation on the front side and Martie had been involved on the corporate level of RTO. So Premier was perfect for our style. I am sure if I needed more help, they would be there for me. Trooper is there to assist you if you have questions."

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