Building the 82 franchises that we now have in just five years has been an exciting accomplishment.
Trooper Earle, President and CEO, The Premier Companies

Photo/RTO Online

Trooper Earle, founder, president and CEO, The Premier Companies.

By Trooper Earle, President and CEO, The Premier Companies

The Premier Companies recently was ranked the fifth Fastest Growing Young Franchisor in America by FRANdata, the franchise industry's source for objective information and analysis. While our growth over the last few years has exceeded our expectations, we were surprised to see it relative to other franchising organizations through this ranking and especially interested to learn that we are the only company on this list to come from the rental-purchase industry.

We met an aggressive early goal to grow from '4 to 40 stores in 4 years'. And we shot past that well before those four years were over. Building the 82 franchises that we now have in just five years has been an exciting accomplishment. This ranking truly is a big feather in our cap and the result of a team effort of Premier staff combined with the partnerships with our dealers to establish something unique in the franchising industry.

We have a proven strategy that is very different from other franchisors. We strongly support the entrepreneurial spirit that triggers potential dealers to launch their businesses. We help them design an effective business plan and get the financing they need. We provide support in training, marketing, accounting, legal, real estate, human resources and vendor relations. Our comprehensive program has made it possible for Premier dealers to realize their dream of self-employment. And because of our flexibility, dealers are allowed to chart their own course to success with on-going assistance from us.

But we support, not dictate, their everyday activities. That unique philosophy, combined with a positive track record that appeals to lending institutions, makes The Premier Companies very attractive to prospective dealers and, to me, is the reason for our growth.

I founded Premier in 2004 when I saw the potential in helping entrepreneurs, with experience in the rent-to-own industry, transition from being operator to owner. Getting qualified and committed dealers open and running became our strong suit. And then as we grew, we began to expand our focus and strengthen our infrastructure to support dealer growth whether as single or multi-store owners.

Over the past year in particular, we have added increased value to the Premier franchise agreement in the form of cutting edge human resources that now include a paperless system for record keeping and training, an expanded and extensive marketing program that recently has added dealer websites featuring real-time inventory, and in-field employee training.

I've enjoyed watching the Premier family grow to include other brands: Premier Home Furnishings, Premier Wheel Workz, Premier Auto by Rent and Premier UGethca Cash Services. These have been natural progressions to reach our market base in new ways that support their needs and bring increased value and opportunity to Premier franchisees. As always, I welcome the chance to talk to potential Premier business owners about how one of our brands might fit their entrepreneurial dreams. I am eager to share what steps are involved in becoming part of our Premier family.

What some of our newest dealers are saying:

Former Market Manager Opens Premier Store in Jacksonville, Fla.
Mike Zagar opened his Premier Rental-Purchase store in Jacksonville, Fla., armed with 14 years of industry experience. "I had heard a lot of good things about Premier," he said. "I liked the independence they give their dealers. They don't lock anyone into a certain set of procedures or demand that they run their business in a particular way. Each dealer has his own style – the style in which they are trained and therefore are comfortable with." At the same time, Zagar liked that Premier provides all the support without the restrictions he ran into in his research of other companies. Since opening, he has discovered how much he likes having Premier's human resources and marketing services available.

"Premier's Human Resources handles payroll for me. That takes a lot off my plate because I don't have to do much. I submit the hours and they do everything else. It also helps to have a dealer-run board providing advertising and marketing materials. I leave the creativity to them and am using their quarterly marketing campaign rather than having to think one up on my own."

He added, "Premier made it very easy to go into business. I was able to focus on opening, renting and collecting right away."

RTO Veterans Bring Choices and Customer Care to Kearney
After 22 years of combined service to the Central Nebraska rental market, Mike Shuler and Heath Peters opened their Premier store in Kearney, Ne. "I knew a lot about the business," said Peters, "but I didn't know how to start a business. I was scared to start out on my own. Mike was thinking the same thing and approached me to see if I was interested. I had read about Premier Rental-Purchase in RTO Magazine and they seemed like a place to start for the support we needed. I also read success stories about Premier franchisees and watched every podcast I could get my hands on from the RTO website.

"I made the decision after speaking with Trooper that this was my calling – to be an entrepreneur. Trooper explained all of the benefits provided by Premier such as the human resource services, legal counsel, accounting support, and the lending assistance that is available. I spoke to numerous Premier dealers who had walked down the road with Trooper, and I was convinced. The common statement throughout was 'you will love being on your own. It's indescribable compared to working for a big corporation.' So we signed on."

Shuler said. "Here I had been doing rental-purchase for 20 years, and I finally broke off on my own. I have a great partner to go forward with, and it clearly has been the right decision. I enjoy getting up every day and being able to have a positive impact on the lives of others around me. I love the industry and most importantly I love seeing people grow. I have the opportunity to impact the lives of many around me on a daily basis, both customers and employees, and there is no greater experience."

Twenty-five Year Industry Vet Opens Premier Franchise in Murfreesboro, Tn.
Tom Opial opened his Premier Rental Purchase store in Murfreesboro, Tenn. as a 25-year RTO industry veteran. He watched a number of his colleagues go into business for themselves – even some of his former store managers from Rainbow Rentals days. Seeing this, Tom decided he too wanted the challenge of being independent and controlling his own destiny. His friends all had good things to say about Premier and the franchising process, so Tom made the bold move to own his own Premier store.

It should have been easier, but Opial saw firsthand how tough it was to get money during the country's financial crisis. He is the first to agree that 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, and we are on our way.

"Premier lets 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."

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.