The ColorTyme business model attracts franchise owners who want to own multiple stores. We’re evolving with that trend.
Bob Bloom, CEO, ColorTyme

Photo/ColorTyme

Starting left row top to bottom: Larry McClellan, Albert Kohut, James Stephens, Dave McNichol; middle – Mike Kahler, Tonie Ridgway, Adrian Briseno, Donald Salais; right – Jim Eddy, Chuck Sampson, Bob Bloom, Jennifer Carrao.

ColorTyme, Inc. and its ColorTyme University program celebrated with the first 10 graduates of its all-new multi-unit management training course, held Sept. 21-23.

"As more and more ColorTyme franchisees become multi-unit owners, this multi-unit management course is crucial for our system," said Albert Kohut, vice president of operations for ColorTyme and co-creator of the course. "I worked with ColorTyme CEO Bob Bloom to create this program to focus on several topics, such as leadership skills, high impact store visits, marketing and multi-unit management. I congratulate the first-ever graduates of this new program."

The goal of the three-day course was to give franchise owners and regional managers top-level training they can use to help develop their multi-unit operations. The course also included a financial "bootcamp" that covers the detailed metrics of the rent-to-own business.

Together, Bloom and Kohut reviewed ColorTyme's audit procedures and standards of operation. The coaching duo also covered marketing strategies that can then be implemented in each store.

"The ColorTyme business model attracts franchise owners who want to own multiple stores. We're evolving with that trend," explained Bloom. "We want to encourage not only our existing owners to adopt a multi-unit plan but also incoming franchisees who are looking for a unique rent-to-own business opportunity. This kind of training is critical and it's paramount to our future growth."

Successfully graduating from the multi-unit management course, included: Adrian Briseno, Las Cruces, N.M.; Jennifer Carrao, Hailey, Idaho; Jim Eddy, Waxahachie, Texas; Mike Kahler, Corsicana, Texas; Larry McClellan, Coldwater, Mich.; Dave McNichol, Baltimore, Md.; Tonie Ridgway, Wichita Falls, Texas; Donald Salais, Victoria, Texas; Chuck Sampson, Dothan, Ala.; and James Stephens, Shreveport, La.

"I enjoyed it and learned a lot – equally learning from the others in the class. It was a good sharing experience," said CTU graduate Mike Kahler. "I had a meeting with my regional managers and we've already started using what was learned during the course. We also talked about the ‘just one thing' approach to leadership – one of the focal points of the course. That 'just one thing' is specifically what we plan to focus on going forward. And we're excited to get started."

Fellow graduate, Dave McNichol, said: "This course gave me a great way to formalize a 'just one thing' approach to situational leadership that I can use with my team. The interaction with the others in training was beneficial. We also received a visit from Rent-A-Center's President and COO Mitch Fadel, which was really important and helped me develop a plan. I now have a strategy on how to plan for the upcoming quarter. And, I now know how to approach my business from an audit and standards perspective, which I will use with my team."

About ColorTyme
ColorTyme, Inc., founded in 1979, is America's oldest franchisor of independently owned-and-operated rent-to-own stores. The company has added 117 new stores and 51 new franchisees in the last five years. Today, ColorTyme franchisees operate 199 rent-to-own stores in 33 states, and the company's custom-wheels-and-tires franchise brand, RimTyme, operates 24 stores in 12 states. ColorTyme is headquartered in Plano, Texas, and is an independent, wholly owned subsidiary of the largest RTO company in the world, Rent-A-Center (NASDAQ: RCII).