The whole system works very, very well. It made opening this store easier than when I opened stores before.
Ben Pior, Premier Rents Franchisee

Ben Pior

Ben Pior found himself on an express route to RTO management when he signed on as a delivery driver for Action Rent to Own in 1995 in his hometown of McKinney, TX. Within three days, he became an account manager, moving from a rural to an inner city store. However, that job did not last but three weeks. He was promoted to assistant manager for five months in Mesquite, Texas, and then became manager of a store in Tulsa, OK where he finally settled for three years adding over 300 agreements to his store. He returned home to a larger 1100 agreement store in Garland, TX where he stayed until he was promoted to regional manager in Fort Worth, TX. By then Action had become Home Choice, and later became Rentway. Ben would soon decide it was time to do more than manage.

In 2003, Ben began a partnership with a ColorTyme franchisee and was part of a three-store operation. “It was a great experience,” he says, “I learned a lot and went from operational management to ownership.” Recently Ben decided it was time to go solo and break into business for himself.

He reviewed his options. He could strike out as an independent as he had watched friends do. But there were drawbacks.

“You must have enough money to compete with the big guys,” he says. “You need enough to do it right. Inventory is a big deal and you must have enough cash available to buy good inventory for your customers.” That required developing a relationship with a loan source which isn’t always easy. Plus it seemed daunting to launch out without any support system.

Ben knew he could start up again with a large corporation but there were drawbacks there, too. It was more expensive and less flexible. He wanted something that would give him the best support but some of the leeway to run his business as he wanted to. In the end he signed up with Premier.

“I had heard about Premier Companies and talked with Trooper Earle [president and CEO] many years ago. What impressed me was how Trooper stuck with me while I thought about it – for six years! He was always there. Premier is not like a lot of companies that want you to sign up right away or else say, ‘See ya.’”

Ben went on to add that he liked Premier’s SBA program rather than the revolving program many franchisors favor. “Premier's program made getting a half-million-dollar loan for my new business easier than closing my mortgage,” he said.

He also saw a way to save 10% by establishing his own contracts with vendors rather than paying the mark-ups required by larger corporations.

“You can save a lot of money as long as you’re smart enough to manage it right,” he says. “I also like Premier’s benefits program. Payroll services are awesome, too. It’s invaluable to have that in place and not have to keep up with it. I can focus on what I need to focus on. I also used to spend big money on monthly flyers. Premier’s advertising program is great. The whole system works very, very well. It made opening this store easier than when I opened stores before.”

Ben will launch his new store in Garland on December 31. Preparations are going according to schedule and on time for him to end the year as a Premier dealer.

The national office of Premier Companies 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.