Rineberg first started working in RTO as an account manager at Rent-A-Center, following in his father’s footsteps. His father was with Rent-A-Center when the company was a small chain of 25 stores and in 1986, when Rineberg joined Rent-A-Center, the company had reached about 275 stores.

ColorTyme franchisees Rick Rineberg (right) and partner Roy Rikoric.

ColorTyme franchisee Rick Rineberg has persuasive friends. So persuasive in fact, they talked him into moving from a nearly 20-year career with Rent-A-Center (RAC) to try his hand at small business ownership. Now Rineberg is celebrating the opening of his second ColorTyme rent-to-own (RTO) store less than a year after he signed a franchise agreement.

Rineberg’s second ColorTyme store with partner Roy Rikoric opened in Manhattan, Kansas in August and celebrated its grand opening in October. Rineberg’s first store, in Junction City, was acquired from another ColorTyme franchisee last spring. The stores are testimony to fellow ColorTyme franchisee Scott Brown’s suggestion to give business ownership a chance. Brown himself spent years in RTO with REMCO and RAC before becoming a ColorTyme franchisee.

“Scott’s a pretty good salesman,” Rineberg said. “After he’d been a ColorTyme franchisee for about a year, he really started working on me, trying to convince me that being an owner meant making decisions for myself and working hard, but also reaping the rewards for myself and my family in the long run.”

A Wichita native, Rineberg first started working in RTO as an account manager at RAC, following in his father’s footsteps. His father was with RAC when the company was a small chain of 25 stores and in 1986, when Rineberg joined RAC, the company had reached about 275 stores.

“I thought that working for RAC would just be a starter job, to get my foot in the door straight out of college,” he says. “After spending time working with my dad and seeing the potential opportunities, RTO turned out to be a really unique industry to work in and seemed to fit my personality.”

Rineberg’s career with RAC was spent both working for RAC in its corporate owned stores and working for his father as a RAC franchisee. Along the way, he met and worked with Brown and Rikoric and even spent time working with ColorTyme CEO and President Bob Bloom during Bloom’s tenure as Vice President at Rent-A-Center.

“Throughout my career in RTO, I’ve worked with smart and dedicated people,” Rineberg said. “It’s because of those relationships and what I’ve learned from them that I can open my own ColorTyme franchise now. Bob Bloom and Pat Sumner at ColorTyme were also extremely helpful in the franchising process.”

Rineberg and Rikoric work to give their customers a better choice in merchandise, offering the latest technology in TVs and laptop computers as well special orders. They’re also proud to be in the store every day, available to meet customers and help them find the right items to rent.

For more information, visit www.colortyme.com.