The Greenville News 10/09/2011

those pairings, some experts say. Around the country, the

Greenville Hospital System is on its way to employing more than 700 doc-

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Staff writer dbell@greenvi

Jeff Erickson is the owner of Pressed4Time, a pick-up and delivery service for dry cleaning, shoe repair and alterations. KEN

PICK-UP SERVICE DELIVERS FOR OWNER, CUSTOMERS

Businessman makes new career with franchise that collects dry cleaning
By Jenny Munro
Staff writer jmunro@greenvilleonline.com

OSBURN/STAFF

After more than 30 years in retail and wholesale sales, Jeff Erickson decided it was time to go out on his own. He spent nearly a year searching for a franchise business that fit his criteria, and eventually decided to buy into Pressed4Time, a dry cleaning, shoe repair and alterations pick-up and delivery service that contracts with a specific dry cleaner, seamstress and cobbler for the services. The company, based in Boston, was established in 1987. It has 170 franchises in 33 states and Canada. Erickson is one of two

franchisees in South Carolina, with the other in Charleston. I did a lot of searching, said the 56-year-old business owner. I had a lot of criteria. It had to be a reasonable entry fee. I didnt want a storefront. I didnt want to have any inventory. I searched for the better part of a year. And when he bought the Greenville franchise for Pressed4Time, he became part of a huge industry. Franchising internationally includes more than 825,000 small businesses across 300 business lines, creating nearly 18 million jobs and $2.1 trillion in economic output. Erickson, who said he enjoys the personal contact of

sales, finds that aspect is characteristic of his new business, which he began about seven months ago. He thinks his move into business ownership was a wise decision. Im having a lot fun, he said, adding he expects to break even operationally by the end of the year. I believe in the business. I think its a great service. Micro-businesses those with fewer than five employees are crucial to the economy, said Norman Scarborough, professor of entrepreneurship at Presbyterian College. These people could very well be unemployed. They provide a huge level of employment even before they begin hiring additional workers. Nationwide, 61 percent of all businesses are classified

as micro-enterprises. About 87 percent of South Carolinas businesses fall into the micro-enterprise category. Going into your business is a frighening prospect, Erickson said. It was pretty scary and it still is, he said. I essentially went from a paycheck to a job that is 100 percent commission. His wife, who works with his former company, is supportive of his new venture, he said, and she is the provider right now. But his years of sales experience have been helpful in setting up his business and gaining customers, he said. Youve got to be confident. You have to make presentations. Im comfortable in corporate settings.
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While searching for a business, he and his wife made a major decision. We didnt want to bet the house on this, he said. And they didnt, he said. Anyone going into business needs to have money in the bank, as he did. He invested about $50,000 initially, buying the franchise, a van, equipment, marketing materials and office supplies. The Pennsylvania native, who graduated from high school in Charleston, said his father was in the Air Force, which meant he moved a great deal. His early career was in retail and he spent 13 years with 84 Lumber Co. Eventually, I moved to the wholesale lumber and building business as a lumber trader, he said. Prior to leaving the corporate world, he bought and sold lumber. He spent 20 years with the company, the last few as an outside sales representative. Although the past few years have been tough for the lumber and building industry, he said thats not why he made the move. But it made the decision somewhat easier. I was looking for a new challenge, he said. I was trying to control my own destiny. Buying into a franchise opportunity provides support for a business owner Pressed4Time provides all the marketing material, intensive training and other support, Erickson said. But the franchisee is the one that makes the business work, he said. We cater primarily to offices and businesses where busy people work, he said, adding he did an informal survey before buying the franchise to see if small businesses saw a need for such a service. They see us as a convenience. However, he also will pick up and deliver for residential customers who are on his route. Erickson said he caters mostly to companies with two to 200 employees although he is talking with companies that are much larger. He runs two routes Monday and Thursday he picks up and delivers downtown while on Tuesday and Friday he picks up and delivers in outlying areas, mostly the Eastside between Greenville and Greer. We heard about him through his persistance, his door-to-door selling, said John Arrowood of Arrowood and Arrowood. Erickson pitched his service as cheaper, quicker and easier. Sure enough, hes delivered, Arrowood said. He said his employees like the service: Its something we have to do. This is efficient for everyone. Erickson said he is talking with businesses in the Mauldin area to try to drum up business there.

Also, he could eventually expand his territory to include surrounding counties. The idea is to get as much business in a concentrated area as I can, he said. Its very much a feet-on-the-ground marketing effort. Besides calling on companies, he recently attended a Greenville Human Resource Association meeting as an exhibitor and made a wealth of con-

tacts. He describes his business as carpooling for your dry cleaning, saying he is buying dry cleaning wholesale and selling it retail. Currently, he serves about 100 companies, 15 to 18 of them companies with more than 50 employees. In those companies, he has served about 300 individual customers. When setting his prices, he said he completed a price survey in the

Greenville area and set his prices at a competitive level, pointing out that the pick-up and delivery service is free. Customers pay only for the actual services they obtain. He also tested several dry cleaners before choosing a partner for the largest part of his business. And if a problem occurs, customers deal with Pressed4Time Greenville rather than his business partners.

Its taking a low-tech, old-fashioned business like dry cleaning and getting people to say, Wow, because of the service, he said. With seven months behind him, I am on track. I am very much in a growth stage, he said. While he currently is at about 25 percent to 30 percent capacity of his sole van, he wants to grow past that. Ultimately the goal is to get to capacity with this

vehicle and look at adding a second and a third van. When that occurs, he will also hire employees, he said. Steve Caldeira, president and CEO of the International Franchise Association, said, Franchise businesses can be one of the key solutions to the unemployment crisis facing this country, as evidenced by the industrys demonstrable 40 percent growth rate over the past decade.

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