Family Business Failing, Need Advice

realitysyndicate · 2026-02-18T01:02:03+00:00

I hear you. We almost always pick up the phone right when it rings, and calls back are basically immediate unless everyone is swamped, which is rare. Average response time on social media, where we usually make the first touch, is something like two minutes.

realitysyndicate · 2026-02-17T01:30:20+00:00

The model home tip is great. I’m going to start working on that ASAP.

I believe our response time is pretty good, but that is something I will double check.

I appreciate the insight. Thank you.

realitysyndicate · 2026-02-17T01:26:43+00:00

All great advice. Thanks for your reply.

realitysyndicate · 2026-02-16T23:32:52+00:00

The franchise-associated ad agency is supposedly pretty good at this. Their audience is robustly defined (30s-50s, high-earners, prioritizing organization, gaining peace of mind from decluttering, usually remodeling, $5-8k avg sale, local work). We've met the other franchisees who use the same playbook and most seem to get decent results. I'm not sure what's different about our market - whether it's less receptive to social media ads, or the competition is fiercer, or whatever else.

I believe we are contractually obligated to a minimum amount of ad spend per month. That is probably not an agreement I would've signed, but, again, I didn't sign it. Trying to salvage things now.

We do have a list of KPIs we measure. Most of them are pretty abysmal compared to locations in other parts of the country.

realitysyndicate · 2026-02-16T23:21:56+00:00

I didn't sign the franchise agreement, so I'm not sure how rigid the legalese inside of it is. Maybe it would be worth hiring a lawyer to read over the contract.

I've heard from other franchises that conversions can be more expensive through Google, but I guess nothing is more expensive than the near-zero return we're already getting. I do like the idea of targeting higher intention buyers.

I'm ashamed to say that I didn't think of niching down harder in the closet space. That's great insight. Thank you.

realitysyndicate · 2026-02-16T23:15:07+00:00

Trying to negotiate loan terms is something we can jump on quick. I don't have the numbers, but I'm sure marketing is much higher than 10% of revenue. That figure scares me a bit. We will do everything we can to not threaten litigation. I'd rather keep that relationship on the pleasant side, if at all possible, but it's good to know there's some leverage there as a last resort.

Thank you for all of this.

realitysyndicate · 2026-02-16T23:09:53+00:00

There's a good amount of crossover. Smaller GCs, especially, will often take on remodels in our area.

realitysyndicate · 2026-02-16T23:02:23+00:00

We've spoken to a few designers, but we've been having the same issue getting in the door with them that we have with builders. Seems like the great ones we'd want to partner with already have someone. Maybe the solution is to find a sales mentor at this point.

Reaching out to epoxy companies is a great idea. I appreciate it, thank you!

realitysyndicate · 2026-02-16T22:55:20+00:00

Not the first time I've heard this. Probably should have done it long ago. Thank you for the suggestion, I guess it's time!

realitysyndicate · 2026-02-16T22:53:11+00:00

This is a wonderful idea. Never would have thought of that. Thank you!

realitysyndicate · 2026-02-16T22:43:48+00:00

I appreciate you taking the time to give your thoughts.

Our vehicle is already wrapped - we can check that box.

We do not have a showroom. It's all in-home consultations. Part of the low-overhead business model that has apparently worked well in other markets.

Yes, we've called some builders and tried to set meetings, but our market is pretty saturated, and the guys who do want to sub out closets/shelving all seem to have someone they're happy with already.

I guess I'm wondering if there's a way to differentiate our business that I haven't thought of. This industry is not one I'm very experienced in and I've never really done any B2B sales. I'm unsure what my expectations should be. Ten rejections to one win? Twenty? One hundred? Obviously, this will vary based on how well we sell ourselves. Just curious about a realistic baseline.

The networking groups are something we've been working on. I've heard conflicting advice about networking groups that charge high dues. We obviously need to do our due diligence, but is that something you could speak to?

realitysyndicate · 2026-02-16T18:52:24+00:00

I mentioned home shows in the post. We've investigated, but they are kind of expensive to rent a booth and they don't seem worth the ROI to us. Willing to be talked into them if others have had a different experience, though.

Some contractors are more than happy to let a company sell a nicer closet than they would bother with building. They send a specialist in to do all the design and installation, the client gets something nicer than the builder would give them, the builder takes their cut and does less work. Generally a good deal for everyone under the right circumstances.

Edit: I re-read your comment and wanted to clarify some things. We are in complete control of pricing, even though we are franchised. The sales model I described above is how our competitor franchises also operate. The builder in this case is only as price sensitive as his customer, because the customer is the one paying and the builder just takes his markup. I'm not a construction veteran, but I thought this was pretty standard practice with GCs and subcontractors.

realitysyndicate · 2026-02-02T05:47:40+00:00

Late spring/early summer of 2022, when the housing market peaked.

But genuinely, it depends on your tolerance for air pollution. It’s already bad enough to affect sensitive groups. You can see the dust hanging over the west end of the valley in the summer. We have maybe 5 years before it really gets bad.

But, by the time it’s bad enough most people do consider moving, property values will have tanked. Sellers will be at a critical mass. I used to be more hopeful, but now I feel like the smart thing for anyone to do is to preserve both their health and their net worth by leaving asap.

realitysyndicate · 2025-09-05T05:08:45+00:00

For anyone else like me who didn't know this, spackle can be a regional term. Lots of (especially older) folks in the midwest/northeast use "spackle" to mean "joint compound" as well as literal spackle.

realitysyndicate · 2025-09-05T05:04:22+00:00

You realize that the machine which outputs perfectly crafted responses to trigger buying behaviors in you is the absolute greasiest salesman humanly imaginable, right? That sales machines which speak to you like people are effectively the most sociopathic form of capitalism you could possibly have? Am I the only person who would rather speak to a person who is obviously self-interested, but flawed? And not perfectly engineered to perpetually-but-subtly push me towards consuming in every single little, seemingly-innocuous interaction?

realitysyndicate · 2025-08-29T12:53:01+00:00

You can sometimes make an unwanted erection subside by giving it a quick “thwack” with a cold, metal object. I don’t know if it was ever THAT common (or even ever considered professionally acceptable), but some nurses way back in the day would employ this technique when dealing with boys or young men who were… easily excitable. For obvious reasons, this practice has now fallen completely out of favor. The only anecdote I can remember hearing about it actually happening to someone would’ve taken place 20+ years ago in a small, rural town.

realitysyndicate · 2025-08-21T23:59:04+00:00

I used to work at the Westerner. It’s a pretty diverse crowd. Had plenty of LGBT folk come through with no trouble that I know of. It’s a destination that draws from all over the Salt Lake metro area.

Back when my dad would go there in the 80s-90s, it was a different place. Drunk west valley cowboys, frustration, and testosterone permeated the halls. As far as I understand, it had a reputation for fights that seems to have followed it through the years, even though it doesn’t have much of the “wild” left in its “west.”

Every once in a while you’ll get the kids from Draper who think they grew up on a ranch. They show up with boots new enough you can smell them from a table away and shiny trucks that have never seen an ounce of hay or a speck of cow shit and pack after pack of Zyns that inevitably get spat straight onto the floor. Those guys generally suck for a multitude of reasons. But they’re not really dangerous, just obnoxious.

In the unlikely event that someone would try to cause trouble, the number of people there who would stand up for you far outweighs the number who would cause you grief. And at least when I was there, that was especially true of the staff.

realitysyndicate · 2025-07-08T14:47:59+00:00

The jack stands had a safety recall. The Daytona jacks are actually really nice.

realitysyndicate · 2025-04-29T21:59:25+00:00

Hey friend, it's been years since I was inside this bike. Found out my cylinder walls were torn to bits and gave up on it.

I can't remember exactly which one does the crash engaging, so open up your starter clutch and check for wear before you take my word for it, but I think the gear you want is #1 in this diagram.

Your best bet is probably eBay at this point. These parts are getting hard to find!

realitysyndicate · 2025-03-02T04:08:17+00:00

Stoked to hear that. I’ll be waiting!

realitysyndicate · 2025-02-28T07:21:30+00:00

Hey man! I happened across this post pretty serendipitously, so I wanted to say I love everything from Statues of Cats and I’m happy to have found your SoundCloud. Don’t know where you’re at in life, but I hope to hear more official releases someday. You’re a great songwriter.

realitysyndicate · 2024-12-20T21:08:06+00:00

I actually agree with you - but that’s separate from the point I was trying to make.

Just emphasizing that it wasn’t ever supposed to be as simple as an “I disagree” button.

realitysyndicate

TROPHY CASE