SERVPRO - Steve Pertzsch

Spring has come early in many parts of the country this year. Most think of Spring as a symbol of "new life," a new beginning, a transition or brighter days after a dull winter. The symbol of Spring describes our entrepreneur this month. He was in a transition and was looking for a new beginning, a new career, a better future. And like Spring, he wanted to grow a business and help it mature. Congratulations Steve, and welcome to the world of Entrepreneurship!

Steve Pertzsch

Steve and daughter Rachel    Steve Pertzsch was referred to me by an outplacement firm where I occasionally give talks on franchising and business ownership. Steve was 54 years old and had been downsized from Harley-Davidson after 31 years of dedicated service. He held a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering and a MS in Engineering Management. Steve wanted to continue to work until he was 65. He had been out of work for about 4 months and had become disenchanted with the prospects and security in the job market. So we decided to meet and explore business ownership and franchise options. Steve and I had a connection because we were both Harley riders, although I was an amateur compared to Steve. He was highly mechanical and was in the middle of building a street rod from the ground up that he planned on taking on tour with his son in the upcoming summer. Steve also had thoughts of bringing his daughter into his new business. I did the customary behavioral profiling on Steve and found that he was extremely patient, detailed and analytical in nature. His persuasive or sales skills were below average. Bringing his daughter into the business to handle that end would be a nice balance. In Steve's ideal world, he would like to own a street rod manufacturing business. But that would take a great deal of planning, effort and funding and the market was limited. So we agreed to investigate franchise businesses in the automotive and service sectors. He investigated an automotive tune-up and service business, a business that sold aftermarket auto parts, a service business specializing in window cleaning and a restoration and mitigation franchise. Steve put forth a great deal of effort in validating these businesses. He was initially attracted to the automotive businesses, but their potential return on investment didn't meet his requirements. SERVPRO, a 44 year old restoration and mitigation business turned out to be his choice. In Steve's words, "During this process, SERVPRO  rose to the top of my list.  I called several franchise owners to ask questions and all of them took time out of their busy schedules to talk to me and answer any questions I had.  As I became more serious about starting a SERVPRO franchise I knew I would need some additional help and my daughter expressed an interest in joining me as a partner.  We took a road trip to visit the SERVPRO corporate headquarters just outside of Nashville, TN.  Everyone we met with at corporate was enthusiastic about SERVPRO and helpful in answering all of our questions."   Fire and water damage happens every day. If there is a storm or flood, water damage is prevalent everywhere and SERVPRO's services are in hot demand. But every day, fires happen, hot water heaters break and pipe's burst causing considerable damage. Often mold forms and that also has to be mitigated. When one of these situations happen, the home or business owner calls their insurance company and the insurance company calls a firm like SERVPRO to mitigate the damage. SERVPRO's motto is "As if it never happened." They restore the premises back to a state that is equal to or better than it was before the disaster occurred. Steve liked the idea that this was a recession resistant business. He could use his project management and technical expertise to run the operations side of the business while his daughter Rachel could handle the marketing side of the business. But it was the culture of the company that made it a really good fit for Steve. SERVPRO's training is extremely detailed. They have 45 days of pre-training before going to training at their corporate training, plus on-site field training after opening. This detailed training structure really suited Steve's behavioral profile and he enjoyed the structure and details. Even though Steve had decided that he wanted SERVPRO to be his new career, there were two complications. First of all, he needed to confirm that his daughter Rachel was willing to quit her job and partner with him in the business. She would need to work out a transition plan of her own. Second, his street rod project was nearing completion and he had promised his son that he would take it on tour together this upcoming summer. These were merely details that were easily handled when the determination was there. Steve decided to delay his training until the end of the summer, and he and his son had a special time taking his newly built street rod on tour around the county. Meanwhile, his daughter arranged to quit her job in Illinois in the fall and move back to Wisconsin so she could join her dad in their new business. In the fall of 2010 Steve purchased a SERVPRO franchise and went to training. So what does Steve think about his new career? Here's what he had to say; "Since opening for business we have had an opportunity to meet and help many wonderful clients recover from different types of disasters.  It is very rewarding and gratifying seeing a client go from being worried about what disaster just happened to realizing that everything will be OK to being amazed as their home is restored to pre-loss condition." SERVPRO of East Central Waukesha County, located at W21850 Watertown Road - Unit 18 in Waukesha, Wisconsin, specializes in fire and water cleanup and restoration and offers the following professional services:  Fire, smoke and soot clean-up, deodorization and restoration Water removal and dehumidification Mold mitigation and remediation Air ducts and HVAC Deodorization - e.g. skunk odor, pet odor, tobacco/nicotine, fire, pet odor, general cooking odor, and after-life odor remediation Carpet, upholstery, drapes and blind cleaning Hazardous waste mitigation and remediation Post construction clean-up Interior & exterior painting If or when you or your friends or family has a need for Steve's services, he can be reached at his office 262 782-1700 or email: steve.servpro9888@gmail.com. Give Steve a call so he and his crew can restore your home or business to a condition "as if it never happened."

Spring is associated with new beginnings and growth. It is a good metaphor for Steve's situation. He saw a better future in working for himself than the insecurity that corporate American offers today and wanted a "new life". And most important, he took the steps to make it happen.

If you're looking for a "new life" or a new beginning, take the first step to explore your career options. Like Spring, it's may be time to start growing your future.