ARCpoint Labs - Steve Calder

If you want to be a self- sufficient business owner and don't know how to navigate the obstacles and roadblocks that happen along your journey, your dream will just become a wish rather than a reality. Roadblocks are dream killers. Roadblocks may be things like funding, finding the right location, spousal support or figuring out what type of business is the best fit for you. But desire, persistence and creativity will allow you to find the path around or over those roadblocks to make your business ownership dream a reality. Roadblocks are there for people who don't want it bad enough. Our story this month is about a man that had the desire to be a self-sufficient business owner, but roadblocks kept getting in his way. His journey to business ownership took longer than most of my clients, but his desire and persistence made it a reality. Congratulations Steve, and welcome to the world of business ownership. Way to go!

Steve Calder ARCpoint Labs     I met Steve Calder in the summer of 2011 when I gave a presentation on Franchising and Business Owner for the Career Changers Network, part of the Workforce Development Center near Appleton, Wisconsin. Steve sent me an e-mail after the talk and expressed a desire to talk more. He had been downsized a couple of months earlier and this was not the first time this had happened to him. He had been talking to his friend and neighbor, Dave, about maybe doing some kind of business together and he thought that perhaps I could help them. On paper, Steve and Dave would make a good team. Steve had great people skills and could be the face of the business. Dave had great operational experience and could handle the inside or operations part of the business. While it would be difficult for either one to come up with the resources to fund a business, pooling their money made a lot of sense. I decided to initially work with Steve and Dave separately. I did a needs and goals analysis for each of them along with their behavioral profile. My objective was to work up a profile for each, determine what type of business model had potential and then look for the common denominators. The profiling confirmed that Steve should be the sale guy and Dave the operations guy. Steve's background had been in insurance sales along with experience as a branch manager of a rental company and sales management experience in the cargo and freight industry. Dave was most recently a lean manufacturing facilitator and trainer, helping businesses operate more efficiently. Before that, he was service manager for a large plumbing company. Both gentlemen were in their early 50s. We came up with various business models for Steve and Dave to learn about and validate. Steve elaborates; "We spent time with Marty exploring various business models and quickly eliminated some to create a list of businesses for us to seriously consider and study. We began by looking at various franchising models and quickly came to agree that the service sector matched well with our past work experience, professional skill sets, expected business growth and personal financial investments we would have to make." It didn't take long before one opportunity floated to the top. ARCpoint Labs caught the interest of Steve and Dave and they wanted to learn more. ARCpoint Labs is a full-service national third-party provider/administrator providing confidential drug, alcohol, DNA and steroid testing, employment/background and wellness screening and corporate wellness programs. As we were validating ARCpoint Labs as their joint business venture, Dave got a job offer. With a family to support and a daughter in college, Dave accepted that offer. It would be a real challenge for Steve to pursue business ownership on this own, but he wasn't going to let this roadblock stop him. "I had to decide if I was going to find another partner, go at this opportunity alone, or pass on it altogether. My passion to be a business owner was too strong to ignore so I pressed on, alone," Steve said. After talking to the franchise development department and various owners around the country, Steve determined that ARCpoint Labs is the business he wanted to pursue. His next challenge would be funding. While we were exploring various funding options, roadblock number two appeared suddenly and stopped our journey in its track. Steve's wife Ann had been in remission from a serious illness. Her latest report from her doctor was not good and the illness had returned. Steve shared; "My wife was diagnosed again with cancer, a battle we thought we had successfully overcome some years before. I knew that my wife's health was now our first priority, so I called Marty with the news that I had to take a pause on exploring business ownership for an indeterminable amount of time. It was an emotional time. I would ask myself what else lies around the corner. How many other challenges or roadblocks are there yet unknown, ahead?" Steve and I discussed the situation and decided that it would be best for him to put this process on hold and concentrate on helping his wife. He took a job in the interim working for a friend that had recently started a business and needed a sales guy. The job offered a lot of flexibility so that he could be with his wife when needed, take a course on starting a business and explore various funding options locally. Steve shared the following: "Even during this challenging time, the passion to be my own boss, to mentor others and bring a new franchise to our local area remained strong within. During our time with doctor visits, another surgery, and post-operative cancer therapy, my wife and I talked about business ownership and the positive opportunities we both felt were still ahead for us. The passion had not waned. In fact, while this health challenge hit us emotionally, physically, and financially, we faced this challenge as we had previously, with prayer, determination, excellent healthcare and with the wonderful support of family and friends. Marty continued to stay in contact with me during this time. Not because he had to, but because we both wanted to stay connected. He went from being a business coach to a friend. The difference with Marty now was that we did not talk too much about my dream, but more about what was important personally and professionally. He understood that our family health issue was another challenge. We talked about some of obstacles I faced and how some folks let it consume them and derail their dreams. Our conversations focused on recognizing the challenges and looking for ways to overcome them and get on to the opportunities in life we both believed in." Ann's treatments were successful and she went back into remission. During a serious illness like this, a couple has to look at the future and life's uncertainties. Ann wanted Steve to pursue his dream. With Ann's blessing, Steve and I started up again in high gear to find the funding so he could make his dream of becoming an ARCpoint franchise owner a reality. Steve was on a mission. He was up for the funding challenge. He was going to find a way to get past this roadblock. Through networking, Steve met a former SBA banker who he thought would help him. It didn't work out. He tried various Credit Unions. If fact, he had a relative that was a VP at a local Credit Union. It didn't work out. He tried to get a home equity loan. It didn't work out. He considered peer-to-peer funding on-line. He couldn't make that work either. He wasn't discouraged. He was dedicated and persistent. He'd find a way. This situation is not unusual. Banks specialize in certain types of loans and have various lending guidelines. It is not unusual to get turned down for a loan several times before finding the right lender. Most people just give up. They hit the "brick wall" and quit. They don't want it bad enough. Not Steve! He was determined. I had previously referred Steve to a loan broker, but he was confident that he could find his loan locally on his own. A loan broker works with banks and funding sources across the county and understands the lending criteria for each of these sources. They charge a fee for putting the "deal" together, but they are a great resource. ARCpoint had considerable success with one particular loan broker. They had gotten loans for many of their current franchise owners. They understood the ARCpoint business model and knew what was needed to put the business plan and loan package together to qualify for a loan from an SBA approved bank. Steve worked with the loan broker to put together his business plan, cash flow projections and personal financial information. Shortly after that, Steve was pre-approved. He was ecstatic! But after a couple of weeks, the money wasn't coming through. Something had changed at the bank that had given Steve pre-approval, and they were no longer going to fund his loan. To this day, we don't understand what happened, except another roadblock got in the way of Steve's dream. But Steve was professionally persistent. He worked with the loan broker, tweaked his loan package and had it re-submitted to another bank. Eureka! This time he was approved but there was one more obstacle before he could get funded. The SBA needed to know that he had leased a location and what the cost would be. The landlord would have to supply the SBA a letter of intent and he was reluctant to do that unless Steve signed the lease. Steve and the landlord eventually resolved this issue and Steve went to ARCpoint training in mid October of 2013. That was more than 2 years after we initially started our conversations. In Steve's words, "It took a lot longer for us to start our dream of business ownership. I believe that with each challenge, there is an opportunity. Persistence and patience was a necessity for us to get as far as we did. Friends, family, and an understanding franchisor and new friend, Marty Barnes, never gave up on us although no one would have blamed them if they did. There was no pressure or ultimatums. We followed a process that made this start up experience part of our journey." I asked Steve to give me an example of the type of company he can help with drug testing and how his company creates value for them. This is the example he shared; "I recently landed a large firm's after hour's emergency business. The firm had previously gone to the local Emergency Room for about 2 hours to get a drug test. The Area Supervisor was required to take the individual to the hospital. That's two people away from work for a couple of hours, plus the machine under the supervisor's responsibility had to be shut down. The Safety Manager understood the total cost concept, and the savings of testing on site. Plus, the Area Supervisor could stay on the floor and keep the machines running!" Steve's final thoughts: "We've been open for almost a year. We've grown and are excited to be able to provide confidential accurate information to businesses for better decision making. We are privileged to help unlock answers for individuals that want DNA tests. We also help businesses implement drug and alcohol policies with the overall goal of improving or to support an existing formal safety program. It's all about passion and persistence. Now I can focus my passion and persistence on business growth and development. With what I've been through to get this far, the future looks bright! The glass is neither half-full nor half-empty. It is always full of opportunity". If you have a business in the Appleton-Fox River Valley area in Wisconsin and your company is in need a drug testing company with integrity, please give Steve a call at 920-264-0899 and allow him the opportunity to put together a drug or wellness testing program for your company. Like many people, Steve had a dream of being a business owner. When the obstacles and roadblocks appeared during his journey, he didn't quit like many people do. Perseverance, determination and the help of a guide or coach helped him make his dream of business ownership a reality. I'm confident that Steve will utilize this determination to build a successful business for himself and his family. If you have the desire to be a business owner, don't allow the obstacles or roadblocks to kill your dream. Success doesn't happen over night. It's a process taken one step at a time. Whether you are a corporate executive, manager, office clerk, mechanic or working mom, and if you have a vision or desire of being your own boss and being self-sufficient, reply back or give me a call so we can discuss your life goals and aspirations. Are you ready?     Your comments and feedback are always appreciated.