Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Pink.
Hi Ben, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My 30+ year career in Corporate America was in consumer package goods sales where I held numerous leadership roles. I managed sales team with as many as 20 associates. The corporations that I worked for included Mars Inc, Diageo, Red Bull and Pernod Ricard. So, I’ve sold candy, energy drinks, spirits, wine and Champagne. I was good at developing people, building a fun culture and managing our route-to-markets through a diverse distribution network.
About 5 years ago, I determined that I was too old for Corporate American and too young to retire. Thus, I explored other options and decided on buying a franchise. I started my business using some of my retirement funds and executed a ROBS (Roll-Over for Business Startups).
I decided to buy The Patch Boys franchise as I was familiar with construction (my father was a master carpenter) and The Patch Boys is part of The Belfor Franchise Group, which is a multi-billion restoration company with a stellar reputation.
A few months back I purchased additional territories and my new DBA is The Patch Boys of North Dallas and Denton. Business is challenging and heading in the right direction. I currently have 5 employees or Drywall Repair Technicians. I operate the business and do all of the sales or estimations. We are still relatively small and have the potential to grow over the next year or so into a one million dollar business.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Controlling costs has been a challenge. Paying too much for services such as payroll, marketing, insurance and employee wages has been the biggest issue.
I now manage my Profit & Loss statements to include a check list that shows when I pay every vendor that I need to pay. I’ve had issues with vendors not billing me correctly – meaning under billing me. This sounds like a good thing, but when they want back payment that negative impacts my cash flow – this is devasting for a small business.
Finding customers is also a struggle. Paying companies like Angi or Thumbtack is a necessity at first but is a huge drain long-term. I have finally secured about 100 five star reviews across a number of platforms. Google now is my main source of finding customers where I rank #1 in most cities. This is attributed to the 75+ five star reviews that we have earned.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a small drywall repair company. We do some new installation. We doing painting. The Patch Boys is a franchise and there are about 110 Patch Boys across the country. There are 4 in the Dallas Fort-Worth area.
We provide superior service and guarantee our work. We have numerous five star reviews and zero negative reviews. Honestly, I’ve had 5 customers that were not happy. This is out of approximately 500+ customers. None of them had the guts to give me a bad review – although they threatened me. Each of these customers didn’t want to pay and just wanted a discount.
My technicians are experts with at least 10 years of experience. Three of my technicians have more than 25 years of experience. Because I have remodeling experts, we can do more than repairing walls and ceilings. We’ve installed walls, vanities, flooring and doors. For various reasons, we do not do electrical work, plumbing, load bearing work, roofing, etc., etc..
How do you think about luck?
I believe that you make your life and business what it is by hard work – blood, sweat and tears. I’m not a believer in luck.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thepatchboys.com/denton-lewisville-southlake/
- Facebook: The Patch Boys of North Dallas and Denton
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-pink-30241321
Image Credits
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