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"I want this business to be more than a Rent to Own (RTO) store," says Bob Serina, who opened his Newberry, South Carolina Premier Rental-Purchase franchise in December. "Our mission statement is this: 'We help people get the things they want.'" He's been doing this successfully for his rent-to-own employers for 27 years; now he's doing it for himself.
Bob had just gotten out of the military in 1981 and was looking for a civilian job. He walked into a ColorTyme store that needed an extra driver because they were adding furniture to their TV and appliance lines. He worked his way up very quickly as the guy who knew furniture, which required different handling than other products. He picked things up fast and was creative in developing effective systems for shipping and receiving. "There were no computers back then. Everything was tracked manually. I developed a tracking and inventory process and started at the ground floor developing my own systems," he says.
He then got into other aspects of the business, including sales and management. But even with his house full of awards and pictures of cruise vacations he had won for best sales, regional performance and top growth, he felt most accomplished in his tenure as the one everyone went to for testing new programs.
"Whenever we would do something new or out of the box, I seemed always to be the one they came to for alpha or beta testing. I am very systems oriented. I tried out many systems and established measurable results. I ran a stock balancing program with a stock balancing driver to alleviate unnecessary purchasing and redundancy in ordering. I also established a centralized verification program, making for consistent verification and increased sales time."
Bob left ColorTyme after about three years to work for an independent North Carolina RTO owner who recruited him to open up new stores. In just three years, Bob had grown that business from two locations to 27, outfitting each one and serving as maintenance and service manager at the corporate level, as well as being responsible for fleet and vehicle maintenance.
That business was sold, but Bob stayed on for several years with the original owner to serve as an independent agent. He helped his employer to expand another company by opening still more RTO stores.
He relocated to Ohio and spent the next decade as regional training manager for Rent-A-Center, then left to go to Rent Way because it offered him a multi-unit position with the opportunity for advancement. He returned to the Southeast to take over the Columbia, South Carolina region. And then he decided to retire.
"I had worked independently over the years and had opened many stores for other people. Rent Way took very good care of me. There had been no reason to go out on my own except that in the end I wanted to do things my own way." With his children grown, he could now involve them and his wife in a family business. "The only way to do that was to go into business for myself."
He had been mulling this thought over for a while, weighing options and looking at finances. "I actually had talked to many entrepreneurs over the years and finally decided Premier Rental-Purchase was what I wanted. I felt that this organization was going to allow me to run my own store the way I wanted to run it, yet I would still have the camaraderie of an organization. Premier dealers are all independent, so I feel I have the best of both worlds."
Bob chose Premier for other reasons too. "They do a good job with the business plan. Their start-up support is one place where they excel. You'd think I would know how to do all this myself, but they have been very valuable to me."
In opening yet another RTO store, he says there is "nothing I didn't expect." He's done it all, and now he is doing it for himself – and for his family. He looks ahead with excitement at eventually becoming a multi-unit owner. "That goes without question." But for Bob Serina it all comes back to an attitude: "We're not just here to rent to own. We are here to help people get the things they want. I also want to teach my sons how I feel RTO should work; as an independent dealer I can. And that's what I'll do."
The national office of Premier Rental-Purchase is located in Williamsburg, Virginia. All Premier stores are independently owned and operated. Visit Premier's website at www.premierrents.net or call (800) 2-Premier and ask for Trooper Earle.
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