The Small Business Safari

How A Family-First Pivot Built Two Thriving Businesses In A Niche Market | Jerry French

• Chris Lalomia, Alan Wyatt, Jerry French • Season 4 • Episode 217

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What happens when a corporate sales leader swaps the corner office for family time — and ends up building two thriving brands instead?

Summary: A former tech sales leader shares how losing a franchise became the best thing that ever happened. From setting boundaries that shaped the business model to launching a manufacturing arm that wins architectural specs, this episode dives into the discipline, strategy, and relationships that fuel sustainable growth without burnout.

🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSmallBusinessSafari

💡 GOLD NUGGETS (Key Moments)
• why family hours set the business model
• lessons from a franchise territory loss
• supplier training and hiring for skill transfer
• early pricing discipline and margin traps
• choosing commercial over residential for predictability
• operating as a subcontractor to general contractors
• launching a manufacturing brand alongside installs
• winning specs with AIA CEUs and a spec builder
• pacing growth to protect reputation and delivery
• building a multi-generational team and future exit options

🔗 Guest Links
• Website: www.awningsaboveus.com

• Website: www.skyscapecanopies.com


 • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-french-9928351/

🌍 Follow The Small Business Safari
• Instagram | @smallbusinesssafaripodcast

• LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrislalomia/
• Website | https://chrislalomia.com



From the Zoo to Wild is a book for entrepreneurs passionate about home services, looking to move away from corporate jobs. Chris Lalomia, a former executive, shares his path, discoveries, and tools to succeed as a small business owner in home improvement retail. The book provides the mindset, habits, leadership style, and customer-oriented processes necessary to succeed as a small business owner in home services.

SPEAKER_02:

So before we get to this, I mean, obviously he's kind of an idol of yours. What was the name of your bank gonna be? I just can't even imagine you owning a bank. Can I have my money out? No. The bank of your money ain't here. Yeah. I know you gave him the money, and yes, it is accruing interest, but you can't have it.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, that's funny. How uh how I would have run the bank is kind of like I just got done running a meeting. I said, uh, does anybody have a problem with that? Okay, all right. And that's approved. Uh as the Neri board president, Alan. Uh, that's exactly what I said.

SPEAKER_01:

Sorry, I'm genuflecting it.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you. Thank you, as you should. Uh, I think that would have been my bank. And you got a problem with that. Yeah, you got a problem with that, buddy.

SPEAKER_02:

Is that the name of it? That would have been it. You get you have a problem with that state. Can I get my money? No. You got a problem with that. Instead of saying hello. As soon as you walk in.

SPEAKER_00:

You got a problem with that? Huh? Well, you're gonna put money in? Okay. You want money? No. Don't even think about asking what you're gonna do. Well, send you alone though. Welcome to the Small Business Safari, where I help guide you to avoid those traps, pitfalls, and dangers that lurk when navigating the wild world of small business ownership. I'll share those gold nuggets of information and invite guests to help accelerate your ascent to that mountaintop of success. It's a jungle out there, and I want to help you traverse through the levels of owning your own business that can get you bogged down and distract you from hitting your own personal and professional goals. So strap in Adventure Team and let's take a ride through the safari. 18 years in the making, and we are on to this podcast. What is this podcast? 18 years ago, I said, fuck it. I'm gonna start my own business. And I threatened. And I did a lot of things that I did when I was at Corporate America and I had that job. You know, I had that corner office, I had the suits made, I had the Mercedes, I was going on boys' golf trips, I lived in a golf club community, I had kids in private school, I had a great bunch of friends except one. And uh and I said, I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it. And uh, and uh they're like, All right, what are you gonna do? I'm like, I don't know. All right, well, what else do you gonna do? I'm like, I don't know. And then I started coming up with ideas. And going back 18 years ago, I thought I'm gonna start a community bank because I have zero banking experience, but I worked at a bank and I thought, well, I could do this.

SPEAKER_02:

De novo banks were all the rage back then.

SPEAKER_00:

They were, and I thought, you know what I'll do is I'll start one and then we'll merge and we'll sell because I do know how to do mergers and acquisitions in banks. I thought that was one. And they started looking at it and going, no, that's not gonna work. I'm like, okay, then I'm gonna start looking at uh developing things. And I'm like, nope, that's not gonna work either because I'm seeing some cracks of Sun Trust. So then sitting on the back of uh one of my buddies, uh back uh back decks, his name is David Rohr. He said, What are you thinking? I'm thinking, and uh, this guy was here or there, uh, and he was here for the conversation. I saw I'm thinking, you know, maybe maybe a handyman business. And he goes, Ah, it's too small. What about what it one why don't you call it? 1800 call Chris for all your things around the house. I'm like, uh, that's too broad, that's too stupid. And uh we kept drinking and I got hammered, uh, per usual. And um, and then I started building this business plan for it, and then I started shopping around with people, and I I I felt pretty good about what I did in terms of shopping it around, but I always had this one guy in my ear saying, you know, man, uh you can keep talking about it, but if you don't do it, you're never gonna do it. If you don't do it, you're never gonna do it. And I used to go to his basement and I used to go hang out with him a little bit, okay, a lot, and he kept saying, If you don't do it, you're not gonna do it. And I was like, you know what? Screw you, I'm gonna do it. And so I made the leap. And uh I wrote the book from the zoo to the wild, and I have somebody who's actually quoted in the book, sitting here on the podcast 18 years later, because I've been afraid of shit to have him come on the podcast with me, because he said, you know, man, if you go in halfway, you're gonna be all the way out. He said, You'll be out of business before you knew it. And this is 2008 when I said I was gonna start.

SPEAKER_02:

This is a legendary quote. You've you've dropped that one a number of times over the last four years.

SPEAKER_00:

You're halfway in, you're all the way out.

SPEAKER_02:

You remember saying that, Jack? I do. Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

And uh, and he's right because if you look at 2008, if you remember it at all as an adult, I would have backed out really quickly because it would have been really easy to pull the plug and say, forget it, I'm not gonna go in that journey.

SPEAKER_02:

So before we get to this, I mean, obviously he's kind of an idol of yours. What was the name of your bank gonna be? I just can't even imagine you owning a bank. Can I have my money out? No. The bank of your money ain't here. Yeah. I know you gave me the money, and yes, it is accruing interest, but you can't have it.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, that's funny how uh how I would have run the bank. It's kind of like I just got done running a meeting. I said, uh, does anybody have a problem with that? Okay, all right, and that's approved. Uh as the neary board president, Alan. Uh that's exactly what I said.

SPEAKER_01:

Sorry, I'm genuflecting.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you. Thank you, as you should. Uh, I think that would have been my bank. And you got a problem with that? You got a problem with that, buddy.

SPEAKER_02:

Is that the name of it? That would have been it. You get you have a problem with that state. Can I get my money? No, you got a problem with that. Instead of saying hello. As soon as you walk in. You got a problem with it?

SPEAKER_00:

Huh? Well, you're gonna put money in? Okay. You want money? No. Don't even think about asking what you're gonna get. Well, as soon as you alone, though. But uh, my loan docs all said VIG on it, and I realized that that was not an appropriate financial term at the time. I thought everybody grew up with that. Uh, there's a little VIG on this thing. Well, the cruise hourly, my friend. A cruise hourly.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh gosh. So so Jerry's kind of a big deal in your world then.

SPEAKER_00:

He is. He is uh one of my best friends. We have Jerry French on from awningsaboves.com. And uh Jerry uh was one of those mentors that uh and it continues to be somebody that we've shared a lot of stories with. Um, there's a lot of things that won't go on this podcast that I told him we're not talking about. He's already raising his eyes, going, yeah. We'll see about that. You can get it in, right? So I did. I I started my business, I went all the way in. Uh, and it was it was tough as shit. I mean, and he saw it because he said, Look, he goes, uh, instead of trying to do it out of your basement, why don't you just come and you can just you know use one of my cubes in my office? And I think he charged me like 500 bucks a month. I mean, it was nothing, just to say, come on, just do it. He goes, I'm lonely, come on over here and do that. Um, I I don't think that's why he did it, but he saw it. And so Jerry and I, I I always say this, I said Jerry and I shacked up uh together for uh eight of my 17 years. And uh if we had the secret cameras on there, there is no doubt we would have had a hit TV show because I would walk into his office, I come flying across the room, I'm like, You got a minute? And I I had already kicked like five things on the way there, and I'd I'd go into his office, shut the door, and he goes, What do you want? And when everybody does that to me, I'm like, No, you can bat your ass right back out the door, and we'll wait for a minute because I'm not ready for you. But he always said, Sure, man, what's up?

SPEAKER_02:

And I came in hot, Alan. Hot, yeah. Well, that's you know, your MO. You do seem to surround yourself with people who are a little bit more have an equilibrium about them.

SPEAKER_00:

Sometimes. Sometimes I have others that we we we won't we won't ever have them on the podcast because it would be nuts. But Jerry, uh, we haven't let you talk yet, but man, welcome to the show, buddy. Soon, thank you. Thank you soon, Jerry. Really appreciate it. All right, so let's talk about this. You uh were a corporate dude, yeah, and you were, I mean, again, I talk about this all the time. You were toning it too. We all were. I mean, you were doing very well though. Yeah, um, you were what were you doing at that time?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I mean, basically I've spent my entire career in uh technology sales and consulting and kind of worked my way up through the ranks, uh, selling software, um, consulting services. Ultimately, right before we started our business, I I was SVP of uh sales for a consulting firm that was doing system integration for ERP systems back in back in the day, early late 90s, early 2000s, which was a good time. It was a great time to be doing it. So um was doing really well. Uh and then we had four kids. And uh so the track record uh in technology and and all the travel that needs to be done around that, it's hard to have a family. Okay. So uh my wife and I talked about it and said we got to figure out another way um so that I can be home more to be present and help uh raise the kids.

SPEAKER_00:

And when you say you had four kids, um, was that the impetus? Uh was the kids or did you have that plan before you guys thought about having kids?

SPEAKER_03:

Honestly, it was really uh a family situation uh where it it drove that decision.

SPEAKER_00:

Alan, this is where you ask four kids. So what were their ages? Like 10, 8, 6, 2, nope. Um, so why don't you tell everybody? So uh we have triplets and then 16 months and we had it in our fourth. Wow.

SPEAKER_03:

So boom. Instant family. Boom.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, that's it. That's a Jerry Fritz line right there, too. Boom. And there you have it. I have four kids. Favorite line ever. Uh, Jerry and his lovely wife Sean say this that they went to Sean's mother and said, after the triplets were born, hey mom, I'm pregnant again. And mom's response was oh shit. Not I'm so happy for you. So they have four kids right off the rip. I mean, very quickly, very close together. Um, and so you guys said, Hey, you you need to be here. I mean, that had to be, I mean, it had to be a big uh like a momentum shake. Like, obviously the kids are here, and now you're like, hey, I need to be here for these guys. And it's hard to think about, but but look at all this money I'm making.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I mean, at the time, uh, believe it or not, my wife was working as well. Uh, so we had help at home, um, and but she was still working in uh technology. So between the two of us, we were making a decent living. Uh, but we, you know, we had seen all the people that we had worked with and the issues that were around, you know, our line of line of work that we did, the travel and just the stress that that puts on the family, and we just knew that it wasn't sustainable. So we really felt like we had to do something. So what year was this? Well, uh, it was 2004, uh, when that all went down.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep. Yeah. So 2004, this is about I mean, actually, Jerry and I met uh met Sean and and him two years before that, as they were having um their basketball team. Um, but you you had to make a pivot. And I I never realized this at the time, but you only knew one way. I mean, I thought of thought, you know, and that's I go corporate and I go big and I make big bucks, and now I'm gonna go try to find something else. And in 2004, you didn't have podcasts like this, the small business safari, thank you very much. Um, but you didn't have the internet.

SPEAKER_02:

I mean, you also didn't know that the bomb was gonna drop just a few years later.

SPEAKER_00:

You had no idea 2008's on the roll. So, how did you get into research in this?

SPEAKER_03:

Well, um, honestly, it it was living here in the neighborhood uh that we live in. Uh, you know, I met tons of guys uh through the neighborhood that own their own business. And I saw, you know, the money they made, I saw the hours that they had, and I'm like, that's something that we need to look into. Um so that's you know, those the family side of it and also the neighborhood side really led us in that direction.

SPEAKER_00:

So you started investigating things. So what did you look at before you started this?

SPEAKER_03:

Oh my god, uh this I mean, it was literally everything under the sun. So at the time, Frannet was a big deal. Okay. I remember that. Uh so yeah, looking at different franchises out there, everything from interior design uh to cleaning restrooms, okay, and everything in between. Uh outside of actually, I take that back. Part of that friend net was uh we investigated in an awning company that was in North Carolina that was franchising. And so that's uh that was one of the considerations. So when we looked at uh the different businesses, really the most important thing for us was business hours. Okay. Uh we wanted normal business hours, no weekends, um, because of the family situation. So immediately that really eliminated, you know, a restaurant, um, nightclub, just all those things that typically are more focused uh after business hours. So that was the main priority. And so that really narrowed things down uh quite a bit for us. Um we, you know, went down the path uh and like I said, we looked at a lot of different things. Uh, you know, a lot of things look promising, okay. But um, you know, the one thing about the awning business was that was attractive for us was it's a totally custom business. Okay. Um at the time we weren't worried as worried about it um in buying stuff off the internet, okay. But in what I do, you can't go on the internet and buy what I do. Yeah, you're Amazon proof, even today. Okay. So knock on wood. Um, so you're AI proof.

SPEAKER_00:

He is AI proof. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, all right, so uh was there anything that was a number one candidate before you went for awnings?

SPEAKER_03:

Uh I I have to say the interior design was actually uh attractive. Um, just because from a clientele's uh perspective, um you felt like you had a certain amount of control uh to it. But again, that bled over into later hours, potentially weekend uh kind of stuff, and that really kind of took it out of the picture.

SPEAKER_00:

Alan, does that sound familiar?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, let's uh let's move on. Okay. So did you buy a franchise or did you start on your own?

SPEAKER_03:

So yeah we were literally uh we had signed the paperwork, had the cashier's check ready to sign on with this company, and uh they called and said, Hey, we sold the territory that uh that you were interested in to another buyer. So you were gonna do it.

SPEAKER_02:

We're 100% locked lock and barrel. So Jerry didn't join, he got even. We even have this story.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, it's and uh I'll tell you a little something about my friend. Yeah, that's right. Uh he's quiet, he may be a little smaller than me, but he definitely can get an even.

SPEAKER_03:

No, it was um, you know, it literally uh, you know, he had to take a step back. Um, okay, so now what do we do? Okay. Uh so I we thought about it for a few days, and um, you know, they were they were trying to find a way to work this out uh for another territory in Atlanta, uh, and that just wasn't appealing to us. So because they wanted your fees, and hell yeah. Yeah. Um, you know, there's the upfront uh number and then the repetitive uh that they get on a regular basis. So I just looked at my wife and I said, uh they have disclosed enough that I don't think I'm gonna make X amount of dollars worth of mistakes. We can do this on our own.

SPEAKER_02:

But you still at this point, you came from IT, corporate America, you know nothing about construction or building awnings.

SPEAKER_03:

So my father's in the construction business in the Midwest. Okay. So I spent my youth uh working with him, uh, you know, doing all kinds of stuff construction related. So we won't have him on the show to validate.

SPEAKER_00:

We won't. And I would tell you, you said Jerry's kind of an idol of yours. I actually it's his dad. Um, because when his dad used to come visit Jerry, he used to spend more time with me in my business and ride around with my guys and tell me all the stuff. Right? He did, yeah, because that's awesome. Yeah, he always used to say, he goes, you know, my son is wildly successful, I'll never be like him, but um, I want to come work with you. And I knew that to me again, the uh backheaded compliment of boy, you're really fucking it up. I want to come help you, bro. No, he was awesome. His dad is salt of the earth, he won't be on. Maybe we'll get him to listen to this thing. Uh, we'll have to show him how to download podcasts. Right. I'm gonna make my dad listen to this thing too. But um, but you go back to it, you had the background, but you uh we thought we did.

SPEAKER_03:

There's a lot to figure out between where you were and where you were. So there's another piece of the puzzle here. Um, so we decide to go down this path. There is a company here in town that uh sells material specific to our business, okay? And they want people to buy their aluminum extrusion. So they offered free training to awning companies that would buy their product. So my father and I actually went to their training and they taught us how to build awnings and canopies and everything that was associated with our business. So that gave us a bit of a step in the right direction. And then the last piece of the puzzle is hiring somebody that really knows how to do it. And we found a competitor's employee as our first employee. And but then you had to figure out pricing and all of that stuff. Yeah, no, it it it uh it was tricky. Uh again, the company in town that trained us also provided a spreadsheet uh for pricing as well.

SPEAKER_00:

So a lot of so you guys started out not underpricing yourself, not getting your dick kicked in and putting a window in uh that took you eight hours upside down. Well, I did not put it in upside down, I put it in right side up in St. Marlowe for$80. Ten years later, he asked me to put the damn thing back because it failed. And he goes, How much more? And I was like, Uh, brother, uh, eighty bucks anymore.

SPEAKER_03:

It is so funny. Uh, you know, I obviously I remember our first job, it was three little uh window awnings uh here on a house in our neighborhood, and uh, you know, we were ecstatic. Okay, we're we thought, oh nah, here we go. Okay. Then you figure out that it takes a lot to feed that engine.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh you remember those startup days. Uh you look you look back at it, it's so romantic when you think about them. Um, but such a a teeth kick in. And of course, you know, he said, Hey, I got somebody who told me pricing. And I think that's one of the things, again, when you first start your business, I underpriced the shit out of myself in the beginning because I didn't get that wherewithal because of what I did and my business was so difficult. He had it, but he still, again, sometimes the bear eats you, sometimes you eat it. I mean, here we go.

SPEAKER_03:

Um, yeah, you just uh I mean, uh, having been in sales uh all my career, you know, you just ask a lot of questions. Um, you know, people generally tell you, you know, where you ended up on uh from a pricing perspective, so you just gather that data and use it going forward. Um, a lot of times what you're gonna find is that there's a huge discrepancy in pricing. Um and so you just kind of you gotta figure out where you want to be on that continuum because uh in our business, like every business out there, there's always somebody that'll do it cheaper every single time.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, we just had somebody on the podcast talking about you know the band analogy. You can hire Aerosmith to play your uh concert, or you can hire some kids who play the band because they were cheaper and they come out there to go. So you found out that there's a wide range in what you did. Right. So as you guys are finding this thing out and you're kind of finding your market, because I want to speed up to where we got now, go.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, no, well, I uh on the on that note, I mean, when you're first starting out, just kind of like when you were first starting out, Chris. I mean, yeah, you're pricing it and you want to be on the higher end, but maybe you don't feel like you deserve it because you don't have the experience. I mean, there that's a tough spot.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, they that's very much the case. I mean, you're you want to gain the experience, you want to grow your customer base. Um, obviously you want to keep your people busy, okay. Um, so uh you take what you can get early on and you learn from it and you figure out, you know, uh what product set works for you, what customer base works for you, what you know, whether you want to do residential work or migrate.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, ooh, ooh, I'll answer that. No, no fucking residential ever fucking again. You heard me, everybody. I've been residential. Oh my god. Yeah, huh? Got a problem with that. That's what I should have. So, Jerry, when I first when I first uh shacked up with them and started doing this, he was doing residential. And um, and one of the things you learned, well, no, I'm gonna go back to it. Let's talk about this though more seriously. That um you determined that commercial was better uh for what you did and what you offered.

SPEAKER_03:

I mean, uh on the residential side, uh, you know, there's a lot of face-to-face meetings that are involved with that. Um, color choice is a big deal. Emotion. Uh emotion when you're working on somebody's house, there's a different level of scrutiny than when you're doing commercial work. Okay. Uh keep putting little knife cuts on Chris. We've talked about this a million times.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm on the cross, my friends. I'm on the cross, and Jerry is taking the nails out and putting them right through my palms.

SPEAKER_03:

So I just uh so all those visits uh they just wear on your margin, okay? And then ultimately when you think he did a really good job, uh there's always something, okay. Uh he liked it, she didn't. Right. He liked it, he didn't. You're like, but or or we thought this, okay. I mean, again, this is a custom business. I you know, I can bring out color samples to you and show you what that looks like, but ultimately at the time, I couldn't give you a rendering or anything like that to you know superimpose on your house so that you really knew what the end product was going to look like.

SPEAKER_00:

So the customer had no expectation. I just talked about this in another podcast that I was a guest on. That's the hard part of residential. Yeah, homeowners don't know what to expect, but this is their castle, this is where they've raised their family, this is where this is the most important thing in the world. And back to your point, Alan, it's so emotional.

SPEAKER_02:

They don't know what to expect, but it wasn't that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And so, and that's where I mean, in my business, I joke about it, but I mean, I feel like we have figured out how to do this a little bit better than most, uh, because of our world and how variable it can be, because they people don't know what to expect, and that that's in a lot of businesses. But back into the commercial world, there's still a lot of unknowns, and it sounds like it's the panacea, but as Jerry will tell us, it probably wasn't everything.

SPEAKER_03:

No, on the commercial side, I mean, uh, at least the world that we're in. Uh, you know, every job that we have, it has architectural plans. So the decision's already been made. Okay. The architects drawn out all the details, the owner signed off on it. It's been permitted by the city. So my job is to interpret those plans, uh, build it and install it on the building.

SPEAKER_02:

So, are you essentially operating as a subcontractor for the general contractor then? Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, what an interesting niche. So uh in his first business, because we got to hurry up and get there because I don't want to run out of time.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, and I do want to kind of fast forward to today, and you don't have to give numbers, but tell us, you know, what kind of operation you have because you've got a 20-year journey to get where you are now.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. Um, so we've been in uh three different locations. Um, two with Chris. Uh I've been I've been on two of the journeys. I emailed the new address. I I offered the third and he he said no.

SPEAKER_00:

So I don't know what to I will say, uh, we can't do this in this podcast, but we can do it in a therapy session. He did come back to me and said, You kind of hurt me when you didn't come. And I'm like, I didn't realize I did that. No, you're kind of like a pet. I well, I know. I've I've the furry, I'm the furry bascot.

SPEAKER_03:

All right. So it's grown over the years. So uh, you know, I've been I've tried to be really methodical about the growth, uh, in that not outselling our capability. Um, just I think you've got to be able to deliver quality uh and a timely basis.

SPEAKER_02:

I mean, can you talk about how many crews or employees the geography?

SPEAKER_03:

Right now we run uh generally about between 40 and 50 employees.

SPEAKER_00:

Wow. All right, let's talk about this because I do want to hurry up and get to this part. Uh when I was when I was uh shacking up with Jerry, I loved saying it like that too. Um, because I mean if you had any idea, I wish I wish we had video of me running across, kicking everything I could to run in there and go, you got a minute? And he'd be in the middle of like a million things. He'd be like, Yeah, buddy, we wanna eat. And at the time he was doing installations of canopy awnings, and he was starting to do a little bit of metal, right? And I didn't understand it, but I get it. So it's fabric work, fabric work, and then these metal things. And then he said, I'm gonna come up with this other business because right now I'm building these custom things and installing these custom things, but I think I just want to manufacture these things and become the standard that architects use. And I want you to talk about where you because he now has he has two companies, he has uh skyscapes and awnings above us. How did you get I mean if you did that in the middle of this? Because you're the middle of running the business, you're going a million miles. Well, you're not going to be, I'm going a million miles an hour, you're going like 150 and kind of watching me run around him. And I had no fucking idea where Chris was going. You you took a time out and said, Wait a minute, I see another opportunity that will complement my business. How did you do that?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. Um, so like I said, uh a lot of stuff uh that we get is uh on architectural plans, and in those architectural plans, they'll specify a certain vendor uh or manufacturer that they want uh to use or a basis of design. Okay, and we kept on seeing the the same name all the time, okay, and very few other names uh that were out there. I'm like, geez, how these guys have all this market and how can they deliver on it? So we got looking into it and we looked at uh you know, the pricing that they were providing was just absolutely absurd. Low, high, high. Oh, okay. Oh, so there's an opportunity there. So, and they were the only game in town at the time. Uh and I, you know, I just looked at it and said, hey, we can do this. Uh we can ramp up production, we can start. We started small and got our legs under us, build our foundation, did our marketing, you know, obviously social media has been uh a large part of it uh as well, participating in conferences, those kinds of things. And um we've grown that business significantly over the years, and I, you know, quite frankly, that will be the growth engine for us for years to come.

SPEAKER_00:

So uh when I was at the bank and I was uh again big dog, and I was, I mean, I was huge, dude. Um, did I mention I was tonning it? You you have a couple of times. Did I mention I'm not anymore? You have many, many, many times. Right. But I'm back to tonning it because that's what every handyman does. Yeah, uh, right. Every best. It only creates business owner. Every other business owner, every other business owner is tonning it. But when Jerry uh came and talked to me about this, and as I saw what he did, um, it is always hard to provide great service. It's always easy to ask for good service. I heard that from Leon Waba when I was at uh Sun Trust. And what Jerry was saying was you know, now I just spec it, I build it, and somebody else installs it. That's not my job anymore. I don't have to do the service of the install. I provide the materials. And now I'm not landlocked to Atlanta, North uh Atlanta, Georgia, or the Southeast. I can provide it all across uh so you're not doing any installations.

SPEAKER_03:

We do because you you've got the two companies, right? Correct. Uh so awnings above uh still uh is a turnkey solution in the southeast. So we'll go uh up to the Virginia border, we'll go over to the Mississippi border and go down to Orlando uh as far as uh going south. But Skyscape provides the the same product set to the remainder of the country. So we manufacture and ship to the remainder of the country.

SPEAKER_00:

So love this, right? And so now you're a spec, and one of the things he did, um, and I'll let him explain it, is how did you become the other provider? I mean, because who specifies this stuff? The architect, right?

SPEAKER_03:

Correct. So uh it's it's a lot of calling on architects. Um, and uh they architects have to have continuing educate education units every year. So um part of that, you can be certified to provide those education units to them. So they do that through what they call lunch and learns. Okay. So every architecture firm in the country needs these units, and it's a matter of getting on their calendar to provide, you know, basically the that learning opportunity for them. So technically, it's not a advertisement, it's not a sales call. Correct. Um, it's education on the awning and canopy business provided by Skyscape.

SPEAKER_02:

Hello. How difficult was it to be certified as an instructor? Because that's brilliant.

SPEAKER_03:

Actually, it it's it it it you have to get your presentation together, uh submit it to AIA, which is the uh governing body over architects.

SPEAKER_00:

Which for the record is a very difficult organization to get your CEUs uh checked off. Because the guy who has I have to get CEUs for my general uh contractor's license, AIA is like the standard, and Neri is the right below them.

SPEAKER_03:

So uh that was key uh to that process. Um also uh on our website, uh, if you go to skyscape.com, uh canopies.com, uh you can go to there's a spec builder uh portion of our uh website uh that is frequently used by architects so they can download architectural details uh and simply import those into their architectural plans. And at that point, then we are basis of design.

SPEAKER_00:

So Jerry French provides shade to the world. That's his job. That's what he does. Uh he's grown his business. You know, here and we're coming to the end. I'm we're gonna run out of time because I want to get to this. Um, Jerry started his business when his kids were uh, hello, we got to make a move. Um, I started my business after my kids were been around for a while, and I said, you know, I'm gonna do it. You know, why did I do it? My motivation was not to have a business or a legacy for my kids. I thought maybe they might like it.

SPEAKER_02:

You did it despite the kids, and and Jerry did it for the kids. I mean, let's just get it out there.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, screw the kids. But good, yeah, I agree with that. At least I got a I got a PA, I got a lawyer, I got somebody's gonna get me out of jail, out of contract disputes. I got somebody who's already telling me I'm gonna die early. I mean, he's a butt, but by the way. Oh, she's amazing. Yeah, she just got done going, Dad, you need a full skin scan. I think I think you have problems, I think you're gonna die. You have melanoma. See, I I love my PA daughter. We all talk about her. Uh, Cherry knows her very well. So, Jar, when you started this, we talked about this. A lot of us uh think that when we're gonna start a business, we don't think about exit planning, but when we do, it's usually too late in the game. I've watched two different general contractors here in Atlanta close their business without ever selling it. Put it away. And I found out after the fact because had they approached me, I would have gone, I'm gonna talk, man. We'll think, maybe we could get some value out of it. What was your plan when you started this?

SPEAKER_03:

Well, uh the plan was to provide for my family and to be with them. Uh ultimately, we never really got to even really the the thought of the kids being part of the business until they were in college. Okay. They uh they got in college, they were doing their thing. Um all of them have business degrees from different universities. Uh, and then as they worked their way through, um, all the boys worked for us during during the summer and breaks. So they've been involved in the business since they were teenagers. Um as they worked through school and kind of saw what their options were. Um, you know, I honestly my my youngest was the first that said, I'm joining the business. Uh then the other two boys, um, their senior year decided that they uh they wanted to be part of it. So three out of four. Three out of four. Uh my daughter works for Ernst and Young in San Francisco, uh, in much the same business as oh my god, my team and I were in uh when we were in the technology sector. So what?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh loser. Yeah, he's Ernst and Young in San Francisco. Oh, these kids. Oh my god, Tyri, grow better kids, man. What the hell? I know he already got three out of four working in the family business. No, he's doing great. So now they're in and they're it and so I was gonna ask you, what's the favorite time of your business? But but I know because I know you, it's today. Uh that you're here with the boys. The boys have said it to me. Uh, again, unadulterated. Um, I I think they would tell me they wouldn't just like blow uh smoke up my ass. They would say it, they really enjoy working with their dad. I'm like, dude, that is so cool. In fact, I don't want to say it too much more because I start tearing up super jealous. But I also feel about uh these kids, I think they're my buddies, you know. I I I you know I I love hanging with them, they're fun, and he's created a great family environment that everybody gets to enjoy, and it's just been great uh to watch what they've done. So kudos to you, Jared. I just love what you did, but thank you. Yeah, so now we gotta talk about the bad shit. No kidding. We are we're coming up in the end. We are uh I know you got a hard stop. We gotta get we gotta get Alan out of here because he's gotta go out there and kick somebody's ass in tennis. I like it, right?

SPEAKER_02:

No, sure he loves I'm taking the wife out for margarita. Oh, yeah. Look at your building. I know.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh my god. Family first, right, Jerry? That's right. He did family first. All right. So as you as you look at this and where you're going, um Alan asked that question. When you started the business, awnings above was a hundred percent of your business. Now you have skyscapes and awnings above. What percentage of your business is it today? Uh right now, revenue-wise.

SPEAKER_03:

Actually, right now there it's an even split, uh, 50-50. So Skyscape has been in technically in existence for eight years. So, and awnings above has been it's almost 21. So uh you can see on the gross side skyscape has really taken off over the year. Where it's yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

How do you take the time to back up and see that and and look at those the forest over the trees and figure out that that was happening?

SPEAKER_03:

Um, you know, it it's hard. I mean, you you've got to have a lot of discipline. Uh, you know, uh I'm excited about the opportunity. I know the opportunity's good, uh, but you don't want to go too far and and break the reputation of a company that I've spent 21 years building. So if I out outsell what I can do, it's all for naught. Uh so it's really being patient and having discipline uh to kind of stay in your lane.

SPEAKER_00:

So hard. Uh you know, Jerry hit on something that I think is so big. So I'm in the retail business and and uh we talked about that already, about the value of that. But I have 1,250 plus reviews on Google now. Um, and for what we do in Lane. It is. I mean, uh honestly, when I say that, I I I don't mean to say it like that. I never thought I'd be over a thousand ever. No. Um, to be this big uh has been awesome for me. I'm I'm just thrilled about what my business is doing on that side. But he just talked about something in the commercial world, they don't rely on Google reviews. You're not talking about what people are talking about, you but he says, but my brand means so much to me, and I don't think it should be lost on anybody, no matter what you do. At the end of the day, your name's on it. Whether you're the guy or they're the guy. And I tell my guys all the time, I'm not the face of our company. Those 1257 reviews, I would tell you two of them probably know me. All right, maybe 10. Oh, who am I kidding? You know, it's 500. I know everybody knows it's more than that. Ah, you do. Come on, ah, it's me, guys. Come on, that's me. But but in commercial, you're thinking, eh, screw it. I mean, you know, so I screw up with one who gives a shit. I can go find another one. And and you have to stay right there because if you don't deliver that great customer service, you're yeah, you're toast.

SPEAKER_03:

I mean, uh, whether it's commercial or residential, uh, word gets out. And obviously, you know, the cliche, you know, bad news travels a lot faster. Um, so you've got to really think your way through on you know difficult situations that you have.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for listening to this episode of the Small Business Department. Remember, your positive attitude will help you achieve that higher altitude you're looking for in a wild world small business ownership. Until next time, think of a great day.

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Chris Lalomia

Host
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Alan Wyatt

Co-host