AGRR - November/December 2007 - AGRR Magazine

PeopleNewsAdvertisementRob Wolken Owner, Glass Doctor® franchise in Los Angeles, CA Est. 2003Q: You mentioned earlier that one of your big goalswas to spend more time with your family. HasGlass Doctor allowed you to do that?Well, I’m still working as hard as I have ever worked, butnow I have more control over my schedule. My childrenare very involved and know what I do, which is fantastic.I make it to every one of their baseball games and I havedinner with them every night.Aformer television executive, Rob Wolken opened hisGlass Doctor franchise with no prior glass industryexperience. Four short years later, he is one of the company’smost successful franchisees in the United States.Q: Why did you decide to go into the glass industry?I liked the business. I liked the service aspect of it. Glass isalways breaking and people will always have a need forit. I liked the clean, simple, professional approach thatGlass Doctor projected. More importantly, I wanted to havea more balanced lifestyle. I had two young kids at the timethat were 4 and 2, and I was working 24/7 in the entertainmentbusiness, and I rarely got to see them or have dinner with them.So I started looking at different businesses that, if I workedfor them as hard as I did for other people, I would build myown company.Q: What was it that finally led you to settle onGlass Doctor as the company for you?After I met with the folks at the Headquarters office in Waco,Texas, I was very interested, so I came back and did somemarket research in Los Angeles. Come to find out it’s themost competitive market in the country, but it’s also the mostfragmented. Most of the business is divided up among a bunchof independent businesses, and I just felt very strongly that if Ibrought a brand-name service company to a large market thatI could build a respectable business.Q: What advice would you give to anyone wantingto take their existing business to the next levelwith Glass Doctor?I’ve talked to tons of people about this, actually. I tell themthat they are still going to be running their own business, butthey are going to have a support and navigation system likethey’ve never had before, in terms of how to stay on track howto continue to grow the business. I think Glass Doctor does anexcellent job in giving support such as sales and marketing,operations, finance, and recruiting. They’ve done a great jobto build the brand, and as the company continues to grow inthe number of franchises and the number of areas we service,the communication that evolves from the franchisees aroundthe country is invaluable in terms of how we do businesslocally. The other franchisees I’ve met, and the war storiesand successes we share; those are opportunities that as anindependent business owner I’d never get.“He’s done an outstanding job followingthe Glass Doctor business systems,”says Mark Dawson, President of Glass Doctor.“At Glass Doctor, we’re proud to support those wanting to startor grow great businesses in the glass industry,” says Dawson.“In Rob’s case, we were able to launch his business from theground up, in a tough area like Los Angeles, while giving himthe freedom and time with family he was seeking. But Rob isjust one of the many Glass Doctor franchise owners we support.Some come to us with multi-million dollar businesses butwant to diversify to the residential market; some have yearsof industry experience but want the competitive advantageour image and brand name gives; others are looking forbetter marketing, a succession plan, or a better quality of life.Whatever you need, Glass Doctor can help.”Is franchising right for you?Find out today at:800-280-9858or visit us online at:www.glassdoctor.comand click on “Franchise Opportunities.”Learn how the established systems andon-going support of Glass Doctor canhelp start or grow your business. Exclusiveterritories are available nationwide.www.LeadingTheServiceIndustry.com