Retailer of the Year - Crown Trophy of Lexington
By K. Schipper     "Say You Saw It In Recognition Review"

They went into business planning to succeed. Still, the recipient of this year’s ARA Retailer of the Year seem a bit surprised by the award, if not their success. Husband and wife Gary and Patti, and their son, Ryan Tyson, stress that since opening the Ky.-based Crown Trophy of Lexington in 1998, what’s made the difference for them is family—from the three of them to other family members who pitched in, especially at the beginning, to the extended family they’ve found through their business.

However, they aren’t afraid to reach out to the larger community, either. Lexington natives, they’re involved in a host of community activities and have already been honored for their work with Kentucky’s department of vocational rehabilitation.
By steadily expanding their product offerings—and overfilling their shop space in the process—this hard-working clan hopes to continue to develop a business that they can ultimately leave in the hands of Ryan Tyson and his young family.. By steadily expanding their product offerings—and overfilling their shop space in the process—this hard-working clan hopes to continue to develop a business that they can ultimately leave in the hands of Ryan Tyson and his young family.

Serendipity

As with many people starting the own businesses, the Tysons’ story is one of desire meeting opportunity. Gary Tyson admits that after 20 years working in computer systems, he was looking to do something different in his life. Unlike many fathers, though, he found part of his answer in son Ryan’s part-time job. A college student who’s still taking classes part time to finish his degree, the younger Tyson was working in a trophy shop. When his father stumbled upon Crown Trophy, the light went on.

“I don’t remember all the things we looked at, but we didn’t look at any of them very seriously,” says Gary Tyson. “Once we started looking at Crown, it just clicked. We were excited about it because of Ryan’s background. We figured with his experience it would help us hit the ground running.”
As the family investigated Crown, Gary Tyson says he was also attracted to many of the things the franchise provides, such as its catalogs and exclusive products. “The biggest thing that attracted me to Crown, though, was talking with other Crown franchise owners as we checked out their references,” he says. “It’s not really a cookie-cutter type of operation. We’re all independent business people who have our own ideas and we’re allowed to follow them. We’re all different in our own ways.”
Even with the franchise, the senior Tyson says the operation faced many of the same problems all new businesses do. Although he says Crown did get them off to a good start with the training it offered, much of what made the difference in those early days was plenty of plain hard work and his son’s previous experience in the industry.
“This is not the kind of business where you just put up a sign and hope somebody shows up,” Gary Tyson says. “Ryan was a big key for us getting started so quickly. He was in here running the business, taking care of customers and putting out product while I was out calling on customers trying to build the business. That really allowed us to get a fast start.”
Early on, that also meant pressing parents, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews as well as the Tysons’ other son, Brad (who’s currently pursuing a career in electronics), and Ryan Tyson’s girlfriend—now wife—Ashley into service for such tasks as trophy building.
That initial division of labor has continued to a certain extent, with Gary Tyson devoting much of his time to the marketing end of the operation, while his son keeps the shop humming. Although she continues with her full-time job at the local Keeneland Race Course, Patti Tyson is also a regular presence and supplies many of the skills any successful business needs. “Her organizational skills keep us out of trouble,” says her husband. “She does all the bookkeeping—she likes to crunch the numbers and pay the bills—and she’s great at physical organization as well.” And, of course, Gary Tyson is quick to add that customer needs sometimes require each person to multitask. “We get into situations where we get so busy that I just find myself reacting to the business, rather than marketing and selling like I know I should,” he says. “I wind up doing what it takes to take care of the customers.”

Service, Service, Service

Taking care of the customers is a byword with Gary Tyson. There’s one thing he believes sets Crown Trophy of Lexington apart from its competitors: its level of service. “We really believe that if we take care of our customers, the rest of the business will take care of itself,” he says. “That’s really our business goal.” The reason for that belief, he explains, is pretty simple. Despite the company’s wide range of products, from trophies to awards to advertising specialties, it’s not that much different from what someone up the road may show that same customer.

“What sets us apart is service,” Tyson says. “We try not to forget that our goal is to satisfy our customers by giving them what they want, when they want it, at a fair price. It’s not our philosophy to always be the lowest price, but we give customers good products and good service at a fair price.” Meeting customers’ needs has been a main driving force in the company’s evolution in the six years since it opened for business. Ryan Tyson says that although initially the emphasis was on awards and marketing that part of the business, over time it became apparent that corporate customers had other needs.
“Once we felt we had a good base in the community with the trophy side of things, we changed our focus toward the corporate world,’ he says. “Today, we focus most of our marketing and most of our sales strategy toward corporate-type business.”

Gary Tyson says that wasn’t a difficult switch, given his own background in corporate business. Today, some 60 percent of the company’s sales come from corporate clients. It’s also led the Tysons to more recently add promotional products to their business mix. “We found a lot of the same decision-makers who make the call on company awards also make the decisions on other corporate products,” says Ryan Tyson. “We’ve really been able to grow the business by having the same customers we had before, but opening up a new line in a new area.” “Our tie-in with ad specialties has really changed the whole face of the business,” says Patti Tyson, adding that it’s led the company to do some engraving for some other local advertising specialties sellers, too.

Other areas the company sees as ones for possible expansion include industrial engraving and small signage. “We’re already doing a fair amount of work in the manufacturing sector with identification plates,” says Gary Tyson. “As you do more of that work, you learn more about it and you also learn where the customers are.” Currently the company operates two laser engravers and a rotary engraver and does plenty of sublimation, says Ryan Tyson. That combination probably accounts for a large percent of all the work the shop does, he says. However, high on the shop’s wish list is a sandblasting cabinet. “At some point we’ll be doing that,” says Gary Tyson. “I think we could do a better job of selling crystal if we had the ability to decorate it in-house, although we have good suppliers who turn it around really quickly for us.”
The issue is one of space, the senior Tyson explains. The shop opened its doors in a warehouse-office type facility behind a strip mall. At 1,800 square feet, the operation is currently bursting at the seams. “The landlord would love to have us expand into one of the units next to us if it becomes available,” Gary Tyson says. “We’ve resisted about as long as we can. In our warehouse area we have shelves almost to the ceiling, and you need ladders to get parts. I don’t want to spend money on the facility when we can spend it on other ways to build the business.” Certainly another limitation of the current shop’s size is that it keeps the showroom at only about 400 square feet. Despite that small size, the Tysons are proud of what they do display. “Customers are really surprised when they come to our showroom,” says Gary Tyson. “I think the showroom should be an extension of who you are, and we’re not just a trophy store, we’re awards specialists who work closely with our customers to help them with ideas for their awards programs.”
Additionally, he notes, the business isn’t relying on good foot traffic to keep the doors open. “If we were in a highly visible area, we’d get some growth out of that,” he says. “But, we’ve built our business on customer loyalty and word-of-mouth. We go out and get our customers.”

Special People

Perhaps more than some of their competitors, the Tysons also rely on community presence to help with their marketing. As longtime members of the community, they don’t see it as marketing as much as simply opportunities to contribute. Along with taking part in such chamber of commerce activities as meetings and business expos, the family has donated both money and awards to organizations such as Special Olympics, the National Association of Mental Illness, and Hope Center, a program designed to help the homeless.

They also help youth organizations as they are able. In 2001, they received one of 19 statewide Employer Recognition Awards presented by Kentucky’s Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. The family became aware of the program through a friend of Patti Tyson, and decided to investigate. They receive approximately 140 hours of work from each person enrolled in the program who’s sent to the shop.
“There’s always something that somebody can be doing,” says Gary Tyson. “A lot of these people don’t have a lot of skills and a lot of confidence to begin with. Some of them do good work, but with others we don’t get as much productivity—but they gain confidence in themselves.” Not only does it give the family a good feeling to be helping people who may have problems with some type of addiction or a physical or mental disability, but they’ve gotten at least one full time employee—a man who’s hearing impaired—through the program. “It’s been a positive thing for us,” Gary Tyson says. “Certainly some of our activities in the community sets us apart from some of our competitors. We look for opportunities to contribute, and we try to help any way we can.”
An added advantage, Tyson says, is that the company’s employees—they now have six full- and part-time staff—not only understand the business, but how the owners want Crown Trophy of Lexington viewed in the community.
While Tyson says, “We’ve been very fortunate to have good people,” he singles out Miles Campbell. A college friend of Ryan Tyson’s who finished his degree in marketing last year, the senior Tyson says Campbell would probably be the company’s customer service manager—if the Tysons believed in titles rather than emphasizing a team approach.
“We feel like Miles is one of the family, and I think in many ways, he feels the same,” says Gary Tyson. “He’s been with us for more than four years, and he takes great pride in his work. He’s a great asset to our business.” Even with good people and good products, Tyson says it’s been a little harder building a business than he had anticipated. In fact, he says the family has never worked as hard as it does now. And, he says at times emotions get high when the three of them are working so closely with each other.
“Sometimes it does get stressful,” he says. “We try saying we’re going to separate our responsibilities so we’re not stepping on each other’s toes, but it doesn’t always work that way when you’re trying to satisfy a customer. We just try not to take it home with us.”
However, the Tysons are looking forward to continuing to grow their business. Long term, they have their eyes on the possibility of opening a second location, but Gary Tyson says that’s not likely to happen tomorrow.
“This store has kept us so busy and our growth has been so good at this location that we don’t need to do that right now,” he says. “Maybe when the business levels out and we’re looking for other growth opportunities, we’ll consider it.”
For now, though, their real goal is creating something that will support the family for many years into the future. “That’s really the whole idea behind this,” says Ryan Tyson. “My wife works here from time to time when we get in a pinch, she knows the business pretty well and in the future, as my kids (the couple’s first child, Kaitlyn, was born last year) start to get older, we’ll take over.”
“We knew that the Crown Trophy franchise alone wouldn’t make us successful,” Gary Tyson concludes. “We had to take that advantage and build the business from the ground up. We’ve tried to make good business decisions that are beneficial for our business in our community. Fortunately, we’ve had a lot of successes along the way.”

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Franchisee Achievements

Crown's Annual Convention is always an exciting time for Crown Trophy franchise owners. Not only do they get to meet face-to-face with management and fellow owners, it's also a time for achievement_awards within our organization. Crown honors the Franchise_of_the Year for achievement in sales growth and marketing. This is the highest honor an owner can receive as they become a leader in the Crown community.

Another great achievement is being named Rookie_of_the_Year. Selected from among stores which have opened in the previous year, honors go to the Crown Trophy center who has shown the most potential for great success.

Store Owner's Perspectives

Below are two interviews, published on Entrepreneur.com, in a question and answer format that clearly shows the successes of Crown Trophy store owners.

Older and Wiser - An ex-corporate exec discusses the advantages of age and experience in buying a franchise.

Ben April, 43, married and the father of two children when he left the real estate developer he worked for to open a Crown Trophy franchise in Ballwin, Missouri.

Question: Why did you go into franchising rather than start your own business?

Ben April: I just got tired of [the corporate life]. I had been traveling for the better part of 9 1/2 years, and I decided I wanted to get away from that and from the real estate environment [in general]. So my wife and I started to look for some type of business to open. I liked the idea of a franchise because I didn't want to start cold and have to develop my own concept.

Q: What impact did starting the franchise have on your personal life?

April: My children were really too young at the time to understand what was going on. My wife is my partner, so needless to say we were both pretty committed to the franchise. She knew I was unhappy with my previous situation and that I never wanted to be under someone else's thumb again. We looked forward to my not having to travel and the flexibility in work schedules that owning our own business would allow.

Q: What fears did you have about leaving the security of your other job, losing health insurance, etc.?

April: The previous situation was intolerable, and I didn't want to find another job working for someone else. We knew we had to do whatever it took to succeed. Failure was not an option.

Q: What's it like being the boss?

April: I've always been a self-starter. I don't need someone to tell me to get up and get going in the morning. With the real estate developer, I did well because no one had to micro-manage me. I was given a project to work on, and it was up to me to decide and act upon the necessary steps. The worst part [about starting the franchise] was not having anyone below me. Before, I had two administrative assistants to turn to; now, when a letter has to be typed, I have to do it.

Q: Do you think starting this business would have been easier if you had been younger?

April: While I certainly believe the energy, fearlessness and enthusiasm of the young can help them succeed in my industry, I also believe my life and work experience were quite helpful in my situation. In a business that requires you to wear many hats throughout the course of an average day, having already worn a good number of hats throughout my life is certainly a benefit.

Q: If you could do it all over again, would you still go the franchise route?

April: There's no question that I would go the franchise route again. I don't have to tell you how many pitfalls lie in the path of the start-up business. Crown Trophy is a perfect fit. They give support when I need it, but they don't prevent me from exercising my entrepreneurial spirit.

Young Gun - This new kid on the franchise block says he's more "aggressive" than older franchisees.

Brian Keesee, now 29, single and fresh out of the Air Force when he opened his Crown store in Waldorf, Maryland.

Question: Why did you go into franchising rather than start your own business?

Brian Keesee: It was just a matter of finding the right idea. I couldn't come up with a unique niche and wanted to get something going right away, so I started looking at franchises. I was looking for something a little less uncertain [than starting a business from scratch], yet unique-something that allowed me to be more creative with ideas.

Q: What impact did starting the franchise have on your personal life?

Keesee: What personal life? It became my personal life. My friends knew I was into it, and they would come by and try to give me some support, but basically the franchise became my personal life. When you put that many hours in, you really don't have a choice. It's not necessarily as bad as it seems on the outside, because, when you risk it all, when you put that much into something and you're getting it off the ground, that's all you think about 24/7. Hopefully you've picked a franchise that interests you, so it was exciting at the same time. But the business engulfs your life, so I considered it an advantage not to have a family pulling me away from it.

Q: What sort of monetary/security issues did you have going in to this?

Keesee: I guess some of the disadvantages I had, certainly I didn't have a lot of money. I had gotten my college out of the way, and I didn't have student loans because I went into the service, but my personal balance sheet was zero. In fact, it was probably negative because I still had some bills left on my credit cards that I had used to help me get through college. I didn't have any major debts, but at the same time, I didn't have any assets to use to start up the business. My biggest struggle was actually getting the funding. I spent about a month putting together a business plan and trying to get some gift loans from family members, temporary ones until I could stand on my own and refinance and pay them back.

Q: What's it like being the boss?

Keesee: I had a little bit of management experience. While I was waiting to go into the service, I actually worked at a McDonald's for a little less than a year as a manager. In the service, obviously, the first couple of years you have absolutely no supervisory [responsibilities]. You work for everybody else, and there are a lot of jerks out there. The whole time I was in the service, though, I was able to look and learn-learn what not to do as far as being a supervisor. Obviously, I learned a lot of lessons as far as what to do and what not to do as an employer.

Employing people has been the biggest challenge so far in my business. The labor market, the way it is right now, doesn't help employers. It's [difficult] as an employer to find decent people and hang on to them.

Q: Do you think starting this business would have been easier if you had been older?

Keesee: I guess in a lot of respects it would. Recently, I've been trying to become friends with a lot of the other franchisees in the area. In fact, I'm good friends with an older franchise owner, who opened a franchise about the same time I did. When we get together and talk about business matters, he's doing well, too, but I realize the huge differences between the two of us. He's very conservative. He's seen rougher times than I have, so he's a little apprehensive to take on an extra employee or start a new marketing program and put the investment in because he's more leery about the economy. He has more knowledge, more experience, but he's also been burned a little more, which sometimes in business can make you a little slow to act, a little too conservative. I see that as one of my advantages-the fact that I'm a little more aggressive. I'm young, and I want to take over the world. I'm willing to risk a little more; obviously, since I'm single, there's a little less to risk. I don't know if you can attribute that strictly to my age or just to our personality differences, but I would tend to say it's more about age. He's a little more cynical because he's been around longer.

Q: If you could do it all over again, would you still go the franchise route?

Keesee: I'd have to say I would do it all again. The only exception would be if I could come up with that fresh idea, that certain niche to start up my own company. That's very hard to do-it was my goal, and I never did come up with that idea. I enjoy franchising. It's nice to be part of a team. You don't feel quite as if you're on your own.