The husband-and-wife team of Jeff and Lisa Walling first interacted with Re-Bath when they hired the local franchisee to remodel their own bathroom. Years later, Jeff’s brother had occasion to look into the company and recommended that if a franchise ever became available in their area, the Wallings ought to purchase it. And they did.

Each of the co-owners has a specific role in the business: Lisa oversees marketing, Jeff is in charge of production, and their son, Austin, pitches in by managing sales. All production work is done by employees, and Lisa says that the franchise is locally known for quality work and friendly customer service.

Another of the company’s strong suits is its streamlined production. “We have a very efficient system, and we're experts at what we do with the bathroom,” Lisa says. “We’re able to get in and out in a very timely manner because baths are all we do.”

This straightforward mentality also carries over into generating leads. “That may sound strange, but we're really not in the bathroom remodeling business, we're in the lead-generating business,” Lisa says. “Because if we don’t get those leads, we don’t have business.”

The couple’s goal is to grow their business by 10% each year for five years. They aim to do that largely by boosting advertising. “Our philosophy is that we have to spend 10% to 15% of what we want our sales to be in marketing,” Lisa says. “As long as we stay within that parameter, we are able to achieve the growth.” In fact, they did achieve that goal in 2013 and seem to be well on their way to further expansion: The couple recently purchased a second Re-Bath franchise in El Paso, Texas, and bought a 5 Day Kitchen franchise as well.

Takeaways

  • About 25% of Re-Bath of Tucson’s business is repeat and referral, while the rest comes from multiple media sources, including commercials, billboards, bus benches, ads in newspapers and magazines, and Facebook.
  • The company recently started using interns from the local business college. “We have an intern right now who is really great, so I'm hoping that that is something we can continue,” Lisa says.