Premier Opens store in Jacksonville, Florida

“There has been nothing quite like opening a store with your best friend at your side – my wife.” - Dennis Lingerfelt

One of the major reasons why Premier has been opening stores at a record rate throughout the country, is their approach to establishing banking relationships.  When Dennis got to the point he was ready to talk to a bank, Trooper arranged for him to fly to Washington, DC to visit with a bank he thought would be interested in funding his dreams.  When we met with the banker, he was already impressed with the whole Premier program and it was just a matter of him getting to know me, my RTO experience, and personal financial situation.  I just had to show up for the meeting and be myself.  It couldn’t have been any easier.” (more)
 

Rick Vadnais Opens Second New York Store

“The only way to control your own destiny is to own your own store.”- Rick Vadnais

"Rick Vadnais opened his second Premier Rental-Purchase store in Central Square, New York this spring after two and a half years of big success with Premier in Syracuse. Growth has gone according to plan for this 21-year industry veteran. But it was time to make some changes. He’s brought on a partner, Dean Carusone, and he’s opened a second store because, according to Vadnais, “I wasn’t going to be satisfied with just one!” (more)
 

"I feel fantastic when I wake up each day. It's not even like going to work. I'm going to do the things I like to do. It's fun."  - John MIller

John Miller and his dad were sitting by a campfire talking one night at a family event. Things at work had been brewing for John as he approached the end of his second decade in the RTO industry. A proven success in a number of roles and regions throughout the U.S., John was tired of working for someone else and concerned about the looming acquisition of the company he worked for. He thought often about opening his own RTO store.

"My dad asked me, 'What do you need to do it? Just do it!'" That was what John needed to hear along with the encouragement of his wife, "who was tired of hearing me just talk about opening my own store." So John took the plunge and is now approaching his third month as a Premier Rental-Purchase dealer in Roanoke, Virginia, loving everything about it. (more)

Premier Opens store in Arvada, CO

While Gail Bower was on vacation, the owners of the store she ran sold to one of the big chains. "Looking back, it all worked out for the best. It was a humbling experience, but I'm fine with where I am now."  She was shocked and disappointed, but undaunted. She had an ace in her back pocket, although she hadn't really recognized it as such until she pulled it out and played it. That ace turned out to be Premier. (more)
 

"Being in the business myself, I saw the reputation Premier dealers were gaining. I could recognize them. So I took a look at what Premier had, and they offer the best opportunity to a franchisee." -- Dave Bauer

"Premier, bar none, trumps the other franchises with what they offer and deliver." -- Shawn Newman

With 28 years of RTO experience between them, Dave Bauer and Shawn Newman have gone into business together, opening their first Premier Rental-Purchase store in Harrisburg, PA. It’s been a goal for each of them for several years, and they’ve done their homework to find the best vehicle for success. (more)

"We are operators. For us, the administrative support aspect of this business had always been left up to someone else.  Premier is set up to do that and make it less stressful, reducing distractions from operations. Because they provide these services, we can focus on the things we do best, and the likelihood of our success is greater." -- Roy Soto

“I had always talked about opening an RTO store. There is great flexibility as an owner.”  -- Jay Muir

One day, after being in the RTO industry for eleven years, Jay Muir wrote down 10 things he would spend his time on if he owned his own store – things he felt would make it a successful operation and accomplish some personal goals. Then he wrote down 10 things he was spending his time on as district manager for a major RTO firm. Not one item matched up. “It was definitely time to move on,” he said. “This wasn’t what good business was about anymore.”

It wasn’t long after that he decided to go into business for himself as a Premier Rental-Purchase dealer, and he opened his store in Manchester, NH. (more)

"There had been no reason to go out on my own except that in the end I wanted to do things my own way...The only way to do that was to go into business for myself." -- Bob Serina

“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. (more)

It is never easy choosing the rental dealer of the year.  There are any number of rental dealers in this room who have led interesting lives in RTO and who have long trails of achievements in the business.

It is surprising the number of rental dealers who cut their RTO baby teeth with industry legends like Chuck Sims, or Tom Devlin, or Willie Talley.  This year’s rental dealer of the year worked for both Sims and Talley at different times and has enjoyed a long and colorful RTO career.

When he answered an ad to drive an RTO truck back in the 70’s, he was living in a house with no electricity and was collecting coke bottles along the side of the road for the deposit money to make sure that there was gas money to get his wife to the hospital for the birth of their first child. 

It was Joe Arnett who gave him his first RTO job with Remco and when Arnett moved over to work for Talley in ColorTyme, he got our award winner to go to work for Willie in Texas.  He soon ventured out on his own as a ColorTyme franchisee in his native Virginia in 1980. (more)

"I really like the whole collaborative aspect of being part of Premier. I can call another dealer because he or she is an entrepreneur like me. It’s very helpful."

After a 10-year hiatus, Rodger Lyn is re-entering the RTO industry as a Premier dealer in Miami. Being a Rent-To-Own dealer wasn’t even on Rodger’s radar until recently. But going into business for himself and owning his own Premier dealership has become an entrepreneurial adventure like none he could have imagined.

While Rodger hasn’t always been in RTO, he’s consistently stayed in the rental game. He worked for Blockbuster Video in Miami for five years. Several investors were getting involved in RTO, so he branched into the industry as well. He worked as a project coordinator at Premier Rent-To-Own when it was a Boca Raton-based licensor. While there he met Trooper Earle who eventually acquired Premier’s licensing arm and relocated the operation to Virginia to form Premier Rental-Purchase as its President and CEO. (more)

"Matt’s long-established business philosophy is simple and always on the tip of his tongue: customer satisfaction comes first. Not unlike other Premier dealers, he also sees this philosophy as vital to success."

On September 27, 2007, Matt Baker will open his 18th rent-to-own (RTO) store – the first one he will actually own – in the same town of Covington, Ga. where he started part time in college as an RTO delivery driver 14 years ago. Baker is the first to admit that the past several months have been a crash course in business ownership for him. The best part is that, according to Matt, “after 14 years of making everyone money, I’m ready to do my own gig. And I have the support to do it.” (more)

“I had always wanted to own my own business. We have a unique customer base and I like building long-term relationships with them week in, week out.” -- John Reichenbach

“The only way to build a business is through customer relations. Success is dependent on how you treat and respect and service your customer.” -- Jim Ratner

It could be said their partnership resulted by default. Both Jim Ratner and John Reichenbach were just weeks away from opening their RTO stores – John in Georgia, Jim in Maine. But as if on cue, each of their partners backed out and both deals fell through. Jim and John had met at a Premier Rental-Purchase dealer convention in Miami not long before. And while there couldn’t be a more unlikely pair, according to Jim, their acquaintance has turned out to be an amazing partnership. (more)

“The only way I could establish myself in a comfortable work environment, doing what I love and giving the service and respect that my customers deserve was to start my own company.” -- Candi Gustafson

Both John Sprayberry and Candie Gustafson say the same thing: they decided to start their own RTO business so they could treat their customers better. Stepping out of a large corporate framework, they have found being in business for themselves a pleasant change, and so have their customers. John and Candie now can make – must make – all the decisions and can tailor both product and service to what their market needs and wants. That flexibility is proving to be an exciting challenge. And as they assess their first month in business in Dixon, Ill., they feel they are on the right course for a successful venture, one they plan to grow. (more)

“I was making people a lot of money,” said Michael Gordon, one of the newest Premier Rental-Purchase dealers. A 13-year RTO veteran, he was a successful store manager for All American Rental in Denver. He had been fending off persistent requests from his friend and fellow RTO vet, Mitch Roads, to go into business together because, even though it made sense, “I was against it. I was very happy where I was,” says Mike. (more)
 

Manuel Garcia never intended to go into business for himself. He never even thought about franchising. He found his niche in RTO early in his work career, beginning at Carn’s Rent-To-Own, a small ‘mom and pop’ operation located in Fremont, Ohio before moving on to one of the larger RTO chains. (more)

 

Rent-to-own veteran Jim Forker opens his second Premier store in Sturgis, MI, with new partner and RTO veteran Matt Chamberlain. Forker's 24 years of rent-to-own experience paid off for him when he opened his first Premier store more than 15 months ago in Benton Harbor, MI.

“It was time to venture out on my own," says Forker. "And, secure a future that I could control and not leave to someone else.” Forker says. (more)

Premier's 2006 Dealers of the Year open 3rd store in York, PA
“We knew from the get-go that we were going to open more than one store.” --Dave Jones

Rich Bagoly and Dave Jones seem to have made a science out of opening Premier RTO stores in Pennsylvania. They went into business for themselves as Rich & Dave Rentals, Inc. just two years ago and have watched as the performance of their first two stores “exceeded expectations.”   More...

“It was almost easy,” said John George. He hadn’t expected getting an SBA loan would go so smoothly, nor did he think opening his first RTO store would happen as gracefully as it has so far. But after his friend and Premier dealer Rick Vadnais was recognized by M&T Bank as its “Best New Business” in conjunction with the bank’s SBA “Top Commercial Lender of the Year” award, doors pretty quickly opened for John and subsequent New York dealers. More

David Lockwood walked into the bank with a great deal of confidence and walked out with the loan he needed in record time. He had always wanted to go into business for himself since he ran his first RTO store 21 years ago. He had watched another friend, Rick Vadnais, become a successful Premier Rental-Purchase dealer in Syracuse, New York last year, and another friend, John George, was taking the plunge and opening his own Premier store not too far away in Buffalo. More

Ben Pior found himself on an express route to RTO management when he signed on as a delivery driver for Action Rent to Own in 1995 in his hometown of McKinney, TX. Within three days, he became an account manager, moving from a rural to an inner city store. However, that job did not last but 3 weeks. He was promoted to assistant manager for five months in Mesquite, Texas, and then became manager of a store in Tulsa, OK where he finally settled for three years adding over 300 agreements to his store. More

Premier Opens second store in San Antonio, TX
“I owe a lot of my success to Premier.  They opened doors for me.  As a Premier dealer, Premier has a lot of things available to me that I wouldn’t have on my own.  My familiarity with the process made it easier for Brian to get up and running.” -- Trinidad Rubio

Brian Clussman has always had concrete goals and plans for success in the RTO industry.  He was with Remco/Rent A Center for over 16 years and grew both personally and professionally with leaders like Fred Mattox and Jeff White. Beginning as a management trainee in San Antonio, TX in 1990, his first store manager opportunity moved him to Buffalo, NY in 1992.  From there he managed his way back to San Antonio and ran a very successful market for RAC.  He was promoted to Regional Director in 2003 and moved to California, and then Arizona.  More.

(Trinidad Rubio, Brian Clussman & Alfred Hernandez)

Premier Opens in Clarksville, TN
“They are a family organization with a family atmosphere. The Premier dealers have just been great with their advice.” -- William Cuthbertson

William Cuthbertson worked for two of the larger RTO companies, first in Palatka, Florida where as store manager he turned a profit and earned the highest gain in 1996 and 1997. Then he moved on to Nashville, TN for a second round.  More...

Jamie Sieverding had been in the RTO business for 10 years, beginning as a delivery driver for Rent-A-Center. He was an assistant manager in Dubuque, IA when “one day out of the blue” his brother-in-law, Jim Schebler, called and asked him to manager his new Premier Home Furnishings store in Clinton, Iowa. That was three years ago. For the past six months Jamie has talked about buying the store and in October, along with his brothers, purchased the store from his brother-in-law.

More

Premier Opens in Bradenton, FL
"I wanted to start a business. I had run a multi-unit operation and had gotten a sense of running my own out there by myself. I knew others who were doing it. Josh and I started talking one day and we said. “Let’s do it!’ And here we are." --- Ruben Flores 

Joshua Goss always wanted to own his own business.  More...

Website Disclaimer

The information contained in this website is for general informational purposes and is not intended as an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, a franchise.  If you are interested in obtaining information about our franchise opportunity, please contact Premier at 1-800-2Premier.  Certain states regulate the offer and sale of franchises, and we have not sought to register to offer and sell franchises in all of these states.  When you contact us, we will determine if you are covered by one of these laws and, if you are and we have not registered under that state's law or are otherwise offering franchises in that state, we will not be able to offer a franchise to you.

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Premier Dealers and attendees at the January 2007
Annual Dealers Conference
 at the Radisson Hotel, Cincinnati, OH

Premier Dealers and attendees at the January 2007
Annual Dealers Convention
 at the Grand Bay Hotel, Coconut Grove, FL

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