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Cultivating Small Business with Nick May
Business #30…EmbroidMe Denver South: Tim Sheahan.
Business #30…EmbroidMe Denver South: Tim Sheahan.
Littleton, Colorado
303-795-0234
http://www.embroidme-denversouth.com/
Favorite business book: Good to Great by Jim Collins
Start Date: Bought in June of 2009
The road to owning your own business is different for everyone. Some begin with an idea on a napkin, and others buy something already up and running. Tim Sheahan and his wife Cheryl decided to buy and existing franchise in Littleton after a 35 year career with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Tim left them a couple years ago and was running another nonprofit in Denver when he got laid off. They did not want to leave Denver so they started looking at opportunities to work for themselves.
The Sheahans visited a franchise show in Denver and was turned on to EmbroidMe. After hearing about the opportunity to buy an existing store
, Tim knew he could capitalize on his vast network and really grow the business. The nice part was that they already had an existing client base, and they were able to hit the ground running and not limping. One smart thing they did when they bought the company was to set Cheryl up as the majority owner (60%), so they would be more likely to receive some government contracts.
Upon purchasing the store, and buying into the franchise, they were required to go to embroidery school for two weeks at the EmbroidMe headquarters for training. The training included how to do the technical work of embroidery, but they focused on how to run a business and not just do the work. As the new cliché goes: work on their business and not in the business.
Even though they have a storefront, Tim does not rely on just foot traffic, and people coming to him. He is constantly out in the community building relationships and partnership with other business owners; not much different than the relationships he was able to build and foster as part of the Boys and Girls Club. Helping business owners create marketing strategies for their business after learning what they do, and how they try to bring value in the marketplace is a big part of what Tim tries to do with his customers. Since they have over 750,000 items to offer, it is hard for individuals to really know the full scope of what is available.
On a basic level, EmbroidMe offers embroidery, screen printing, and promotional items. 
What does that mean? If you want a polo shirt with your logo embroidered…they can help. If you want a mug that says “I dig for YOU!” they can help. If you want 3 t-shirts for your service techs…they can also do that, and handle the low number at a reasonable rate.
Tim feels his business strength really lies in sales, marketing, and networking. This is a great asset to have when most business owners that I talk to have no idea how to market their business. On the flip side, he feels he could use some help in the organization and details. Sound familiar to any of you entrepreneurs out there? Thankfully he has Cheryl who keeps a tight reign in the office, on production, and in the administrative side of the business. Tim loves the fact that he is still involved with a lot of people on a daily basis.
So what does marketing look like for them: networking and building relationships. This is a time intensive process, but the reality is most of the customers they get will be repeat business. 
And, if they get in with a bigger company, they will often time be able to expand the business into other departments and other locations. Being out in the community means volunteering, being a part of organizations like the Denver Rotary, and donating products to organizations and non-profits like Project Cure and the 9News Health Fair.
They have plenty of opportunity for growth and have a 5 year vision of expanding into an additional store and acquiring another franchise license for an events business that is also associated with the EmbroidMe parent company. So for now; there is no rest for Tim, Cheryl, and their 6 employees.
Tim’s advice to a new business owner: you have to have “lots of cash flow available.” You need to watch your financials and figure out who you can partner with to build your business. “Power Partners” are individuals that can drive business to you, but are not necessarily customers. It works best if they are individuals that you too can help build their business.
Thanks Tim for your time and willingness to share your story.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Nick May. Nick May said: Looking to buy a franchise? Check out one business owner's story: Embroid Me: Tim Sheahan. http://shar.es/mu0CN [...]
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