The Mail Tribune have started a weekly series of profiles on locally owned and operated businesses in Southern Oregon. Above: Jan and Don Lockett (Both 53) wash the windows of Medford City Hall Saturday.
How long have you lived in the Rogue Valley? I've been here 40 years and (Jan) is a native. What inspired you to go into this line of work? I worked at Med-Ply, SWL and Roseburg Lumber Co., and my brother-in-law had started a window cleaning business; I was looking to do something other than work in a plywood mill forever. What decision or action would you change if you could do it again? I would probably build the business faster. We didn't advertise in the Yellow Pages for about 10 years and we could have taken on employees from the beginning. We choose a different route for expansion rather than employees. We have expanded by starting a franchise system. By doing that, we've enabled to let a lot of people build their own business and do a quality job with our name. Who are your competitors? Long-time competitors would be like Mountain View in Ashland and Daley's Window Cleaning. Sometimes we are our own biggest competitor because of our franchising system. We showed up to bid a job once in Grants Pass and pulled up along side one of our franchisees who was making a bid at the same time; usually we don't directly compete. What's your advice for budding entrepreneurs? Keep your overhead low and be confident. Lots of times you second-guess yourself and a lot of times you don't take the opportunity to grow. Whenever you come back to the customer for a second time ,you've got to look at them in the eye and know you did a good job the first time.
How long have you lived in the Rogue Valley? I've been here 40 years and (Jan) is a native. What inspired you to go into this line of work? I worked at Med-Ply, SWL and Roseburg Lumber Co., and my brother-in-law had started a window cleaning business; I was looking to do something other than work in a plywood mill forever. What decision or action would you change if you could do it again? I would probably build the business faster. We didn't advertise in the Yellow Pages for about 10 years and we could have taken on employees from the beginning. We choose a different route for expansion rather than employees. We have expanded by starting a franchise system. By doing that, we've enabled to let a lot of people build their own business and do a quality job with our name. Who are your competitors? Long-time competitors would be like Mountain View in Ashland and Daley's Window Cleaning. Sometimes we are our own biggest competitor because of our franchising system. We showed up to bid a job once in Grants Pass and pulled up along side one of our franchisees who was making a bid at the same time; usually we don't directly compete. What's your advice for budding entrepreneurs? Keep your overhead low and be confident. Lots of times you second-guess yourself and a lot of times you don't take the opportunity to grow. Whenever you come back to the customer for a second time ,you've got to look at them in the eye and know you did a good job the first time.
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