The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Franchise success for local businesses
This is the second in a two-part series looking at several area small businesses and how their success may be an indicator of the economic health of the region. Dec. 27: Specialty foods Dec. 28: Franchise operations
The parallel experiences of David Pretnar and Michael McLaughlin testify to the overall good health of small businesses in Northeast Ohio at the dawn of a new year.
Pretnar, 49, is the owner of Wild Birds Unlimited stores in Willoughby and Mayfield Heights.
McLaughlin, 48, owns the Pulp Juice & Smoothie Bar in Willoughby.
Both men are Willoughby residents and both elected to leave successful careers in sales (McLaughlin) and industrial management (Pretnar) to enter the world of business ownership.
As it happens, both of their businesses are franchise operations.
Wild Birds Unlimited, based in Indiana and founded in 1961, has 300 stores in the United States and Canada specializing in bird seeds, bird feeders and feeder accessories.
Pretnar purchased the Mayfield Heights store from the original owner in 2009. He opened the Willoughby store in 2014.
“I wanted to own a business that wasn’t techbased and would utilize my skills in developing relationships and working with customers. Wild Birds Unlimited met the criteria on my list,” Pretnar said.
The Mayfield Heights location, established about 20 years before the purchase, was a money-maker from the start, Pretnar said. The Willoughby location has been a steady performer, too.
Pretnar has eight employees between the two stores.
“When you have good employees and let them make decisions, the owner doesn’t have to work as hard,” Pretnar said.
Pulp was founded in 2004 in Kent by Tom Knepp. There now are 25 Pulp outlets, 22 in Ohio. The others are in Pennsylvania, Virginia and South Carolina. In addition to the wide variety of namesake fresh fruit juices and smoothies, Pulp’s menu also offers wraps and salads.
McLaughlin said his plan to own a Pulp franchise came together when, working his previous job, he was a regular customer at Pulp’s location in Macedonia. His favorite item was the Mango Bomb smoothie made from Red Bull energy drink, mangoes, peaches and orange sherbet.
“I was all in from being hooked on the Mango Bomb,” McLaughlin said, smiling. “I paid attention at the Macedonia store and saw there was a good flow to the business. Plus, I always wanted to own a restaurant”
McLaughlin opened his Pulp location in August 2016. He has 15 employees.
“My business plan projected $350,000 in gross receipts in the first calendar year and we beat that,” he said.
Both men said the performances of their stores in 2017 bodes well for 2018 and beyond.
“My goal from the start was to have additional stores if the money is there. That’s still the case,” Pretnar said.
McLaughlin’s blueprint for 2018 includes the purchase of a food truck. He also has an agreement with the WilloughbyEastlake School District to have Pulp stands in the food courts of the district’s new North and South high schools when they open in 2019.
Karen Tercek, president and CEO of the Willoughby-Western Lake County Chamber of Commerce, said the success stories of Pulp and Wild Birds Unlimited are typical of many of the small businesses among the chamber’s 550 members.
“The people who own small businesses are amazing. Even when the economy was really down from 2008 to 2010, they knew better times were coming.”
Tercek also cited a survey of member business conducted this year that had 60 percent of respondents expecting increases in gross receipts this year, The same percentage expected similar upticks on their bottom lines in 2018.